From the balcony of our 17th floor hotel room, we could just barely see Mexico, rising beyond the Coronado Bridge. But as tempting as it was to add another foreign country to my riding resume, the one directly to our south would have to wait.
My wife and I were staying on San Diego Harbor for a work-related conference - hers, not mine. That meant I was literally 'just along for the ride!'
OK, not only the ride. We'd come a day and a half early, had a great time at Sea World, and taken a harbor cruise past historic sites and old and new battleships and aircraft carriers. All of that was incredibly interesting and thought-provoking, especially as Memorial Day approached, but today would be a little different.
Looking the opposite direction from our lofty perch, we could see eastward, across the city to the mountains that nearly surround it - well, if it weren't for the heavy clouds, that is. I wasn't worried though. Quite the opposite, actually. I couldn't pick up my motorcycle rental until the shop opened at 9:00, much, much later than I would prefer, for an all-day ride. A cool start would be more comfortable, and mask the reality that several prime daylight hours had already past. Despite the gloom, no rain was in the forecast along my entire route; and I knew that by mid-day, I'd be baking in the desert sun!
'360 Motorcycle Adventures' is located in a secured storage facility, just north of the airport. To get there from the hotel, I tried something new - Lyft! Like the better known Uber, Lyft is the taxi of the 21st century - faster, cheaper, and much more convenient. I absolutely love it! But don't worry, I haven't abandoned my retro flip phones. Though a smart phone is required to use the service, you can 'call' one for a friend; and my selflessly supportive wife was eager to give it a try!
I arrived 20 minutes early, and after signing all the paperwork and strapping on some luggage, Philipp, the Brazilian owner of this moto-touring company, was happy to snap a departing photo.
All had gone well to this point, my biggest concern - after making it back before it got terribly late - was pairing a BMW motorcycle with my KTM riding gear. There's a bit of a rivalry between the faithful of each European brand, and I feared I might offend both sides, attracting derisive sentiment all day as I rode along! Was southern California ready for a mixed-marque duo?
But alas, no KTMs were available; and I was curious to find how this mid-sized 800cc member of the German line-up would behave on my planned combination of freeway, two-lane, and unpaved roads. I could have paid extra for the 1200cc model, a more direct competitor of my 1290 KTM, but with very little luggage, I figured the mini version would be plenty.
I began by heading east on Interstate 8, towards Yuma, Arizona. Rush hour had mostly passed in the city, so my biggest issue was getting used to BMW's non-standard turn signal controls. I'd actually test ridden this model before, but only for a few miles, and many years ago. About 20 miles outside of town, I exited the four-lane and turned north on Highway 79. I stopped here in Cuyamaca Rancho State Park to don my sunglasses, having risen out of the coastal marine layer, and into bright blue skies!
I decided to make the small town of Julian my first gas stop. Philippe said the four-gallon tank was about one gallon short when I left. I would now be heading down into the desert, so I didn't want to have to worry about fuel for a while.
At over 4,000 feet above sea level, Julian was nice and cool. Immediately upon leaving, however, Highway 78 begins to drop as you pass through Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. Interestingly, as I descended this stretch, there were several miles for which my total trip distance from San Diego equaled the air temperature in degrees Fahrenheit - from about 70 to 80.
Fortunately, by the time I reached Niland, CA, 150 miles from my starting point, that was no longer the case! The temperature there, on the back side of the Salton Sea, was only 88. Ironically though, that total miles number (150) now nearly matched my elevation above sea level! Aren't numbers fun?
I pulled up to Salvation Mountain shortly after noon. If you've never heard of it, you probably don't subscribe to motorcycle touring magazines, have never been part of, or left the hippie scene prior to 1984, and did not see the movie 'Into the Wild.'
This artificial prominence, rising from the Sonoran Desert, was the latter life's work of Leonard Knight, a transplant from Vermont. Constructed of discarded junk, adobe, straw, and unbelievable quantities of paint, what began as a "small statement" became a monument to God's Love and one man's commitment to making it known.
Leonard passed away at age 83 in 2014, but his mountain is still maintained by volunteers and donations of money and paint. I've been reading about Salvation Mountain for decades, but it's not really on the way to anywhere else. When I saw it appear on the horizon, I could hardly believe I was finally there, but regret not having come a few years earlier. By all accounts, chatting with Leonard was a memorable experience.
Though it was 88 degrees, with the sun beating straight down, I just had to climb it! I circled around back, along what I assumed was the only way.
Once on top, however, this sign made it clear that a route down the face was also a possibility.
Peering out from behind the big red "D" I noticed what must have been Leonard's old truck, which he made into his desert home.
Following the marked yellow trail down the slick glossy surface was frankly a bit treacherous! It did, however, provide a good view of the 'hogan,' which Leonard constructed as a more comfortable home for himself. He preferred, however, to live in his truck, and never made the move.
Here, at the steepest part, built-in stairs help quite a bit, and bring you up close to all the artistic touches.
From near the bottom, you get a little better perspective on just how big the mountain is. If you're heading this way though, I recommend going UP the front and DOWN the back. But travelers beware, there are no guard rails, and certainly no elevator. As you may have guessed, government regulators of any kind are not involved in this project. It may be the last of its kind, in that regard, in these United States. If you hurt yourself, be assured that there is no one with deep pockets to sue. Use at your own risk!
And that concludes the legal disclaimer portion of this blog post.
Salvation Mountain is located just outside the entrance to 'Slab City' a.k.a. 'The Slabs.' Originally the site of a military training base, all buildings were removed in 1956, leaving only hundreds of acres of concrete slabs - perfect for off-the-grid living!
Thousands flock here each winter in RVs and vehicles of all sorts for completely unregulated camping - and a couple of hundred remain year-round. There are no established services of any kind - water, electricity, sewer, or garbage pick-up. Hippies? Anarchists? Eccentrics? Probably all that and more. Residents call it the 'Last Free Place in America.' I'll leave it at that - and let you come and judge for yourself.
I didn't stay very long, but when I left, I noticed the sign on the opposite side of this apparent guard shack. It reads, "CAUTION: REALITY AHEAD." I'll confess, I hesitated just a little, but I guess I'm not quite ready for Slab City - at least not in the summer!
Twenty miles up the road is another California desert icon - Bombay Beach. A thriving resort in the 50's and 60's, reality hit hard here back in the 70's, when the beautiful Salton Sea and everything in it began to dry up and die.
From what I was able to learn, it's basically part of a four to five hundred year cycle. The Colorado River switches course, fills up the low-lying (below sea level) Salton Sink, and everything is lush, lively, and lovely - for a time. Then the Sea begins to silt in, salinity increases dramatically (more than the Pacific Ocean), and very little life can survive. Some day, the great river that drains seven states and part of Mexico will get all excited and shift course again, pumping fresh life back into the desert.
Not willing to wait a few more centuries for a cool swim, however, I decided to head for higher ground. And as I returned to the positive side of sea level, the temperature began to return to a more positive, as in encouraging, level as well - from 93 down to the mid 80's again.
Turning east at Mecca, on the north shore of the Sea, I entered Box Canyon, en route to the southern access to Joshua Tree National Park. From a motorcyclist's perspective, things were obviously about to get fun!
