Today we decided to go in search of the real Salton Sea. Tina had gotten directions to the other section of the Sonny Bono Salton Sea National Wildlife Refuge (http://www.fws.gov/saltonsea
) area which was on the southeastern shore of the sea.
) area which was on the southeastern shore of the sea.
We took the kids and headed north eventually coming to the end of our route and finding that all access was prohibited. Phoooey! Not to be deterred, we continued driving on the back (unpaved) roads in farming country until we came to another road that looked promising. Sure enough, we came to a sign that said "Sonny Bono National Wildlife Refuge" two miles.Arriving at a parking lot with a very nice bird viewing tower we got the kids leashed up and were about to head for the beach when we came to another "Restricted Access" sign. Fortunately there was a trail we could go on that led out into the marshes along the southern end of the sea so we were able to go for a nice walk anyway. We had several opportunities to take pictures of snow geese and ducks but nothing as spectacular as we've seen so far on our trip. And we still couldn't get to the shore.
Falling back on my boy scout days, we once again set off on a quest to find access to the "Sea" shore. Returning to a pave road and continuing west, we saw a road that actually looked like it might go all the way to the water. Turning off we followed a car all the way to the Salton Sea!! A police car - heheheh. Turns out he was taking a break for lunch and said it really was an open access. So we parked and took the kids for another walk.
This time we actually made it to the edge of what is considered the Salton Sea. We walked along the beach which was piled high with barnacle shells. The water was down about two feet from its high leaving a scene of desolation with salt pans, dead trees, and a road to nowhere. We walked about a quarter mile before turning around and heading back to the car.On the way I had Tina get Punky to climb up the bleached trunk of a downed tree so I could take a picture. I walked over to the them aft I took the picture and Tina pointed to a small pill bottle tucked into the roots. It was very strange as the bottom was covered with barnacles. It had a note on it that said "Geocache". Opening it up we found a note explaining what was going on and a list of people along with dates of people who had found this particular cache. To learn more about this worldwide game go to: http://www.geocaching.com/.
After adding our names and date we put everything back in the pill bottle and replaced it in its hidey hole. Then it was back to the car where we gave the dogs feet a quick wash and dry before they went into the car. No sense leaving their feet covered with all that crud from the 'beach'.Since we finally accomplished our goal it was time to head home. Tina made fish tacos for dinner and as usual they were absolutely fantastic!!
To see all our photos, click on:
1 comment:
That was a great photo of the clouds and reflection in Sunbeam Lake. I can imagine the sunset.
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