Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Heading West From Yuma

A taste of the Sahara just west of Yuma. There were sections that had permanent sprinkler systems wetting down the sand to prevent drifting over the highway. This is a huge recreational area for dune buggies and other ATV's. Every 24 hours the landscape is renewed by the constant wind and drifting sand. The early settlers had to build wooden roads over this area to navigate the soft sand.
The Salton Sea. A huge body of salt water that is teaming with fish. It is a bird sanctuary and nature preserve today. The light coloured drifts are mounds of barnacle shells.
This is a small taste of the thousands of wind generators on the corridor from Palm Springs to LA. I have other pictures that show what a blight they are on the landscape.
Entering the Mojave Desert. The stark beauty is appealing in the winter.
A very long train on the horizon, 11 diesel engines to haul containers across the flat desert. We noted that all the containers were COSCO. (Chinese Overseas Shipping Company) Probably to stock the WalMarts and Dollar Tree stores that dot the landscape.

1 comment:

poof said...

Hey! I saw that tree! I saw those windmills! Next time we really should carpool and save gas, you know.