Road Trip in California: January 29,2022

 Part 1 :

Red Rock Canyon State Park: A Hidden Gem

Awestruck by the gorgeous drive to the Krona Pinnacles earlier in the week I was restless to get back on the road on Saturday. Wednesday’s drive started at 2 pm and culminated at 8 pm and in those six hours we did so much. How much more then we could do this time if we started earlier in the day ? I was super excited and got out two sarees and several matching blouses to change during the day for photos. And then just so these sarees don’t get crumpled during the drive I picked one more saree, a simpler one whose blouse and petticoat matched one of the others to be draped on the trip! Ironed all three and half a dozen blouses. Draped the “ travel” saree and carefully loaded the other precious cargo into the car, also a few snacks and water and we were out of home by 8:30 am.

This time the destination was Red Rock Canyon State Park. I had heard of this one for years but didn’t know how close it was from home. We took State Highway 58 East that took us past the green pasture covered foothills and later the snow covered Tehachapi mountains proceeding towards Mojave to get on to Highway 14 North. About 22 miles from the junction of 58 and 14 freeways is Abbott Road that leads into this gorgeous state park. 

This canyon was once owned by a German immigrant by the name of Rudolph Hagen. He bought mining rights and invested a diner, some minimalist lodging, distributed maps of the rock formations and basically invited visitors to his private park. After his death the ownership changed hands within his family until 1969 when it became a State Park. There is a 1.2 miles trail in the park that is named after Rudolph Hagen the man who in every sense promoted tourism to the area. There is a campground in the park called Ricardo Campground which operates on a first come first serve basis for a fee of $25 to stay overnight and $6 for daytime use for vehicles. There are picnic tables set against the beautiful backdrop of the red rocks. Joshua trees are seen scattered around the area adding charm to the landscape. 

The canyon that became visible after an ancient lake dried raising the land underneath is formed from water and wind erosion of the sandstone and other materials covered by it. My attention was grabbed by a particular vista that had hillocks in a plethora of colors; so many different shades of pink, coral, green and brown in one frame, I stood there mesmerized for some time.

As I wandered around the park I became more and more impressed with its rock formations. It appeared to me like a compact version of Bryce, Zion and Arches National Parks put together. And compared to any of these, this one is much easier to walk around, to park your vehicle closer to the rocks, and to go without making reservations. These conveniences would be appreciated by anyone who has suffered at the more popular national parks. This one is truly underrated and that is a blessing in disguise because it is not too crowded. 

As I stepped out of the car to use a toilet, a woman parked nearby remarked “That’s a lovely saree you are wearing “.  She was setting up an elaborate lunch out of her truck on to the picnic table . I acknowledged her compliment and told her “I am impressed you know it is called a saree”.  “ I live near Pioneer-Norwalk area (of Los Angeles) where there are a lot of Indian families” she replied. Of course! How could she then not know a saree ?

She was familiar with this park and gave a lot of helpful tips encouraging me to take a lot of pictures. Over 2000 movies have been filmed in this location, she informed. She also suggested I not take the desert nature trail as the saree would get caught in the thorny shrubs. Saree made an instant friend ! We bid her goodbye and carried on to explore the park.

 A few other families had their trailers parked on the campgrounds and had picnic tables laid out for lunch. Some were walking their dogs. Others were hiking on the trails. Some young couples were taking pictures on the rocks. It was a cold and cloudy day but bright and perfect for pictures.  

We walked a bit near the campground and then on the Rudolph Hagen trail. Took a lot of pictures. Amazing that such a small park had so many different locations to take pictures. No wonder movie makers were attracted to this location. Just like them we were so enthralled with the sights that we didn’t realize we were there for nearly four hours.

Despite munching on several goodies carried from home Abhay was getting hungry and wanted to find a proper lunch. Jack in the Box was his fancy for the day! We decided to drive to Ridgecrest which is a fair sized town 35 miles north from where we were. The first thing we saw was a Pizza Factory( name of a chain restaurant). Abhay was too hungry and let go his craving for Jack in the Box! The hot from the oven veggie pizza got us fully recharged for the drive back home.