Who says you have to be IN a bus to have an adventure???

[Christyhicks]

Who says you have to be IN the bus in order to have an adventure?  HAH!

So, the other day, we decided to take a "day trip" and go explore some of the areas around Quartzsite.  I had a hankering to go visit The Saltan Sea, "The Slabs" and Salvation Mountain, so I took a look at the map and decided that instead of going ALL the way to Indio, CA and around, surely I could find us a quicker way to get there!

Now, here's my beef with maps . . . YOU WOULD THINK, if YOU were drawing a map, a big blue oval shaped area with a road drawn through the middle of it, would maybe be a lake with a long bridge, wouldn't you.  AND FURTHERMORE, you would also think that a live ammunition firing range would be labeled:  "ATTENTION:  LIVE FIRING AMMUNITION RANGE".  Well, I would!  

Anyway, after traveling this cattle trail of a road I had chosen for a while, and having Larry continually question the appropriateness of my choice of a "shortcut", I zoomed in to the next level of magnification, and much to my surprise, um, well, let's just say we weren't on course to cross any lakes in the near future. 

Oh oh, so I suggested that since he didn't care for my choice of road, maybe it WOULD be best if we turned around and headed back to a more suitable pavement.   As we navigated through the desert to turn around and head back along the trail, we had gone no more than a few hundred yards when we were met by a Land Rover, hurtling at high speed towards us.   My immediate concern was that he was going to rat me out to Larry about the firing range, but he went swerving around us and blazing on down the road, as if he was somehow USED to rattling his teeth and spinning on sandy rocks.  Of course, Larry wondered out loud just what in the world that guy was up to, and I agreed that surely Larry was correct in that he "guesses that guy was just more used to the road than I was".  I didn't let on  that he could have either had reports of some idiots in the way of the next target, or some other mission related to whatever bombs were getting ready to pepper us with sand and rock.

And ANOTHER THING, how is it that we drove for MILES without seeing another road, yet met choice after choice of roads we could take when trying to backtrack?  Seriously, Larry was constantly saying, "which one should I take" and I'm trying to act like I know, because, well, pretty much I'm the one who got us into this jam, so it might go easier on me if I actually get us OUT of it!   Eventually we did end up basically somewhat back to the highway, not exactly in the same place we left it, but pretty close. . .within a few miles at least.  (Now, I will admit that I MIGHT Have let Larry assume it was the road choices HE made that maybe got us off path a little bit. . . Now, I didn't SAY that, I just didn't argue with him when HE suggested it. )  O

Overall, he was a good sport about the whole thing and I do want to take credit for the fact that, eventually, I did inform him that maybe the reason I had him turn around had to do with something about not wanting to get too close to a firing range and stuff. 

So, again I ask, "who says you have to be IN a bus to have an adventure. . . they seem to find us EVERYWHERE!"  

Christy Hicks
1991 "The Beav Pray-vo"

[Ed Hackenbruch]

The guy was probably going fast so that he would "float" over the bumps.     

[4905 doc]

Christy, I feel your pain. when I worked in Imperial valley, my turf covered all the valley. you cannot trust maps, or gps for that matter.
another thing, if you're traveling in the desert and find youself inside a large ring of white painted tires, get outta there fast. they are targets for rocket firing jets.

[Christyhicks]

find youself inside a large ring of white painted tires, get outta there fast. they are targets for rocket firing

Oh good, this MIGHT have been good to know A COUPLE OF DAYS AGO!!!

Mental note: avoid painted white trees in a circle. . . .or is it white trees in a circle. . . or how about just avoid all white trees, circles, and NEVER GET OFF OF THE HIGHWAY!

Hahahaha, just kidding!  Thanks for the tip cause you just never know when I might need a tidbit of info like that. . you just neeeevvvvveeeerr know.

Christy