The first thing we noticed when we got up was the wind had stopped. A quick check of the lake confirmed it was glassy smooth. Maybe we’ll set up and launch the kayaks in the next day or so.
After a leisurely breakfast, we drove to Searchlight to pick up our mail, fuel the Jeep, make some calls and do some exploring. Our drive took us across some deserted desert, which is not unusual around here. After traveling west for about 25 miles, we started dropping into a valley with a dry lake at the bottom. In the distance you could see trucks moving along I-15 on their way to and from Los Angeles and Las Vegas. We had traveled I-15 many times and I always wondered what was on the east side of the dry lake; now I know. Around noon, we turned around and headed back to Searchlight and Cottonwood Cove.
The road we traveled was marked as the Joshua Tree Highway, and it was aptly named. These Joshua Trees are really plants related to yuccas. The leaves are long, pointy and tipped with a killer sharp point. The Indians had many uses for these plants, mainly as a source of fiber. They are common to this part of the country but seldom are there so many in one place. It was a forest of sorts in a desert setting. We just couldn’t resist stopping for a few pictures. You certainly don’t want to walk around here on a dark night.
On the return trip, we briefly toured Searchlight and even called a real estate broker on a property for sale. The ‘improvements’ on the corner lot consisted of a broken down trailer and garage. The best thing about the property was that it had access to utilities. When the guy quoted us the price, we laughed, got in the car and headed for the coach. It was a you-gotta-be-kidding moment.
The rest of the afternoon was spent lazing around the coach reading, watching TV, updating this triplog and debating if we should attend the Super Bowl Buffet tomorrow at the cafe. For $5 per head, how can we go wrong?