"Sorry folks, park's closed."
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Day 14: August 9, 2014 "Sorry folks, park's closed." Comment via blog |
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The Araz Junction stage coach station is holding up well which cannot be
said of the road that passes it. Most paved roads this rough have been
made that way with lots of patches but this one seems to have done it on
its own. Of course, I am driving one of the best rough road detection
devices known to man plus I added a bonus of three miles to the
experience.
Not long ago some friends and I were talking about hitchhiking. Most of us had done it in the past and most used to pick up hitchhikers but no longer did. I said it was because I'd grown old and feeble but the truth is I doubt I could ever have physically defended myself from most of the folks I once stopped for. I suppose that conversation was part of the reason I stopped for the fellow walking in some heavy sun along this almost middle-of-nowhere road. I hadn't yet totally scattered stuff about for the day so I could pluck my camera and case off of the passenger seat so he could get in. He spoke about as much English as I speak Spanish (i.e., next to none). He got across the name of a town which I knew was on the other side of the expressway and I got across that I was getting onto the expressway. (I actually got across I-8. Numbers worked.) When we passed the adobe walls of the old station, I couldn't explain that I was stopping for pictures so I took him to the expressway and doubled back. |
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It no doubt takes a lot of electricity to power those big signs.
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I've often notices the signs locating concrete cylinders of radiator
water during the climb. For some reason I decided to check one out today
and happened to pick one overlooking an intact section of the old road.
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The approach to Desert View Tower seems to get a little more interesting
on every visit. Now, in addition (and probably related) to the flying
saucer retrieval service
there are some messages and more than the normal population of balancing rocks.
O honey heed me, turn off the T.V. |
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Of course, Desert View Tower itself is always interesting and
there is always something new or something I haven't noticed. There are
great views of the old as well as new road and of the Tower compound.
Those are indeed roof mounted solar panels quietly recharging Ben's all
electric Nissan Leaf in the fifth picture. I didn't get at all deep into
Boulder Park today but I did poke my nose and camera in just a bit.
In the past, I've spotted the tower from the expressway shortly before the exit. Today I spotted it much further away and point my camera at it. The result is here. |
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In California, Historic US 80 is signed pretty well. The big rattler is at
the entrance of a park -- and playground -- in Jacumba. The big map of
local attractions is just beyond the snake. Just beyond Jacumba, the road
gets quite close to Mexico. That's the border fence just beyond the wooden
guard rail.
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This was my third and final Border Patrol checkpoint of the trip west. It
was also the quickest. This time the agent said nothing at all as he waved
me through. At the first one I got "Have a good day sir. Thank you."
At the second it was "Thank you. Have a good day." Those were in
Arizona so maybe the agents there are just more talkative. Apparently it's
felt that, even if my trunk was completely filled with illegal aliens, it
wouldn't amount to enough to matter.
Maybe talkative Californians gravitate toward agriculture.
My longest checkpoint stop -- and only actual exchange -- was at the
California agricultural station. The female agent tapped her watch as I pulled up. |
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I was thinking about washing the car even before the exchange with the
agriculture agent so I was a prime target for the Pee Wee Football team
waving signs in El Cajon. They did a great job although I think each kid
only got one swipe at the car to dry it. Some were impressed with the Ohio
license plates but one kid was more excited about the GPS unit.
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As I've said elsewhere, this really did feel like a Chevy Chase moment.
There are three Old Spanish Trail Zero Milestones. I stopped by the ones
in Saint Augustine and San Antonio and was ready to complete the set in
San Diego. Like the Griswolds finding a closed Walley World, finding the
marker location closed off and in the middle of a major rework left me
dumbstruck. My son lives here but it never occurred to me to ask him if
the park at 4th and Broadway was in the middle of a multi-year project.
I'll know better next time. At the moment, I don't know whether the marker
is still in there, is in storage, or maybe even available for viewing
somewhere else. I'll be working on that.
ADDENDUM: Jun 2, 2024 - I was not able to see this marker on this trip but did see it in 2016 after the park reopened. However, the marker was removed in 2020 because of its reference to the Lee Highway and that highway's Confederate connections. At that time it was put into storage and I am not aware of any updates. |
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By fortuitous coincidence there turned out to be a brewery just a few blocks
from my motel so I was able to drown my sorrows in pizza and beer.
URBN St. Brewing
offers a variety of beers in addition to six of their own. They also have
a coal fired pizza oven (Which I erroneously reported elsewhere as wood fired.)
which produces some might fine pizza. Here's dinner
and one or two lunches.
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