Yucca Truckin’
This is a little report on a great day at the end of October in (and out of) a truck in Yucca Valley and the Joshua Tree National Park outside of Palm Springs, Calif. After a very early, very civilized, breakfast we hit the first dirt road within ten minutes of departing the breakfast host’s cozy desert-style home on the outskirts of Cathedral City.
There are actually designated areas in Yucca Valley where you can 4-wheel it through the brambly mesquite, Joshua trees, shell-casings and bullet-riddled hulks of abandoned vehicles. It’s beautiful in its own rough way and “truckin’” it feeds into the macho posturing of every all-American male. There are also promontories and peaks that can be reached by “gunning” it up steep trails where distant vistas and valleys are spread out as far as the eye can see. On a clear day in the desert the view can be a hundred miles and the colors are subtle and magnificent.
We stopped for pee breaks and a tailgate lunch but mostly it was roaring and bouncing along heart-stopping narrow-cliff climbs (and descents), along with the rough beauty of the California desert. I must confess at one point I got out of the truck (I wasn’t the only one) and walked a few hundred yards ahead to rejoin my designated ride after it negotiated a very steep and unsafe-looking arroyo.
Our fearless leader had a global positioning device (and all of the drivers had walkie-talkies) that kept us on the right track (mostly) when the wrong fork was a possibility. It was obvious that without these modern devices an unwary vehicle could be in a pickle very quickly. After a morning of fearless(?) trekking in Yucca Valley we entered the civilized confines of the Joshua Tree National Park by a weird back-country entrance and were obviously back with the more civilized wanderers, passing designated nature walks, birding opportunities and a couple of benign-seeming official ranger vehicles. We were definitely a motley crew that needed monitoring. At least until the selected cheeses/crackers, freshly-cut fruit salad and fresh-baked brownies hit the tailgates. Ain’t nothin’ like a semi-gourmand picnic to enhance the experience of a bunch of rough-ridin’ cowhands.
It was a great ride, a nice rough-house day and it ended back in Cathedral City where we washed off the grime and dust in a wonderful shaded pool, only corrupted by a little indecent exposure from various participants. When somebody says “clothing optional” you can easily guess my choice. My thanks to all the guys; for the trucks, the gas, the lunch, the pee breaks and the salt-of-the-earth camaraderie; and, of course, the exposure.
There are actually designated areas in Yucca Valley where you can 4-wheel it through the brambly mesquite, Joshua trees, shell-casings and bullet-riddled hulks of abandoned vehicles. It’s beautiful in its own rough way and “truckin’” it feeds into the macho posturing of every all-American male. There are also promontories and peaks that can be reached by “gunning” it up steep trails where distant vistas and valleys are spread out as far as the eye can see. On a clear day in the desert the view can be a hundred miles and the colors are subtle and magnificent.
We stopped for pee breaks and a tailgate lunch but mostly it was roaring and bouncing along heart-stopping narrow-cliff climbs (and descents), along with the rough beauty of the California desert. I must confess at one point I got out of the truck (I wasn’t the only one) and walked a few hundred yards ahead to rejoin my designated ride after it negotiated a very steep and unsafe-looking arroyo.
Our fearless leader had a global positioning device (and all of the drivers had walkie-talkies) that kept us on the right track (mostly) when the wrong fork was a possibility. It was obvious that without these modern devices an unwary vehicle could be in a pickle very quickly. After a morning of fearless(?) trekking in Yucca Valley we entered the civilized confines of the Joshua Tree National Park by a weird back-country entrance and were obviously back with the more civilized wanderers, passing designated nature walks, birding opportunities and a couple of benign-seeming official ranger vehicles. We were definitely a motley crew that needed monitoring. At least until the selected cheeses/crackers, freshly-cut fruit salad and fresh-baked brownies hit the tailgates. Ain’t nothin’ like a semi-gourmand picnic to enhance the experience of a bunch of rough-ridin’ cowhands.It was a great ride, a nice rough-house day and it ended back in Cathedral City where we washed off the grime and dust in a wonderful shaded pool, only corrupted by a little indecent exposure from various participants. When somebody says “clothing optional” you can easily guess my choice. My thanks to all the guys; for the trucks, the gas, the lunch, the pee breaks and the salt-of-the-earth camaraderie; and, of course, the exposure.
posted by peebstuff | Sunday, November 20, 2011
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