February 3, 2021 Ghost Towns

Mayflower Regional Park Blythe, California

Last night as we lay in bed, we could hear the coyotes calling to one another.  Yesterday as we were driving from Palo Verde, we saw a pack of four coyotes crossing the road in front of the RV.

I started the day with a walk by the river. 

Last time we were here, an owl was nesting in this tree. Supposedly, she still lives here. I have looked for her every day but haven’t seen her yet…though Tim heard an owl during the night.

We drove across farmland on our way to today’s adventure.  We saw more than 100 sandhill cranes grazing in the alfalfa fields.

Tim found a Jeep trail that would take us to a little town of Midway.  We traveled 20 miles across the Colorado Desert.  We were always surrounded by mountains.  It was a warm and sunny day, perfect for a long ride.

We turned onto an old railbed.

We had to cross the railroad bridge or turn around and go back.  Tim walked it, tested it, and declared it safe for passage.  I didn’t even like walking on it!

A video.

The little road took us into Midland.  This is a ghost town.  From 1925 and into the 60’s, this area was mined for gypsum.  There certainly isn’t much there now.

From Midland, we had to drive 20 more miles to the town of Rice and Highway 62.  We stopped for lunch.

As we approached Rice, I took over and drove the rest of the way.  Rice is also a ghost town. In Rice there is some unusual art…you never know what you are going to find in the desert…thousands of pairs of tennis shoes draped from the fencing.  The tradition began as an underwear tree.  People traveling along Route 62 would toss underwear from their cars onto the tree.  The tree caught fire at one point and people started throwing shoes onto the tree.  Then, a fence was built and the shoe garden was born.

We rode our bikes out to the end of the road again this evening.

More coyotes making noise!