Isn't that dangerous?

Death Valley NP.

In Death Valley, I finally got some relief from the cold weather. It seemed pretty cold for the hottest place on earth, but I could take off my 2nd pair of socks and wool long sleeve!

I struggled to take decent pictures of Death Valley. Much of what makes the park so impressive is the vast emptiness, long sight lines, flatness, and surrounding mountains. The quiet stillness. Everything is just on a huge scale.

Death Valley NP.

Death Valley NP. This rock looked like when I bite the block of cheese.

On the southern tip of the park.

The hills rise up from the flat valley floor.

After Death Valley, I started seeing these wild gourd things everywhere. Cut one open and licked it. Supremely bitter.

Next, I entered the Mojave National Preserve. There is a paved road which goes right through the preserve. It was closed, and I took the small back roads.

Many of the small back roads were very sandy, steep, rocky, and/or had washboard.

The rough roads made for slow biking. The preserve seemed to be a big destination for overlanders/off-roaders/jeeps, probably because of the challenging roads.

Here is where the dirt road crossed the paved road. Maybe you can see why the paved road was closed.

Lava tube in the preserve. Very cool!

This Joshua Tree had been burned in a fire.

In the south end of the preserve there were sand dunes! So fun to hike around on.

Grass+wind+sand makes nice concentric circles.

At the top of the dune I chatted with Alex (son, a bit older than me) and Lisa (mother) and Stephen (father). They invited me to come stay with them in Twentynine Palms! 

Lower on the ridgeline is Lisa. Up higher on the ridgeline is Alex.

Two days later, I arrived at their Twentynine Palms house.

We drove into Joshua Tree National Park and they showed me around. Alex and I climbed in, on, and around the spectacular, bizarre rock formations. It's a playground.

The next day I didn't ride my bike at all. We drove to the park again and Alex and I did some more rock climbing. With a rope this time.

Approaching the climb in Rattlesnake Canyon took several hours.

Alex checking mountainproject.com.

Maybe it wasn't exactly a rest day, but it was nice to get different exercise.

I actually had a great time getting to know Alex, Lisa, and Stephen.

I tend to think that the universe is deterministic, and there's actually no free will. Alex told me about the concept of causal closure. As I understand it, causal closure basically means that everything happens for a reason. Events don't just occur spontaneously. But perhaps there is actually no causal closure! Maybe it's possible for events to occur with no cause at all!

Steven was an engineer who tried to make big stealthy things like submarines even stealthier. Specifically, by making them quieter to their surroundings.

Lisa was a real estate agent. She likes old houses specifically. Her and I talked about some of the ways that families can be difficult, bar stools, and the Book of Revelation. I haven't read Book of Revelation, but Lisa told me that she thinks it can be interpreted in many different ways. More so than other books of the bible, even.

The next morning Alex and Steven accompanied me through the park for a while. Sad to say goodbye, but glad to be riding again.

The Saltan Sea is a large body of water In Southern California. It's actually landlocked, a few hundred feet below sea level, and it's salty. There are lots of migrating birds, and the whole area smells like minerals.

Near the southeast end of the Saltan Sea is Slab City, an "alternative living community" (I don't know what else to call it). It's on State of California land, and is occupied by some permanent residents. Mostly in RVs. There is a hostel, gift shop, library, and an outside art museum. I saw one sign advertising cool drinks and Narcan.

Slab City signage.

Slab City cat, in the Slab City Library.

"Salvation Mountain" in Slab City.

There is a lot of geothermal activity around the Saltan Sea. Power plants, hot springs, and this bubbling mud volcano on the side of the road.

There are also lots of date palms around the Saltan Sea.

This store specialized in dates. It reminded me of the scene in Forrest Gump where Bubba is listing all the ways to prepare shrimp.

Here's what I got at the date store. The drink is a date shake. Basically a date milkshake. Really good!

Date on biscuit. Good, but would be better with cheese. 

There are different sorts of palm tree and I don't know what sort this one is. But it's big.

On December 25th it was sunny, with a high around 80F (27C). Now I'm 23. 

December 27th, 2022:

I'm currently in Borrego Springs, CA waiting for a package to arrive with some new bike tires I ordered.

The plan is to cross into Mexico at Tecate, a couple days from now.

Often the first thing people ask when I tell them I'm trying to bike to South America is isn't that dangerous? I don't really know how to respond. I'm sure there are risks involved. Perhaps those of us with less economic stability in our lives are more likely to resort to violence. Especially when law enforcement is corrupt and/or insufficient. 

And yet, many parts of my home state seem ridden with the poverty that people warn me of encountering abroad. Yesterday I saw a headline discussing a shooting within a mile of where I began this trip. A coworker of a friend was stabbed in the downtown of where I'm from this year. In my hometown, sprawling tarp encampments, plastic fires, and discarded needles are not noteworthy. I've ridden past people masturbating along the bike path in our state capitol. But I have no hesitation or fear of traveling in Oregon. 

Perhaps I'm naive of how bad it could really be. Either way, people's warnings have gotten to me. Admittedly I'm afraid of traveling in Mexico and Central America.

If I am kidnapped, does that prove that it's dangerous? If I travel with no issue, does that prove that it's safe?

Southern California has been wonderful for bike touring. I think it's the perfect time of year. There's more people, more sand, more palms, and more places to resupply than in Nevada. I highly recommend it.