Tuesday, January 14, 2020

Split Mountain and beyond

Last night I decided I would have mushroom soup and a salad for dinner since I forgot to thaw any meat.  The instructions say to add milk and if you wanted it thick, add a can of milk.  I did that.

Didn't watch it very carefully.  I didn't know that milk foams up fast when heated on the stove. 
See the white stuff under the burners?  That's what I had to clean up and it was a mess.  Plus, I discovered I hate mushroom soup.

This morning, Yuma and I took a little walk before breakfast.  This area is riddled with washes snaking everywhere and they aren't little.  I actually got up a little after 7 o'clock this morning.
I had a nice breakfast with two eggs and three slices of bacon.  Of course you know I also had ten Ritz crackers with peanut butter and cheese on each and two cups of coffee.

Last night, Deb, Riley and I decided to go to Split Mountain.  I have been there a number of times, but they haven't.  We left camp at 10 o'clock in my Jeep with Yuma.

I took a lot of pictures and the day was very long and tiring, so won't post the whole days' events tonight.  You'll see more tomorrow night.

Split Mountain is just South of Ocotillo Wells, about 40 miles South of where we are camped.  At 10:45 we were beginning our drive through the wash that over the ions has eaten the soft material in the mountain away, leaving a wash that cuts through it today.
We have entered the mountain via the wash.



 From what I've read the waves in the rocks around here were caused when the ocean floor millions of years had a sudden upheaval.  Left beautiful markings.

Roads are definitely rough!
 Rather than give my impressions of the pictures, I will just let you look at them and get your own impressions.

 It wasn't long before we came out the other side of the mountain, but the wash continues for miles.  I had remembered there are several slot canyons and beautiful views further on, so we kept driving.


 Unfortunately, the slot canyons became unpassable in the Jeep, so we did a lot of walking.  So much so, we were very tired by 4:30 when we started heading back.

It is late and as I said, Yuma and I are vey tired.  Still got this blog to do and eat dinner, so I will call it a night here and travel on tomorrow.
Not sure the Jeep can go any further.

I'll let you know tomorrow night.  See you later.

20 comments:

  1. I love beautiful Spit Mountain. Such a fascinating place. Sounds like you all had quite a trek around there. Love all the pics.

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    1. Thanks Dolly for staying up late so many nights to view the blog. It was a beautiful but tiring day. We all got our exercise today.

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  2. Split Mountains looks like a really cool area!! Looked like it was a beautiful day! I take it no more mushroom soup for you 😃.

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    1. Thanks Steve. Nope, the other can goes in the trash. It was a great day for hiking and just being outdoors.

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  3. Ha!!! You cook like I do!! Sorry you had the big mess to clean up. Personally, I leave the cans of soup to the tough pieces of meat I cook all day long. Looks like a great day. I just love the geology of the mountains. Hard to believe it was all under water at one time.

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    1. Thanks Nancy. I thought of you when I was hard at work cleaning that mess. Interesting how the water slicing through the mountain reveals the rock curves.

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  4. Love all those wavy rock formations - and they are Huge.! The Jeep looks like a little toy Matchbox car when it is parked next to them. You guys sure had a full day of adventure - glad you could share all this with Deb & Riley. 😎

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    1. Thanks is Moonfly. Be glad to show you the wonders of this area if ever come this way.

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  5. Those soup faux pas have happened to most of us. So frustrating!
    The rock formations on that trip today are gorgeous! Nice to have a jeep to tour down the washes. Looks like a great day.

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    1. Thanks Patsy. We had a beautiful day for outdoor activities and I think we're paying for it today. Resting my feet and then see something else tomorrow.

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  6. I learned last year the fun rock folds are an anticine, pretty cool. Looks like a get adventure.

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  7. Absolutely gorgeous. Thank you for sharing.

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  8. Great pictures Doug. In all of my times in the area, I have never been to split mountain. Going to have to check it out when I move over to that area. Thanks again look forward to today's pictures.

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    1. Thanks Peter. It is a unique place and great for keeping and hiking.

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  9. A fun ride, thanks for taking us along. I agree it was very rough and very tiring. The views were stunning and I'm sure we missed some more spectacular ones just around the next corner. Haha.

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    1. Enjoyed having you two along. As you can see in last night's post, we almost made it to the top. Can't wait to see some of your pictures. It was a photographer's delight.

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  10. It's a large rough and tumble area and I think you went farther into the canyons than we did.

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    1. Every year, it seems to get a little tougher. That main wash goes forever. Probably comes out somewhere near a blacktop, but I wasn't going to chance it with darkness coming on. Amazing how difficult it is to drive in the desert at night. Easy to get disoriented.

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