Saltdale Road-trip

हम थे, वह थी और, समां रंगीन समझ गए ना

जाते थे जापान पहुँच, गए चिन समझ गए ना

Today’s road trip can be summed up by these lines from Chalti ka naam gaadi.

I was up at 3:45 am today to drop the kids off at the local airport. Their flight was at 5:15 am. Once I was back home I waited for my husband to wake up. Where should we go today? There were so many locations on the mind. Checked out details. Some places the blooms were not ready, some places roads were not open, others were too cold. Finally decided to go to this mining tunnel that was suggested by one of my patients. Asked mom if she would like to accompany us and she agreed to go. We were out of home around 10:30 am. 

My patient had given a rough idea where to go so went that way. Nowhere could we see the exit she had described. So took a stop near a gas station to pull up Google maps. That tunnel was 55 miles away from our location . It was 11:30 am. The three of us decided to have lunch before heading out to the middle of nowhere. Our recently discovered Thai restaurant was just across the freeway from that gas station. Alas, they were closed on Saturdays. Fortunately found a Mexican grill in that same shopping complex. Filled ourselves there and got back on the road for our adventure. 

This time guided by Google maps we traveled north on state highway 14 from the city of Mojave across its namesake desert turning right onto Redrock Randsburg road. About 45 miles into the drive we arrived at Mesquite canyon road. Now this was an unpaved road . At the entrance there was a map describing the area. It was quite confusing to figure out where we were headed to. My husband decided he will not drive on that road because there were signs indicating 4x4 vehicles or ATV( all terrain vehicles) needed. I tried hard to persuade him. Just then we saw a car coming our way. Waved to them to ask if we were headed the right way and what to expect. They confirmed the tunnel was about 9-10 miles ahead on that road but told us that it would be tricky going that way if our car wasn’t a 4 wheel drive. I pulled up Google and found other problems. The hike inside the tunnel would take 4-5 hours. Flashlights and helmets were recommended. We had absolutely not planned for all this. 

Obviously disappointed, I reluctantly agreed to turn around. But decided to make the best out of the day. That entire area has a rustic charm. The El Paso mountains lie on one side ( northwest) and Koehn Dry Lake lies on the other side ( south east) of the long road. Along the road are several towns that once upon a time served as stops for water and fuel for explorers and cattlemen. Now these are ghost towns that are registered as California Historical Landmarks. 

One such town is Garlock. Another neighboring ghost town is Saltdale.

 Garlock is significant for an underlying fault in the ground that it stands upon, making it vulnerable for earthquakes. It is one of the 3 main faults that run through Kern County, the other two being the San Andreas Fault and the Sierra Nevada fault. 

Saltdale was a town established in 1914 to harvest salt from the plains of Koehn Dry Lake. It used to have a post office from 1916 to 1950. Nothing remains there now except a railroad belonging to Union Pacific and the expanse of the salt plains. It is a terrain that is a favorite for ATV sports enthusiasts. A group of them were seen today riding their vehicles and creating dust ripples as they passed along the railroad.

We walked around the otherwise uninhabited area enjoying the view of the vast desert, it’s vegetations and the rising moon in the deep blue sky on the east. Weather was just perfect, not cold, not hot. Took a few pictures there before taking the drive back home, just in time to enjoy tea. A day was spent well despite the setback of not being able to see the site we had set out for. That one will be for another time. 

Saree is a silk cotton in deep charcoal grey with golden yellow threadwork from Assam. Paired it with a jamdani blouse in a matching shade of yellow and a bone bead necklace I had bought in South Africa. 

Additional pictures show wildflower covered hills we passed along our drive through the Tehachapi mountains.