Father & Son Mojave Road trek

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Well we survived our Mojave Road adventure with only some minor scrapes & scratches and it was a ton of fun.
My 13yr old son gets a week of Fall Break and while he is working hard on his Eagle Scout Project we wanted a short but history/scenic/camping filled adventure if possible. Boy did we get to see some cool stuff.

As we all know there is always plenty of blacktop to cover on the way to playing in the dirt and since I cruise around 65mph in the Troopie we choose to stick with 2 lane highways vs the interstate on much of the trip. This paid off in some fun sites.

Camp Bouse is part of a series of desert camps used in WWII for training US Forces who were heading to Africa. You can read more here...
http://www.apcrp.org/CAMP_BOUSE/Camp_Bouse_Text_072608.htm
http://www.militarymuseum.org/CAMA.html

We had fun looking over the old iron and talking about what it must have been like to fight it out in the desert back then.

Now that is a winch setup! No messing around back then.

 

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Next we went North along the Colorado River to make a stop in Parker and check out the old dam, it has a great cool style that you don't see anymore. Back with this could be functional and look nice also.

And of course we had to stop in Lake Havasu and check out the London Bridge. My son didn't believe me when I told him the story of it being bought and moved in bits to Arizona. Reading some of the history and seeing it in person was more impressive. Yeah we are blacktop tourist at this point but you might as well enjoy the journey to the dirt as much as possible.
Read more here:
http://www.golakehavasu.com/activities/more_to_do/london_bridge.aspx

With a fuel top off at Avi Casino we were finally on the dirt, the guide book really helps you envision the history and peoples who used this route. From the native to the military to the pioneers this was the main route from the coast to the Colorado river from the 1850's to the 1880's. Our first campsite was at Balancing Rock, as you can see from the pic it is well named. Martín is perched on the top rocks enjoying the desert vista.

We got settled in and Martín went to work cooking up dinner. The shade was a nice thing after being in the desert sun all day. The temps weren't bad but sun is sun and shade is nice for relaxing.

 

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Since there was still plenty of daylight left Martín got to cruise'n on his mountain bike while I took pics and enjoyed a fine cigar from on top of the rocks. These are the moments that make memories to be shared years down the line.

Martín took this pic, he said the rocks were angry at him for riding around on them...funny thing was the next day a rock would get it's revenge

And the next day was another clear one of those clear blue sky offerings the desert makes to entice you to travel and see what she has to offer.

 

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As we neared Fort Puite we stopped to checkout a homestead site along Piute Creek. This is another instance where the info in the Mojave Guidebook really brings a place to life as you read about the people who lived here and their tribulations.

Homestead Hot tub maybe

We parked and walked around the actual Fort Piute ruins and imagined what it must have been like to be stationed out here back in the late 1800's. Oh and if you are wondering why Martín is holding his tailbone, has bandages on his arm and gashes in his leg....well that was the episode where a rock in the trail flipped him off his mountain bike that morning. I mentioned there would be rock revenge

Read more about Fort Piute here
http://www.militarymuseum.org/FtPiute.html

 

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We got back on the Mojave Road and came across a stream bed that had been blacktopped in the past. You can see what is left under my rear tire. It is at times like these when we find old remnants of roads that I feel post-apocalyptic, as if it is one of those movies 500 years after some huge world war and we are traveling the remains of civilization. Makes for fun chats in the rig!

The next major stop was this old school bus and station wagon in the middle of nowhere. Of course we had to make up stories of "mad bus drivers" and "crazy student hi-jackings" and such. Weird but fun.

Now when I saw this navigation beacon I stopped to grab a pic. Why? Well as you see in the second pic we had seen another of these 4 yrs before when doing the Continental Divide Expedition and it brought on a rush of memories and laughter. I have said it before & I will say it till I die, you don't get many chances to make lasting memories with your kids, so take each one you can and treasure it. We have only been really into this 4wd/overlanding thing for 4 yrs but we have really packed some amazing fun into that time.

 

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We had to make a stop at the Penny Can tree and pay our "toll" for travel on the Mojave Road. Martín was impressed with how much change was in the cans and we talked about how true 4wd travelers in these kind of remote areas are generally good solid people. That isn't always the case in the areas closer to towns where any idiot can go tear up the desert.

We dropped a penny in the lower can like we were supposed to. But in the higher traditional can we dropped in an Australian 5 cent coin I had found when cleaning out the first time. I figured since we were in an Aussie Crusier we should leave an Aussie coin

Oh and if you are thinking about raiding this desert treasure realize it is well guarded but a small but powerful gnome. Scary little fellow!

 

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There were a number of historical markers out on the trail but I really like this one as it included the subject matter in the monument.

Soon we were in the towering Joshua Trees and as you can see the trail is below the desert floor. Don't get caught out here in the rain!

We refreshed ourselves with a quick stop at Government Holes. These places were vital water stops for the wagon teams and for livestock even today. Always treat them with respect.

The water was crystal clear and cold! Made for a nice splash, but be warned if you have any issues with bees then stay away as the second pic shows there are plenty of them around these desert oasis.

 

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We diverted off the Mojave Road to check out Hole-in-the-Wall and the Rings trail. Of course my son didn't believe me that there might be cool things to see...."young people cool, or old people cool?" was his frequent question

When I told him to pretend use the hike to make up cool stories about his injuries we had a blast talking about how he survived mountain lion attacks, rapid coyotes, and killer hawks. He even showed how his leg injury from the sprocket looked like claw marks.

 

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He did agree that the petroglyphs where pretty cool and there were plenty to check out.

We found another sheltered area with more images and that is when the trip almost turned savage.

As we were approaching to get a better look out came the spirit guardian of the area. Any of you who have seen Monty Pythons Holy Grail know what could happen next. We could be savagely & bloodily attacked by this beast. Matter of fact I am pretty sure Martín & I both almost soiled our pants at the sight of this killing machine.

I sent my son in to do battle as he is young, fast and hey I have 2 kids anyway so I could lose 1 I guess

But since my valiant offspring struck fear into the little bunnies heart he prevailed that day and we could continue our hike in peace.

 

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We finally made it around to the Hole In the Wall area which really should be called Whole Bunch of Holes in the Wall trail..

Being a teenager my son often is hungry and has food on the brain, that meant that when he saw this rock it immediately became his pizza oven business he would open to hungry hikers.

I knew the canyon got narrow and that mean we could have some fun, like posing horizontally in a vertical canyon

 

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And then we got to the Rings, I have to say these were pretty cool and made the easy 1 mile hike well worth it.

These are the times when I am glad to only be a below the knee amputee. I can pretty much do anything I set my mind to but at times like this I wonder if I am a little nuts

There are only 2 sections of rings and after them you pop out of the canyon and want to go right back and climb it all again.

 

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At this point to get back on the Mojave Road you can either retrace your route to do what we did which is take another side trip through Wildhorse Road & Macidonia Canyon. A fire that went through here in the recent past really gave the place a "land of death & doom" feel

The trail was easy all the way to the end where you have to pass under a railroad trestle. My Troopie has a high roof but thank goodness I have not put on a rack as we would have needed to turn around or find another way to the road.

Matter of fact we had to take off the shovel to pass under the low bridge and that is when I heard something deep and rumbling in the distance.

As soon as Martín gets to the top of the embankment he shouts "Ahh Dad you might want to back up a ways" and that is when I see this thing rolling along. This was also a good time to talk about how you never race a train to a railroad crossing, big guy always wins.

 

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We ventured a bit farther from the Mojave Road to check out the Kelso Depot, lots of great history in this place and the cafe inside makes amazing shakes. Very much worth a stop so the kids can learn a bit, make use of the restrooms and cool off with some food & desert.

But the dirt was calling and before long we were back at it....and all I can say about the next section was washboard & whoops....and whoops...and whoops and please make the whoops stop!

 

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I tried to get a pic of the whoops but it just wasn't something that translates into images...but let me tell you that if you go please make sure to strap all your gear down because if not your rig will be trail repacked if you want it or not

Before long we came to the mailbox and entering our info into the log book. It was fun to flip back and look at what other folks had written and to check out all the stickers on the box, post and flagpole. Oh and if any of you reading this plan to travel the Mojave Road soon please take a US Flag as the one out there is getting pretty ragged.

We camped along Willow Wash and it was nice, but nothing worth taking a pic over. The full moon was amazing and light is cast really gave the desert a mystic quality.

Our final day brought us across Soda Lake to the Travelers Monument. Soda Lake was the one thing I was really concerned about as I had seen plenty of pics of stuck rigs and read enough trip reports to know things could get ugly.
Lucky for us there was water & mud on the sides of the track but nothing to bother us on the track itself. I kept a moderate speed and a careful eye just in case but we didn't have any issues.

 

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The railroad bridge that marks the start of Afton Canyon was a nice place to stop and enjoy some shade. Not to mention look at the high water marks from previous flash floods. Makes you really want to know the area weather before going out to play in the desert.

But for us this was the deepest water we dealt with. Not even enough to clean off the tires

The only thing we missed was the caves I had seen in other folks trips reports, so that at least gives us a reason to go back. Maybe with a group although the dust could be brutal I imagine with a few rigs.

All in all it was a great Father & Son outing, weather was excellent, laughter and conversation aplenty and new fond memories were made. This is why we go play in the dirt after all.