WIND, TEA KETTLES AND FLOWERS ON STRIKE…

Lava Rock
Death Valley

With an early morning hasta la vista to Chula Vista we head north.  Our plan is to see how far we get, with a goal to be in Death Valley the following day.  Traffic is light so we keep going and get to Death Valley in the early afternoon.  Arriving at the Furnace Creek campground we discover that the space we reserved is still occupied, but the Ranger remembers us and offers another space that we gladly accept. We check the map and son of a gun if it isn’t the same spot we were in last December.  Now this just feels like home!

In less than an hour we are set up and walk over to the visitor’s center to check the schedule of ranger talks for the week and check their weather station.  Good news: there are a number of ranger talks on new subjects – (cool.)  Bad News:  winds will be hitting up to 65-70 mph in the next 2 days – (argh.)

Taking advantage of the calm before the storm we head up to the Furnace Creek Inn for a cocktail and to see if our favorite bar tender, is still there.  Unfortunately, she transferred to another park two weeks ago.  However our waitress recognizes us and we have a fun time catching up.  After one cocktail we decide to head down to the Corkscrew Saloon for the one dish worth ordering in Death Valley; Dante’s Pizza… a bit of thin crust heaven with extra chorizo & jalapenos. (Mouth burning heaven for us, or hell for those with sensitive taste buds.)

Dust Storm at Mesquite Flats Dunes

We get up early the next morning and drive up to Dante’s View, the wind isn’t too strong but a dusty haze obscures the landscape.  We drive out to the mesquite dunes.  The wind is picking up and sand is billowing and drifting across the road. Not too fun and certainly not weather to spend out of doors taking lots of pictures and the gusts are really picking up moment by moment.  So we head back and hunker down.

Once the winds subside we are ready to venture out.  This time of year usually draws hundreds of tourists to view the spectacular desert wild flowers and cactus blooms.  But this year the plants are on strike.  Seems the flowering plants are protesting cut backs in water and general climate change.  This coupled with the high winds leaves very few specimens but we are able to find and photograph some. 

Wild flowers

Wind Blown Wild Flower

Desert wild flower
& pollinator

Teakettle Junction

Starting early morning driving past the Ubehebe Crater we take a dirt road that leads to the racetrack. We stop at the quirky roadside attractions, Teakettle Junction. It’s located at the junction of two dirt roads neither of which leads to anything explaining the name.  The origin of its name is lost to history but its legacy lives on with ever-changing teakettles. Last December we passed the junction twice and were disappointed that there were no teakettles the first time and one teakettle and a watering can the second.  Visitors since that time have replenished the supply and we added our kettle to the mix.

www.daveanddimples.com

Wildrose Charcoal Kilns

We continue on the little used dirt road to Hunter Mountain, and down Saline Road to Panamint Springs through desert with budding yuccas and over higher passes through pinion pine forests.  From Panamint Springs we take the Wildrose cutoff to the Wildrose Charcoal Kilns. The charcoal kilns complex in Wildrose Canyon is among the more remarkable historical-architectural features of Death Valley National Park. These ten beehive shaped stone structures, about 25 feet high, are believed to be the best known surviving example of such kilns to be found in the western states.

Mesquite Flat Dunes

Our last stop is the Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes.  The dunes freshly sculptured by the recent windstorm in the late afternoon light make for some great photo ops. All in all we complete a 200-mile loop with 70 plus miles of dirt roads through some of the more remote areas of the park with spectacular scenery. 

Touring off road in Death Valley without accurate maps can be dangerous.  (They don’t call it Death Valley for nothing.) Thanks to the National Parks Maps HD app by NationalGeographic we are able to navigate the unmarked dirt roads crisscrossing the desert and mountains with confidence. 

Now for our unsolicited testimonial:  With downloadable (when we have internet connections) detailed topographical maps for 20 of the top National Parks this app gives us accurate GPS positioning when we’re off the beaten track without cell service or internet.  So far we have used this app on our iPhones when hiking and iPads when driving in Yellowstone, The Arches and Death Valley.  At only $3.99 this is a Dave and Dimples top pick tool for select National Park adventure travel. 

Death Valley is beautiful (as usual) but we can’t dilly dally here for long… So it's onto Reno to visit some family.... We need to continue on northward…
k

ADVENTURES WITH DAVE AND DIMPLES VOL 1.32

CACTI, ROSES, CHERRY BLOSSOMS and more…

Shells on the Beach

We call Chula Vista home for two months.  This is our longest stay in any one location since we started on this adventure.  You know what they say, “location…location…location” and weather doesn’t suck either! So we kick back and wait for spring.  Of course while waiting we explore more and expand our experiences.

Visiting Balboa Park  is one of our favorite pastimes and full of surprises.  There is always something going on. (One afternoon we followed signs and sounds and were able to sit in on a rehearsal of the San Diego Youth Symphony.)

Cherry Blossoms

The two-acre Japanese Friendship Garden originated as a teahouse during the 1915–16 Panama-California Exposition. Along the Garden’s winding paths is a Zen garden for meditation, an exhibit house, koi pond, bonsai exhibit, ceremonial gate, and a Fujidana  (wisteria arbor).  We are fortunate and visit the garden on the day of the annual Cherry Blossom Festival. The garden is packed with folks viewing the blossoms while enjoying culinary treats, dancing, music and Japanese culture.

The Spanish Village Art Center is home to  San Diego County's largest community of artists. We spend a pleasant afternoon exploring the thirty-seven working artist studios/galleries that host over two hundred local painters, sculptors, metal smiths, jewelry designers, clay artists, gourd artists, photographers, printmakers, fiber artists, basket weavers, mixed-media artists, glass artists, and more!

Blooming Cactus

Rose

TheDesert Garden  contains more than 1,300 plants, including cacti, succulents and drought-resistant plants from around the world, within its 2.5 acres. We are fortunate to catch the tail end of the peak blooming period. And if this isn’t pokey enough, adjacent is the stunning three-acre Inez Grant Parker Memorial Rose Garden; a thorny yet fragrant and colorful display of approximately 2,500 roses of nearly 200 varieties.

TheMuseum of Photographic Arts houses more than 7,000 works, representing the entire history of photography, its aesthetic movements, and technological advancements. A special exhibit UNSEEN: The Photographs of Jessica Lange  who maintained a career as a fine art photographer for nearly two decades, alongside her work as an actor. The works are cinematic and provocative. But as to be expected – photo taking not allowed!

Vampire Slayer Kit

TheSan Diego Air & Space Museum  is California’s Official Air and Space Museum and an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution.  The Museum houses a collection of historic aircraft and spacecraft from all over the world, including a working flying replica of Lindbergh's Spirit of St. Louis, the actual Apollo 9 Command Module spacecraft and the only real GPS satellite on display in the world. When we visit there is a special Ripley’s Believe it or Not exhibit.  How often can one say they saw the Apollo 9 spacecraft and a vintage vampire hunter kit under the same roof?

Bug

And then there’s the Natural History Museum (affectionately called the NAT.)  The permanent exhibits showcase the unique and bio-diverse southern California region.  The day of our visit it’s all about the bugs. Dr. Entomo's Palace of ExoticWonders is a real kick.   Now, this might be a bit traumatic for those afflicted with Entomophobia but for us, an old-fashioned circus sideshow with glow-in-the-dark scorpions and the world's largest bird-eating tarantula, is fascinating. The museum is also home to a state of the art Dolby 3D theatre where we view Bugs! 3D: A Rainforest Adventure  about the dramatic and savage lives of an Old World praying mantis, Hierodula and a beautiful butterfly, Papilio.
 We enjoy a second 3D  film The Last Reef about our oceans and an exhibit: On the Trail of Ansel Adams, Black and White Nature Photography.

And wait… there’s more…

Cheetah

30 miles north is The San Diego Zoo Safari Park, an expansive wildlife sanctuary that is home to more than 2,600 animals representing more than 300 species. Its renowned botanical collection represents 3,500 species and 1.5 million specimens. This beautiful preserve is dedicated to consumer education and breeding of endangered species.  We take a behind the scenes tour and see some of last Somali Wild Asses on the planet. (BTW these are of the equine variety, not anarchists or pirates.) In the afternoon we watch a cheetah run at 70 mph… yeah… so fast that the photos only show where she was… then there’s the baby Southern White Rhino… How cute is this??? <- click for video

Baby Rhino & Mom


 

Odd Companions

The Living Coast Discovery  center on the Sweetwater Marsh National Wildlife Refuge in Chula Vista, is the place to explore the amazing animals and plants that call this coastal region home.  Here we see Raptors munching on their rodent lunch, and aquariums full of local sea creatures and reptiles.

Our RV Park is located along the San Diego Bay Bike Route.  This is a 24-mile loop that circumnavigates the bay with a ferry ride to cross the open channel.  We don’t do the loop but ride around our end of the bay to Imperial Beach and Silver Strand State Beach.

IB Surfer

Surfhenge

Imperial Beach  (“IB” in local lingo) is the most southern beach city in California and a classic So Cal beach town. It’s full of great public art.  Here we watch locals fishing on the pier, inspect shells on the beach and stroll along the wetlands of the Tijuana estuary.  Looking further south we can see Mexico.

Our stay would not be complete without an evening spent bar hopping in San Diego’s historic Gaslamp Quarter. This 16 square-block neighborhood of side-by-side Victorian-era buildings and modern skyscrapers is a cosmopolitan playground, rich with cultural offerings: cinema, art galleries, symphony halls, concert venues, museums, fine dining, craft cocktails, live theatre, music and dancing. BTW the Gaslamp may be cosmopolitan, but we sip Bulleit Rye Manhattans ;^)

So that’s about it for this area… during this time we have also done some research and made plans for the summer… looks like Alaska is the place to be… so we pack up and start heading north… again…

THE ADVENTURES OF DAVE AND DIMPLES VOL 1.31

YACHTS, SHIPS AND WEAPONS OF WET DESTRUCTION…

The Luna

Strolling along San Diego's Embarcadero at the B Street/Broadway Pier. We come across a 377-foot long yacht, named Luna,.  A quick Google search reveals that the yacht is owned  owned by Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich and equipped with two helicopter pads, a pool, spa, medical center, hot tub, and a crew of 40. Maybe we can arrange a vacation home exchange – Mr. Abramovich could spend a week with Dave and Dimples and we could perchance test out the spa and  helicopter pads???   LOL

Star of India Rigging

B-39 

Back to reality… we continue on to the San Diego Maritime Museum, a world-class collection of historic ships and artifacts. The Star of India is the world’s oldest active sailing vessel. There are fascinating exhibits outlining the life of the sailors and passengers onboard.  Two submarines give us insight into cold war nautical life.  The Russian B-39 is down right Spartan and crudely constructed, which makes sense considering that;  if this sub ever deployed one of it’s nuclear torpedoes, the shock wave would have obliterated the sub.  The USS Dolphin by comparison is downright luxurious with lots of stainless steel and smooth surfaces.  The Steam yacht Medea takes us back to an age of elegance on the high seas and the steam ferryboat, The Berkeley presents commuting in style.

The Cabrillo National Monument is located at the entrance to San Diego Harbor on Point Loma. This is supposedly the place where, in 1542, the Portuguese explorer, Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo landed and “Gave the world California.”   There are tide pools, lighthouses and incredible views of the harbor and city skyline.   We watch a modern nuclear sub exiting the harbor. She slowly moves along the channel and out to sea.

Weapons of Wet Destruction

On the horizon we view the aircraft carrier, the USS Ronald Regan  returning from Washington State.  As the carrier enters the mouth of the harbor, the sailors stand at attention along the rail in their dress blue uniforms.  The flight deck is deck covered with the vehicles of Navy Sailors. At a cost of about $4.5 billion this is probably the world's most expensive parking lot. It may seem a bit odd, but this is actually a common occurrence for the Navy and a lot cheaper and easier than transporting the vehicles almost any other way.

USS Ronald Regan

For us San Diego harbor is a wonderful tourist location, but this is also a major Naval installation and the military industrial complex fuels 26% of the area economy.

Next up… more fun in the sun…

k

THE ADVENTURES OF DAVE AND DIMPLES VOL 1.30

URBAN DINING WITH AN OCEAN VIEW…

Urban Dining With
an Ocean View

The San Diego area is home to a plethora of casual and fine dining establishments and although it could be an interesting challenge to dine our way up and down the coast… realistically, neither our pocketbooks nor waistlines are up to the challenge. However, we make a concerted effort to experience and taste some of the local culinary offerings.  Since we are spending a couple of months in the area, we can stop first for cocktails and if our expectations are exceeded, return later for a meal.

There are two restaurants within walking from our home base: 

The Galley at the Chula Vista Marina is the place for casual dining.  Prices are not outrageous and in general the food is good, the ambiance outstanding and the service relaxed. They also have live music on the weekends. Our first night here we walk over for their Thursday night all you can eat fish and chips for $8.99. The servings are generous and we can’t even finish the first plate. Although not knock your socks off great, it’s decent for the price and we actually order the fish and chips for lunch a few weeks later.  We go back a few more times for lunch and breakfast.  Their Burgers are quite tasty, breakfast fare is pretty much the usual, ham, eggs, French toast, canned Corned beef hash.  For us this is convenience as opposed to fine dining.

The South Bay Fish and Grill offers more upscale dining a short walk south along the marina from the Galley.  Our first stop there we enjoy afternoon cocktails and appetizers.  Their SBF&G Platter of: Kung Pao Calamari, Ceviche and Crab Cake is outstanding and the martini’s pretty much perfect.  Our server is attentive but not overly so. Based on our lovely afternoon experience we return another time for dinner. This time, our server is harried and forgetful.  We are intrigued by some of the menu items and order the Calamari Rellenos, (a calamari steak stuffed with crab, cheese and pasilla chili.)  Although the calamari is tender, there is so little flavor in this dish we can’t help but feel a bit disappointed. 

Locrion-location-location

In the Seaport area Sally’s has three locations.  We stop by Sally’s on The Water for their tapas hour.  Their outdoor seating provides a wonderful view of the harbor and we can play “snarky fashion police” as the tourists and business folks from the nearby convention center stroll by. We enjoy Spring Rolls, clams and cocktails.  The food is tasty and obviously enhanced by the outdoor ambience.  Service is good but not outstanding. Overall, it’s just “nice” but not return worthy.  A decent place to spend a late afternoon after a morning of shopping and sightseeing.

The Fish Market on the waterfront next to the USS Midway offers up and down dining.  Up is fine and down is more casual far. There is also a retail counter to purchase fresh seafood to cook at home. The Top of the Market upstairs changes the menu daily based on what their boat brings in.  Views from the glass-enclosed patio are stunning and we enjoy a sunset dinner after a day playing tourist.  The oyster bar offers a multitude of bivalve varieties including our favorite Kusshi.  We start with a half dozen of these on the half shell, an order of their Oysters Rockefeller and a couple of Manhattans. For our main course, Chris orders a wonderful Ink Linguini With Sea Scallops & Prawns 
sweet peppers, baby shiitake mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, spinach, and Parmesan cream sauce. (This is super yummy!) I opt for the Oregon Dungeness-Crab Cioppino, with Clams, Mussels, Prawns, Fish, Scallops, and Linguini. (Generous portion of crab but heavy on the mussels. It’s really good but the best Cioppino IMO is still found sat Phil’s in Moss Landing, CA.) Portions are generous and we have leftovers for multiple meals back at Dimples. We finish with Tawny port, a Brule trio and a Russian Cream fruit concoction. Our server is prompt and friendly.  All in all it’s perfectly wonderful meal in a beautiful location.

We go back for lunch a few weeks later.  Kusshi oysters are not on this day’s menu so we opt for the Paradise Cove variety. (Good but not quite Kusshi.)  Their New England Clam Chowder is thick but not pasty and loaded with clams and just enough potatoes. The Trio of Smoked Fish appetizer falls short – the crostini are stale but the toppings excellent.  The Fish and Chips are really good, the fish is thick, juicy, lightly battered and fried to perfection.  Their Steamed clams in a light white wine garlic and butter sauce exceptional.  Desert is a disappointing key lime pie.  On our way out we stop at the retail counter and pick up smoked salmon and Albacore that we continue to enjoy in the following weeks.

Phallic Fiesta

Prado

The Prado inside the house of hospitality at Balboa Park is another two-visit restaurant.  Afternoon cocktails and spicy calamari fries encourage us to return for a full meal later...  Upon our return the Pressed Arugula Salad with strawberries, candied walnuts, asiago and a sherry-shallot vinaigrette is simply wonderful.  The grilled fish tacos come “deconstructed.” (A fancy-foodie- buzzword for DYI.)  The plate is loaded with perfectly grilled marinated mahi mahi, red cabbage-jicama slaw, mango-jalapeno salsa, mango mustard and corn tortillas. (Enough for a lot of delicious tacos!)  Our other entrée, the day’s special: Rock Shrimp Chili Rellenos.  This dish  falls into the “what were they thinking” category.  This is undoubtedly one of the most colorful meals to date. It’s a pink and green phallic fiesta. The long bright pink chili sits in a mole sauce surrounded by scoops of guacamole and red cabbage-jicama slaw. The mole sauce by itself is excellent but it fights with the rest of this dish. The chili is a tad tough and slightly bitter because it’s not roasted or peeled as in traditional Chili Rellenos. The bay shrimp (not rock) filling is quite tasty as long as the mole is avoided. Basically this dish should be eaten “deconstructed” as none of the parts compliment the others.  Next time we’ll avoid the specials.

A couple of other notable restaurants:

The Family House of Pancakes in Chula Vista makes some of the best classic breakfasts in town.  All portions are huge and most patrons leave with Styrofoam containers of leftovers.

Hankering for local Mexican fare we check the urban spoon ratings and dine at El Patio, in Chula Vista.  The food is good but where’s the spice?  Maybe out taste buds still have a New Mexico sensibility?

We’ll we’re here until April… and there is still so much to see and do…