Day 38 Th. May 10, 2018 “Back Road” to Needles, CA from Phoenix, AZ. (With a science lesson)

 Now don’t get me wrong. By the ‘back road’ I mean not the Freeway or a direct route.  Looking at the map,...)I DID NOT SAY ‘APP’)... is always a good thing to do before starting out. I noticed that if we cut across the desert to Parker along the Colorado R. , we would save about 100 miles as opposed to driving I-10 and US 95, the well travelled route. So we did take that route. We left I-10 out of Phoenix at exit 45  and took route AZ 45 north to Vicksburg, about 12 miles. There was a huge ‘agricultural conglomerate there, that covered land as far as we could see.

"Located about 100 miles southwest of Phoenix under a pristine mountain landscape sits Vicksburg Ranch. The family-owned farm in the small town of Salome, Ariz. incorporates high-level technology for production of hay products and melons, while maintaining a personal approach and careful attention to our crops.
At 5,000 acres, Vicksburg produces alfalfa, Pima cotton, cantaloupes, honeydew and watermelons. Thanks to 95% of harvesting, cooling and maintenance done within a 50-square-mile area, we take pride and joy in our produce with guaranteed freshness.

NB. There is a great controversy brewing there , however, as the Saudis have invested in this land and water use rights are now a big issue.
 Also...

"Saudi Arabia's largest dairy company will soon be unable to farm alfalfa in its own parched country to feed its 170,000 cows. So it's turning to an unlikely place to grow the water-chugging crop — the drought-stricken American Southwest.

Almarai Co. bought land in January that roughly doubled its holdings in California's Palo Verde Valley, an area that enjoys first dibs on water from the Colorado River. The company also acquired a large tract near Vicksburg, Ariz., becoming a powerful economic force in a region that has fewer well-pumping restrictions than other parts of the state."

Then we drove  NW on AZ 72  through the Plomos and Harcuvar  Mtns.  enroute to Parker  on the Colorado River.

the Pass between the Plomos and Harcuvar Mountains

More of the Mountain tops

And more mountains.

Love the up and down to the road. Many water warnings!

There are at least 4 cactus types in this photo. Wooly Bear (many) Ocotillo, Teddy Bear Cholla and Buckhorn.

The temps rose again to over 100F, by the time we arrived at the Marina RV Park on the Colorado River at Needles.  By 5:00 PM it had reached  106F.

The mountains as we moved NW were closer together and  more rugged, rather than the smooth ones we had seen further south. It really doesn’t make much difference in latitude or height, as they all seem quite devoid of plant life except the cactus and a few green plants like the creosote and some flowering shrubs. The cactus have a very unique metabolic system that allows them to close their ‘stoma’ during the day and take in the good juices at night , thereby saving the water that can be used for growth. See the accompanying diagrams for a pictorial view of this phenomena. There are some other desert plants that have survived using that  system as well. The nightime system is on the left and the daytime on the right! You can find more detail if necessary.








 Ruth really didn’t want to use the stove, but already decided to do some eggs and ham. Sounds great and it was! The temp  inside trailer temp has dropped since we put on the A/C from 98F  to 88F.  Still hot but tolerable.

I walked down to the marina which is adjacent to the Colorado River here to watch the “”boat rescue” boats putting into the water. They run a rescues service out of here much like a AAA service for cars. The big lake a few miles up stream is Lake Mead. Center of boating and holiday activities. Bullhead City is there.  Actually the guy  with the boat  was  testing the engine as he had just worked on it and wanted to see if it performed well. See size of engine.

The rescue boat in the Marina near Lake Mead

Love those "wavy" roads.

One of the original stops on Route 66

Proof on a building

The Marina with the Colorado River at the opening

We weren't alone in the Campground, but almost!

This is short today but it was mostly mountain and desert.  Tomorrow much of the same as we travel through Barstow to get to Bakersfield.  Another one nighter!