889 February 1, 2023 Imperial Valley Desert Museum
My walk this morning was through farm land.
The Imperial Valley is at 150 feet below sea level. The Colorado River in Yuma is at about 150 feet above sea level. More than 100 years ago, farmers decided that they could use gravity to their advantage and with engineers, a system of irrigation was created to bring water from the river to the very fertile valley. Because of this ingenuity, water rights to this area were established first. Imperial Valley has primary access to the apportionment from the Colorado River. 90% of the nation’s winter produce is grown here and in southern Arizona. The average annual rainfall is less than 3 inches. Without that water supply, there would be no yield…no water, no farms, no food.
Our host owns alfalfa fields. Alfalfa can be harvested and left to regrow for about 5 years. It accounts for about ¼ of the crops in the valley. The alfalfa is cut and baled. The bales are stored outside until the moisture content is about 16%. At that time, the bales are compressed to one third of their former size. 350 tractor trailer loads of alfalfa leave Imperial Valley 365 days a year. One third of this alfalfa is taken to San Diego and shipped to Asia.
We left the valley and traveled to Ocotillo on S80.
Spring mix.
This route took us through the area where the alfalfa is processed.
We could see the wind turbines from 20 miles away; some on snowcapped mountains.
We had a short ride to the Imperial Valley Desert Museum. This is another Harvest Host site. We toured the museum. There we learned about the culture and heritage of the Kumeyaay people who have occupied this land for more than 10,000 years. There were carefully preserved artifacts that included tools and pottery. The exhibits were thoughtful and professionally designed. We watched videos about bow and arrow making, indigenous legends, and the water supply in the Imperial Valley. There were other displays about the desert flora and fauna. We enjoyed our visit.
Later, at the suggestion of the director, we took the Jeep into the desert to see the Yuha Glyph. This has been badly damaged by vandals and attempts to restore it to its former glory have been unsuccessful. What a terrible shame to lose such a valuable piece of art in such a careless and disrespectful manner.
Diesel for $6.99…and regular for $5.99…YIKES!!!
There was this old International Harvester desert truck at the gas station. Tim liked the rock on the hood, it was his favorite part.
Back at the museum, we took our dinner out to the picnic area. We enjoyed some sourdough wheat bread that we dipped into our EVOO and aged balsamic vinegar from our friend Clyde at the olive farm. We had shrimp and fresh sugar snap peas and fresh blackberries.
We had a good day! I believe that it is so important that we stay curious, hold onto our sense of wonder, keep learning, and maintain our adventuresome spirit.