relo to Holtville CA

Hit Yuma for showers and data downloads at the Planet Fitness. Then to the superwalmart and headed west back into Cali. Yes, Cali, but there is method to the madness. The next spot after another 14d will likely be American Girl, so being 25+ miles west of AGM helps us meet the BLM rules. There isn’t much around Yuma to meet the 25mi requirement. Mittry Lake is under different jurisdiction but the flies in that area (about 1mi from Kool Korner) were maddening.

On the way I stopped at a CA highway rest stop with potable water and took on about 25 gallons.

near Holtville, CA

The closest public land to the west of AGM was near the Hot Springs BLM LTVA. I originally stopped in an unimproved area associated with the LTVA but saw signs when walking Muffin. I relocated to some verified 14d camping areas a couple miles to the southwest.

the site

I like the site; it’s got more “berms” and low scrub for noise/wind abatement, and privacy. If you climb up on a berm you can see the Highway 8 in the distance and hear the drone, but down in the campsites it’s quiet.

I saw a nice hidey-hole that would block even more wind while not impacting solar harvest. I was pondering this and absently-minded turning around off the beaten track when…

sugar sand

Sugar sand, my old nemesis. I would have gotten through it with ESC turned off but I wasn’t paying attention. Stuckness and much digging ensued. Muffin was amused by the goings-on, or bemused, or something.

After a couple hours of digging out I was making progress, but was saved by DC. Recovery strap to the rescue.

panorama

In this pic the van is safely in the intended spot. The stuck spot is about 20’ closer to the camera in the low scrub. As a bonus, the scrub was in position to interfere with every aspect of the recovery opertion. :-)

quiet after the storm

After the hard day it was quiet, and dropped into the 30s at night. I like it.

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