Went to pick up the rental with an 8 am reservation this morning, but they weren’t ready and we ended up with a 2 hour late start. A dash to the east on i10 got us out of the urban sprawl as the cultivated palms and lantanas gave way to creosote bushes and windmills.
Per recommendation, we tried Pie for the People, but ended up with a ready to go slice of David Bowie since we were behind instead of the aforementioned Dean Martin. It was okay. Then we headed into the park to hike around Barker Dam hoping to spot some of the desert bighorns that I have been fortunate enough to see several times in the past. The water was really low (expected), but a family was camped out in the middle of the wetland and every major rock formation had a cluster of climbers with GoPros, so no sheep. It was nice out, 85 degrees with puffy clouds regularly providing ample shade. A peek at the petroglyphs rounded out the walk before jumping back into the vehicle and stopping at Skull Rock.
Now we had to decide whether to head up to Big Bear from Pioneer Town or out to Amboy. The coolish weather and overcast sky lured us deeper into the desert. We broke 100 before leaving Wonder Valley and the Palms Restaurant didn’t open until Thursday. Booo! Oh well, we had come this far, and we proceeded over the pass to Route 66.
I have driven by Amboy Crater many times but never stopped. There is a small parking lot, a few covered picnic benches, a several signs saying it is too hot to hike. We obeyed, with a 5 year old that was already a little whiny about the 105* heat in the parking lot, I decided to live to fight another day. Instead we viewed the cone from a distance and spent a little while exploring the lava flow.
Feeling a little salty now, we made it back to Yucca Valley and John’s Place restaurant for dinner as the sun set behind the rough hills just outside of town. It was a good day.