From cacti to fruit trees…

We picked about a hundred oranges!

WINDING DOWN.  We’re winding down our Great American Adventure. Our journey has been about the places we’ve seen, the people we’ve met and the surprising, quirky, and serendipitous things that have happened.  As we depart Laughlin, we’ve set our sights on Oregon, but first we must cross the Mojave Desert.  It’s the driest in North America and occupies about 48,000 acres, mostly in Arizona, Nevada and Southern California. Its boundaries are generally noted by the presence of Joshua trees, which are native only to the Mojave Desert and are considered an indicator species. Our route leads us through the central part of the desert, which is desolate, sparsely populated and a rather lonely place. There are, however, myriad little communities nestled in this vast expanse…places worthy of exploring if you want to “get your kicks on Route 66.” Our first stop is always at Ludlow. Ever heard of it? Ever been there? Here’s what you can expect.

Joshua trees like this one define the area.

LUDLOW, CALIFORNIA. Ludlow isn’t a city or even a town. It’s a tiny community consisting of a gas station, about a dozen dusty little homes scattered around the area and the Ludlow Cafe, where we’ve stopped en route to Laughlin and back to San Diego for the last forty years. The food is good, the coffee is strong and the servers have all been here for years, chatting with travelers and truckers as if they’d known them forever. Nothing’s changed at the Cafe, nor do I suspect it ever will. It’s located on Historic Route 66, just a half mile from Highway 40, the freeway which has made the community all but obsolete, except to history buffs. Until 1988 the telephones in Ludlow had no dials and you waited for the operator to pick up the line before you could place a call. When calling into Ludlow, an operator was needed to ring the phones. They were “Ludlow 1, 2 and 3. Each location had to listen for ring distinctive to its location.

Ludlow is a tiny community located along Historic Route 66, about a mile from the middle of nowhere.

We’ve stopped at this little cafe en route to the Colorado River dozens of times during the last 40 years. Not a thing has changed. The soft drinks are ice cold, the chili is “world famous” and the same cheap Route 66 trinkets are for sale. Americana at its best. 

HINKLEY, CALIFORNIA. The next little town of interest is Hinkley, California, also located smack dab in the middle of nowhere in the Majave Desert and about an hour’s drive from Ludlow. You’ll remember Hinkley as the town where Erin Brockovich, working for attorney Ed Masry, fought against the giant energy corporation Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E).  The film is a dramatization of the true story of Erin Borckovich, portrayed by Julia Roberts.  It’s a fascinating case study on how a tenacious attitude, street smarts, and an ability to talk to people as though you’ve known them your whole life—with a not so subtle flash of cleavage—can allow you do accomplish pretty much anything you want. What better change is there than giving those without faith or hope the means to survive with dignity? The film was a box office success, and one of my personal favorites of all time. I’ve probably watched it a dozen times. How about you? The town Erin rescued is basically a ghost town today, but it’s always fun to visit when driving across the desert.

Julia Roberts at her best!

PG&E Operations in Hinkley. There’s still hexavalent chromium in the water, the town’s houses are being knocked down, and the only place to buy beer is about to close.

Erin Brockovich exposed the chromium in Hinkley’s drinking water and allowed attorney Ed Masry to obtain a 333 million dollar settlement for the victims of exposure there. Many had died or suffered as a result of the contaminated water supply in the tiny community. The plaintiff’s lawyers did their homework. They weren’t afraid to take on a monstrous case requiring mountains of work. They fearlessly took on the biggest publicly owned utility in the world and shook it so hard the company had no choice but to write the big check.

When Erin was able to talk her way into the Water District offices to examine the secret files which proved that there were contaminants, she had to persuade the young man at the desk to allow her entrance. With her low cut dress and a wink of the eye, she was given access. Amazed at her ability to get the records, her attorney-boss asked her how she’d done it and her response was the now-famous quip, “They’re called boobs, Ed.”

From the movie “Erin Brockovich.” Watch the three minute video clip until the very end. 

BORON, CALIFORNIA. Our next stop is Boron, California. It’s nothing more than a hinterland community on the western edge of the Mojave Desert. Within a half day’s drive one can view the highest and lowest points in the contiguous 48 states of the country: Mount Whitney and Death Valley, and also Los Angeles and Las Vegas, Nevada. Boron is home to the U.S. Borax Boron Mine, California’s largest open-pit mine which is also the largest borax mine in the world. Twenty-mule teams, eighteen miles and two horses attached to large wagons, ferried borax in the area from 1883 to 1889. They traveled across the desert to the nearest railroad spur, some 165 miles distant. Do you remember the 20 Mule Team Borax ads on TV? And the TV show itself?

Boron: The Borax Capital of the World.

The open pit borax mine in Boron, California.

Re-enactment of the 20 mule team borax operation from the 1800’s, at the community at Boron, California.

WHERE AMERICA’S FOOD IS GROWN. Next we enter California’s central valley, “where America’s food is grown.” It is California’s single most productive agricultural region and one of the most productive in the world, providing more than half of the fruits, vegetables and nuts grown in the United States. More than 7 million acres of the valley are irrigated via an extensive system of reservoirs and canals. The valley also has many major cities, including the state capital Sacramento as well as Stockton, Modesto and Bakersfield.

We stayed for a couple of nights at Orange Grove RV Park, nestled in an actual Orange Grove. One perk of staying there was that we could pick all the oranges we wanted. They were really sweet!

The oranges we picked were about the best I’ve ever tasted. We probably picked a hundred of them and ended up giving some away to some fellow travelers down the road.

Orange Grove RV Park is situated in an actual orange grove and orchard operation.

An almond orchard in one of California’s farming areas in the central valley. 

I think the white blossoms are on the almond trees and the pink ones on peach trees.

We’re parked by this orchard, waiting for the weather to clear over the Siskiyou Pass so we can safely drive into Oregon. Notice the difference in the fruit trees…we’re lots farther north and it’s cold up here!

WE’LL JUST HANG OUT HERE. Until the weather clears and the summit is passable, we’ll just hang out here. More pictures will be coming soon and  we hope you’ll join us again then!

OREGON OR BUST

I’ll continue my story next time.