Horn Family Adventures

When the Maryland Horns dropped into Southern California to visit with the San Diego Horns, a week of fun (and contrasts) was in store. From the beaches to the 'burbs to the desert, we packed a lot into a short time. Here's a summary...

Maddox's response to the update that his cousins are on the plane

Fairly standard Christmas morning, with the difference being the addition of Urbana Horns.

Although it was just a little bit chilly (low 60's here in San Diego is considered unseasonably cold), we decided to tackle LegoLand on Christmas Day. Like many activities, December 25th tends to be less crowded than just about any other day during the winter break (I distinctly remember one of the best powder days ever at Snowbird on Christmas Day 1995, I believe. Empty trams most of the day. by the end of that week, we had bailed out on skiing and drove down to Moab to avoid the crowds).

"The Dragon" is a good barometer of crowds. This is a fun, small rollercoaster that is worth no more than about a 5 minute wait. We've seen it with 60+ minute lines (which we just walk past, of course), but on this day, it was walk right up to the ride. So we did it a couple of times.

Started off overcast and even looked like it could rain, but by lunch time, it was like this:

Kate and Sydney skipped the park and took down our sad tree. Christmas trees here in San Diego are imported from Oregon. They never last very long, but this year's edition was particularly wimpy. With our trip out to Colorado over Thanksgiving, we were even a full week later than normal this year and still, the tree was a pile of dried needles well before December 25th.

Kate's traditional champagne on Christmas Eve was really enjoyed on Christmas night. Same with the traditional dinner. Of course, we opted for Cardiff Crack.

Even though it wasn't summer beach weather, the southern California sun can be intense, often making it feel much warmer than it actually is. With that in mind, we took a visit to one of our favorite beach spots: Moonlight Beach in Encinitas.

A nice hike that Kate and I recently started frequenting. Torrey Pines State Park Hike to Beach. You park along the road and walk up the road into the park. Once you are on top of the hill, there are numerous spurs that go towards different cliffs. Most of them lead to an access point at the beach and you finish with a nice walk along the water. Depending on the tide, this can be a little or a lot in the water.

Dylan loves to pose for pictures

Lucy, enjoying the view

Lunch at D Street Bar and Grill

While I think it is over-rated, no trip to So Cal would be complete without In N Out

Back at home, the kids just HAD to test out the pool. Water temp was about 65°, pretty much the same as the ocean. Air temps this week were not much more. Keep in mind that during the prime swimming season, we don't like to get in there when it's under 90°!

Maddox shows them how we get in the pool!

No trip to So Cal is complete without mixing in some desert time. For the Horns, that's a combination of tried and true destinations and a little bizarre.

On the tried and true front, it's a day trip to Joshua Tree National Park.

SoCal Horns

This pic was taken from the top of a nice, medium length hike to Lost Horse Mine. It's a four mile total trip, with a small amount of elevation gain. You actually top out at 5,278 feet.

MD Horns

While it was much more crowded than we expected, including a pretty big traffic jam just to get INTO the park as well as another one at the end of the dirt road leading to the trailhead, the trail itself was just moderately trafficked. We happened to arrive in the early afternoon and with the shortened winter days, this meant a sharp decrease in other visitors by the time we got to the Mine.

Sunset and Moonrise

Lucy Horn

Spotted this dude coming down off a rock tower. The fun way.

Spent the night in Palm Desert. Many people go there as a destination, but we have always just used it as a stopping point to the rest of the desert.

Dave and I crossed this patch of the Mojave a couple of times on our cross country bike trips in the 80's. For me, it was truly cathartic. On the third day of my first trip, 17 years old and having no idea of what was ahead of me, we hit the first major stretch of desert I had ever encountered. In some regards, you could consider it the first real adversity I had ever faced as well. We camped in what was then Joshua Tree National Monument. This was June of 1986 and I would guess that only dedicated Bible readers and Southern Californians had even heard of the place (this was a year before U2: The Joshua Tree). The park was deserted for the summer and we poached a camp spot, even making an impromptu shower out of a garden hose that happened to be hooked up. I only remember that we were near the Salton Sea. I knew it was below sea level, which really only impacted some of the thoughts of elevation gain on that trip, but knew nothing else about it.

It was a Sunday and the road from Twentynine Palms to Rice was a brutal 77 miles of heat and headwinds. The non-stop flow of traffic coming from Lake Havasu (including the large trucks towing boats, each of which would blast us with an extra boost of hot desert wind when it roared by) only added to the adventure.

We rode 55 miles to an intersection, followed by 22 miles to "town:" Rice. Only, the map showed 55 miles, then 20. So when we hit the 75 mile mark, the map said Rice should be here, but there was nothing there. Knowing that towns can just disappear into the desert, it was deflating to say the least that we found nothing there. Two more miles down the road and we discovered town: a working gas station that looked like it was built in the 1950's and ignored ever since. It was operated by a family of three who had emigrated from the Louisiana Bayou. An elderly father and adult son and daughter. The fourth resident had gone into the hills looking for gold and hadn't been seen in some time. We each drained FIVE cold sodas and cooked up a can of soup. No idea why we chose hot soup, but I remember it like it was yesterday. I bet I haven't had five sodas in total over the past decade, but let me tell you, those five were amazing.

That stretch of desert will always have an extra special meaning to me. Maybe because it was at the beginning of the first real adventure. Maybe just because it was so hot. Maybe because that Sunday was about overcoming the elements and persevering. Maybe because of the uncertainty of what Rice actually was (and was it even going to be there?). Probably all of those.

Anyway, years later, and following multiple trips out to the Mojave, it was after reading Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer, that I started my fascination with the Salton Sea. There are really three separate "sights" here:

1. The sea itself, and by extension, the modern day ghost towns that are all that is left. It's hard to believe that this place was a bigger resort destination than Palm Springs. And not for a short time, either. Decades.

2. Slab City. It's changed over recent years with the publicity brought on by the book and movie, but it's still almost entirely off the grid.

3. The Mud Pots, or Mud Volcanoes. Interesting smells with the combination of sulphur from the geothermal mini geysers and the overall stench of the Salton Sea.

We visited them all.

Just looks like a beach near the mountains. Only the white sand isn't actually sand...

...It's the bones of countless millions of dead fish (and some birds).

The ONLY fish that can survive in the toxic mix of the Salton Sea are Tilapia. It's estimated that 200 million of them currently live there. I will never eat one again, although my brother seems interested in trying one...

One of the only remaining buildings from the heyday. This place used to be one of the main hubs of Bombay Beach.

If you are ever out there, stop by the Marina and Yacht Club (seriously). We spent a long time talking with a lifer who works there. Wikipedia Page. While the Yacht Club building has been completely rebuilt, the Museum is no longer open. Only this online version remains. Much like the Salton Sea itself, the museum seems to be doomed by lack of interest and politics. According to the local we met, there is $70 BILLION set aside to deal with the anticipated health issues that the deteriorating Sea are likely to produce.

In looking for interesting links for this blog post, I found this documentary. Will be watching that soon. Maybe even tonight: Bombay Beach documentary.

As you travel around the Salton Sea, you get to a town that still functions: Niland. About a thousand people still live there. We are practically regulars at the Buckshot Deli & Diner.

About 10 minutes east of Niland sits one of the most unique places I have ever been--Slab City.

But before you actually get to the Slabs, you pass a colorful patch of desert. No, this is not the Painted Desert out by the Grand Canyon (although we have been through that recently as well). Rather, this is actual paint. Salvation Mountain is the life's work of Leonard Knight. He has since passed, but on our first visit, about ten years ago, Dave and I ran into him at the site and talked with him for about an hour. On that trip, Into the Wild, the book (out there, they just refer to them as "the book" and "the movie") was out but the movie was not. Hardly anyone visited the place then. In fact, we didn't even know about Salvation Mountain. We were just driving out to check out the Slabs and, well, you can't miss it. We were the only ones there and after a while, he just came up and started talking with us.

Dylan stops and poses multiple times for the Japanese girls. Not with his own family, of course, but for the ladies? No problem!

On to the Slabs...

This is the legendary Range.

Trash Art from East Jesus. We got a tour from one of the main artists/curators.

Lucy did her part by buying some art

Dude has been living in this for 33 years. He has a website for it, but I forgot to take a pic of the side of the bus that has the URL. He broadcasts WIFI from that antenna on the back.

On to the last stop, the Mud Volcanoes. Last time we were here, it was early morning. Significantly different in the fading light of late afternoon.

I always promised Kate I would take her to the tops of mountains.

Mud Spout mid sputter

Okay, so actually is was ONE more stop. This is nearby to the mud volcanoes; a patch of dried up desert where the sea has made its mark. Hard to believe these trees once lived here.