wide, the lake had turned
into a gigantic mudbog from
the day's deluge, making
passage by wheeled vehicle
foolhardy if not impossible.
Our alternative was to ride
north to the town of Baker
and join the slow procession
of holiday gamblers returning from Las Vegas via
Interstate 15. This was a
wise, albeit anticlimactic
decision, and the only satis-
desert.landscape in a peaceful mantle
of white. Kinney struggled with
numb fingers to work his cameras
while I marvelled at the huge size of
the snowflakes. Later, the snow
turned to rain and then brilliant blue
sky appeared on the western horizon.
Minutes later we were thawing out in
the sun while enjoying our trail
lunch.
Roughly halfway across the
Mojave Road, at mile 74.3, is the
"mail box," a sturdy cast iron box that
holds the trail register and a myriad
of momentos. Visitors on the road are
encouraged to sign in and write their
comments on their desert experiences.
The journal is another way Casebeir
keeps the Bureau of Land
Management informed of the vast
popularity of vehicle travel over the
road.
Kinney and I wrote a brief entry
and continued our trek past ancient
lava flows and perfectly shaped cinder cones, some rising over 1500 feet
from the desert floor. For geology
buffs, this is a great place ·to spend
several days. Unfortunately, we only
had a few minu tes to spare, for the
winter sun was rapidly slipping
toward the horizon.
My mind wandered as we rolled
quietly along, our "Stealth" mufflers
hardly noticeable in the vastness. It
was difficult for us to think that most
Americans may never get the opportunity to see the desert up close and
personal like we were doing on this
first weekend of the new year.
To ride the Mojave Road
Recreation Trail is to experience the
diversity of the great Mojave Desert.
The geography, geology, history and
natural beauty unfolds before you as
you retrace the ancient footpath of
Mojave Indian traders and the wagon
trains that followed.
We rode onto the flats of Soda Dry
Lake, which could become a real lake
if ever there was sufficient rainfall.
Almost 12 miles long and six miles
faction we had was beihg
able to split lanes whenever
the heavy traffic ground to a
halt.
And so ended our first
xide of 1993, but hopefully
not the last of the Mojave.
We had travelled in seven
hours what the Pioneers took
over five days to complete.
Their strength and courage
cannot easily be surpassed in
modern times.
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