Day Two Antelope Valley west of Lancaster, CA

I was up at 6:20am to walk the half-mile to the Joshua Tree National Park boundary.  I wanted to catch the rising sun on the various cacti.  No Joshua trees grow here (they are on the north end of the park), but there are plenty of other cacti that grow here.  Since dogs aren't allowed in the park, I only walked to the park boundary.  From there there are plenty of flora to photograph.  I walked past two sets of campers that were set up with chairs and campfires.

I didn't stay long.  There weren't as many flowers in bloom as two years ago.  I walked 1.7 miles and then ate a quick breakfast at the Chiriaco Cafe.  The people who own the cafe also own the truck stop, George Patton museum and the campground.  I like to frequent their business since they offer the campsite for free.

It was 8:35am when I finally drove off, continuing on I-10 to I-210, then turning north on I-215 and then I-15 before turning off on CA 138 to bypass the Los Angeles area.  Traffic was fine until I got on I-15 and everything became a "slow down."

The route didn't look familiar.  I had driven a bypass route along the northern Angeles forest, but never drove into the towns.  This slowed me down.  Palmdale and Lancaster are old farming towns and the route into town is littered with sickly Joshua trees and old Korean settlements. This didn't look familiar.  I was going in the right direction and made the best of the route.

The big discovery was the Antelope Valley OTV area off CA 138.  I pulled over here to pee and instead saw a rocky outcropping on a hill that caught my interest.  I figured I'd walk to the rocks and back for a quick leg stretcher.  This leg stretcher ended up being 4.5 miles over a ridge trail and then down along a creek.  I could hear ATVs and motorcross bikes in the distance.

The walk up to the rocks was a mere half-mile.  As I approached the rocks, I could see bird shit near a ledge.  A Great Horned Owl flew out of the ledge so I approached the area, saw the nest, and eventually saw two eyes stare at me.  Those eyes looked like angry cat eyes, but it was an owl guarding its nest.  Whoa!  I've never been this close to an owl before, and had no intention of angering it, so I walked away.  When I crested the hill I saw the path continue to another hill with what looked like a monument.  I made that monument my destination, only to want to see what it was.

I was tracking my route.  None of the trails had names, but I could tell this was a popular off road area.  There were few trees here. I stayed on the ridgeline, in the gusty wind (which was forecasted for all of southern California today).  The sky was clear and the sun was warm, but that wind brought a chill!

When I got to what I thought was a monument, I was disappointed.  It was no monument.  It was what looked like an old weather vane.  It still made for a nice hike destination.  I took a windy selfie and then hiked the steep east slope down to a pond where Zeke refreshed himself.  Sadly, that pond was littered with trash: broken beer bottles being the biggest culprit.

Poppies were now visible in clusters along the hillsides.  I followed a small creek that is most likely a seasonal creek, looped around the hill I started out on, and was back at my Honda two hours later.  What a nice treat this was!  Turned out this area is known for its poppies as there's a poppy preserve a mile west of where I parked.

 

This hike was a nice diversion.  Most hiking trails in southern California are fee trails of $5/day, and  you can't even buy a pass at the trailhead.  Instead, passes are available in certain stores or at the ranger station during normal operating hours.  This OTV site was thus a godsend, providing scenic views at no cost.

I continued on my route on CA 138 to I-5, then taking a CA route to Paso Robles.  I was still four hours away from Karen's place in Watsonville.  I have always enjoyed driving on US101 as long as there are no traffic jams here, as the route follows a narrow valley on the eastern edges of the Santa Lucia hills.  I got to Karen's place in Watsonville shortly after 9pm.  We were up a few more hours before retiring.  She's still in her small place of eight years ago, when I brought young Sadie along.  She lives in a 600 square foot cabin shaded by eucalyptus trees, with narrow views into the nearby canyons.  It's a quiet, quaint place she has decorated with her photography.