Day Nine: Devil's Punchbowl and the Mormon Hills

The little dog ended up peeing twice in bed next to me.  Zeke slept on the floor by the door and avoided her, but neither dog got aggressive toward the other one.

I was out the door and on the road by 10am.  My goal was to get to Yuma and the Arizona border by the end of today.

It was still cool and overcast as I continued on CA-138 to I-10, driving the same route in reverse.  I had seen a sign for The Devil's Punchbowl east of Palmdale, and I made that my first stop.  The trailhead is eight miles south of CA-138.  It's in the Angeles National Forest but it's run by the BLM.  Admission is free.

I parked in the shade to keep the dog I named Mattie cool and walked in with Zeke.  The official parking area was overflowing and we had to park on the road.  The place was busy and I was curious to see why.

The Punchbowl is a tilted sedimentary rock formation at 4750' on the north end of the San Gabriel Mountains.  It's managed by Los Angeles County. There is a mile-long trail to the bottom of the bowl which then climbs up and back to the visitor's center.  Dogs are allowed here, and there were plenty of them.  People can also go off trail and climb the big rocks, or get lost in the big boulders.  I would have explored more but I made this a short, quick exploration.  There are other trails that lead south from the horse trail to go into the higher back country.  This would be an area I'd like to explore more!

A creek was running in the bottom of the bowl.  What a pretty area this is! Pinyon pine, juniper and desert chaparral provide shade.

I was only here 50 minutes and hiked under two miles.  Little Mattie was waiting for us when we got back to the Honda, jumping with joy against the window and leaving trails of snot on the window.  She certainly is a loving little dog, and she looks much better after last night's bath.

My next short stop was to the Mormon Rocks, east of the Punchbowl on CA-138.  I noticed these big boulders the last time I was here.  (What I didn't notice was all the trash in the parking lot!) There doesn't seem to be a designated trail to the top of these boulders.  People park across the street from the forest ranger station and explore.  By now I was tired, managed a short mile, and drove on.  It was early afternoon and I was getting hungry.

Once I got on I-10, the feeling that my spring break was coming to an end hit me.  Traffic in both directions on the interstate was back-to-back (but at least moving).  I stopped at a McD's for a quick meal, getting 20 chicken nuggets which went to the dogs.  Zeke likes those things and Mattie managed eating one.  She had vomitted twice on the drive toward Arizona but ate the nugget with ravenous enthusiasm.

I thought about stopping at Chiriaco summit but this time opted to make Yuma my destination, cutting southeast on CA86.  The hills here were finally looking dry.  Gone now were the lush green hills. I missed my turn-off to CA-111 which would have taken me to the eastern shore of this lake.  I could tell from the road that the lake was finally full of water.  I didn't stop to explore, though.  Traffic was going smoothly and I didn't want to spoil that. Traffic was smooth across the Imperial Valley all the way into Yuma.

I made it to Yuma after dark.  Now I was hungry, but wanted to walk some more and get my four miles in.  The historic downtown area has been revised since my last visit here in 2013 with Eric.  And there's even a brewpub in town, the Prison Hill Brewery, in honor of the Territorial prison in town that opened in 1876 and operated for 33 years. Only 3069 prisoners, including 29 women, served time here. (The prison is worth a visit.  Now a state park, it's been remodeled to resemble its old design, rebuilt as a museum to demonstrate injustice at the time.) The great-grandfather of the founder of this place served some time here for petty theft.  There are historic photographs of the old territorial prison.  I was impressed with this place.  At 8:30pm the place was busy!  I sat at the counter and had my two pints of wheat beer.  Both were quite good.  I'd have eaten here had I known about this place.  I shouted out with excitement when my bill for two beers was only $12.  People looked at me funny.  "No, really," I explained, "I was in California for this past week and you can't get a beer for under eight bucks!"

Yuma has morphed into a nice walking town.  I need to spend more time here on my next drive to California.  Kevin and I explored the town ten years ago, but we don't remember Yuma offering much for travelers then.  Now the riverside walking trail has been extended, old buildings torn down and new developments have taken over the small downtown area.  I explored the rivertrail with Minnie and Sadie a few years ago.  Walk north along the Colorado river (which here in Yuma resembles more a creek than a river to Midwestern standards) and you eventually come to agricultural fields.  The trail in town is well-lighted.  I walked around with Zeke for two plus miles to get my daily quota in, then drove to the east side of town to car camp.

There is an area off the Colorado River, Mittry Lake, that one can camp at for free. It's 12 miles north of Yuma on US95 and just south of the USMC Yuma Proving Grounds.  It's managed by the BLM. One can wake up to the sound of waterfowl and walk along the dirt road.  It's first come, first serve, but I figured the campsites were already crowded.  I was too tired to drive that far in the dark, but I will make sure I make this area my destination the next time I drive to California.  Yuma has become a wonderful destination for travelers as the town has plenty of good restaurants.  Gasoline is 80 cents cheaper a gallon than in California. It's a nicer stop than Quartzsite on I-10.

I slept soundly.  Mattie never came to the back of the car to snuggle with me.  That's OK as I didn't want to get peed on again, and Zeke cautiously slept on the driver's seat.