Reasons 4667 - 4946

Our journey out of the valley of the desert cities of La Quinta and Palm Springs was ridiculously hard work, and it was only the beginning of a week of lengthy climbs. From La Quinta we rolled through the town of Mecca and actually lost elevation, dropping down to 180ft below sea level. We climbed our way through Box Canyon where we stopped for lunch in the shade of one of the cliff faces on either side of the road. We steadily climbed for hours, eventually making our way to the Cottonwood Springs Visitor Centre in Joshua Tree National Park around sunset. Cottonwood Springs is around 3,000ft in elevation, every foot of which we climbed through the day.

Just outside Mecca, before Box Canyon.

Our stay at the Cottonwood Springs campground was fun. We set up camp and quickly ate so that we would could rush to the campground’s amphitheater. Ranger Robb Hanawacker gave a humorous and informative geological talk called Tectonic Shuffle. Both Collin and I earned ‘Be Desert Smart’ stickers for answering questions correctly.

It actually gets pretty chilly at night in the desert.

We continued through Joshua Tree National Park to the Belle Campground, losing hundreds and hundreds of feet of elevation and then regaining them, and some more by the end of the day.

The next day we stopped in Twenty-nine Palms to use the internet at the public library and get groceries before climbing some more desert mountain ranges. We headed East and then North to Sheep Hole Pass. The view was truly incredible as we ripped down miles of descending highway into an expansive valley.

The two of us wild camped just off the highway about eight miles South of the town of Amboy. We had hoped to get some breakfast at Roy’s Motel and Café in Amboy in the morning. When we arrived we found that motel is defunct, the kitchen is closed and there is asbestos in the ceiling. We brought our own food into the diner and sat at the counter to eat. Amboy used to be a bustling, little town that was known for being a classic rest stop on Route 66. But, with the development of the more modern Interstate 40 Amboy has become a ghost town. We asked the owner of Roy’s how many people now lived in Amboy. He replied that there were eight people, but that was seven too many for him.

We continued from Amboy through the long slopes and desert shrubbery towards where the Interstate 40 borders the Mohave National Preserve. After hours of steady climbing we took shelter for lunch in the shade of the interstate overpass. The two of us ate our canned goods and Clif Bars and I started to take a little nap, laying out on the cool pavement of the shoulder. After a time, a couple on motorcycles passed us and turned onto the on-ramp for the interstate. We heard an awful, loud sound. The smaller rider neglected to slow down enough going into the turn, skidded on the gravel and crashed into the heaps of sand in the ditch. The other rider came back to check on the smaller one. Collin called out to me that there was a crash, so I hopped up and the two of us ran over to lend any help we could offer.

When we arrived we found Mike attempting to help up Terri to no avail. Terri had twisted her leg in such a way that she hurt far too much to be able to stand up let alone get back on her motorcycle. Collin and I stayed with the couple as Terri sat and took a moment to just take in what had happened. Mike got a hold of Terri’s motorcycle and pulled it out of the ditch and stood it up. There was only minor, surface damage to the bike.

Over the next hour, we all did our best to comfort Terri, and get her up and sit her up on some hard packed sand. A highway patrol officer drove by and tried to insist on Terri being taken by ambulance. But, Mike, Terri, Collin and I thought it would be best if Collin and I stayed with Terri while Mike went to get their truck and trailer. We were pretty sure that Terri’s injury was fairly minor and did not need her to go to a hospital.

The truck and trailer were over a hundred miles away, parked at a hotel in Las Vegas, so Mike had a long way to go. It was around 2:30pm when Mike left and it took between five and six hours for him to go and come back. The sun sets here around 5pm right now, so that meant Collin, Terri and I were sitting in the dark in the middle of the desert for a few hours.

Terri smiling in spite of her pain.

Terri's motorcycle.

The three of us made the most of our time. Mike left a bottle of wine with us which Terri and Collin finished between the two of them. We didn’t have any cups, so they just passed the bottle back and forth. With so little light pollution, the stars were truly incredible. We all saw some shooting stars. What was particularly special about our time was our conversation. The three of us chatted on, nearly non-stop for several hours about our home lives and families.

Mike and Terri are from Hope, British Columbia and have three, adult children. Terri told us the story of how she and Mike met and some of her favourite things about her husband. Then she continued into telling us about her children’s fantastic exploits as part of the crew of the television show, Survivor. All three kids have worked for the Dream Team that is responsible for designing, building and testing all the challenges on the show. Terri is extremely pleased and proud of her kids with due cause. They all have fantastic work ethic and have been hired on past the typical duration of crew for the show.

Terri shared with us about how she and Mike had the chance to visit their kids near the set of the show in Nicaragua. They were invited to a couple special celebrations for the crew and actually got to meet the host, Jeff Probst. I’ve always wondered at the true character of Jeff while watching the show. He always seems to have insightful comments and perceptive questions for the contestants. Mike and Terri’s impression of Jeff was really great. Jeff freely offered keen observations of Mike and Terri’s kids even though they are part of a crew of a couple hundred people. One night, when it was pouring rain, Mike and Terri were walking back to their hotel and Jeff pulled over in his SUV to offer them a ride. The three of them had a quality interaction that ended in Jeff hugging them both and offering Terri his Survivor cap that he wore on the show. When Terri told us the story, she reached into her backpack and pulled out the same cap and let us see it. Both Collin were super astounded and excited.

Terri, Collin and I shared all sorts of thoughts and stories until Mike finally came back with the truck, trailer and some McDonald’s. We loaded up Terri, her motorcycle and our bikes, and Mike drove us to Kelso where we had originally intended to camp that night. Mike and Terri offered us a very heartfelt thanks and goodbye. Before they left, with watered-up eyes, Terri thanked us again and reached into her back and gave me Jeff Probst’s hat. Then she gave Collin a Survivor buff and crew hat. My mind is still totally blown that she so freely gave us those generous gifts. We are very thankful to have met such incredible, generous, lovely people even though it was through those awful circumstances. We wild camped just outside Kelso. In the morning, we went into town and checked out the Mohave National Preserve Visitor Centre.

We climbed, descended, climbed and descended again on our way to Primm. Primm is right on the California-Nevada border. That night, we rolled our fully loaded bikes through the lobby, casino and onto the elevator of Whiskey Pete’s. We got a lot of funny looks from all the rough Ironworkers chain-smoking and gambling.