Fern grottos, frog ponds, snake pits, and surfing in the desert (California epic van trip, Post 13)

The next day we decided to hike along the bottom of the canyon. We took lots of water, sunscreen, and a small lunch. Because it was quite hot, we set off as early as I was willing to get going (which wasn’t all that early).

At the base of some of the cliffs water dripped and ferns grew right there in the desert wash! If you look at the bottom of the photo, you can see how small John looks. And that picture doesn’t include the top half of the cliff wall. It was huge.

We hadn’t gone very far when we came to this small slot canyon. John eyed it with interest. I knew he wanted to get down in there. It was only about 15 feet deep.

Then John wanted to go up a side canyon, which turned out to be inaccessible from the canyon floor. However, a little further up the canyon we found a place to get up onto the bench that lead into the side canyon.

In the side canyon we found a water hole.

The sides were steep and I worried about John getting too close and sliding in. Just then he spotted a tiny frog. Of course he started trying to catch the frog.

Suddenly he slipped and started to slide toward the hole! He was fine, but I was like, “Aaaaah!!! What did I tell you?!?” Ugh. He’s just like a kid sometimes.

At the head of the canyon we found an incredible grotto; an enormous overhang and underneath was cool, shaded, wet and echoed with constant dripping.

We ate lunch in the grotto and started back to the van. When we stepped out of the oasis, the intense desert heat hit us hard. Definitely time to start back!

Here’s John looking for cell tower. We had no cell connection at all in this entire region. It was strange to go three days completely unable to contact the outside world. Amazing to remember that used to be common before cell phones.

Here’s where we climbed back down off the bench. It was easier than I thought it would be.

Desert rock surfing. I think the heat was getting to us. “Surf that wave, baby!”

When I took this next picture, I assumed the moth was dead.

But then a brief breeze overturned him, and he started struggling. We righted him and poured a bit of water out at his feet before continuing down the canyon. I assume he never made it, but who knows.

When we got back to the entrance of the small slot canyon, John decided to walk down it.

I stayed topside. I have no interest in slot canyons, caves and other tight spaces.

About halfway down the slot canyon, John paused considering the mud. He wasn’t in his hiking boots, and didn’t want to get his tennis shoes muddy. I walked ahead a few feet and peered down from up on the bench, trying to gauge the extent of the mud at the bottom.

Oh shit. That’s not just mud, there’s a big damn snake down there. “Back up, go back, get out!” John briefly considered scaling the wall, gave up and retraced his steps while I stood and stared down at the gigantic snake.

We stood safely above it, evaluating. Enormous rattlesnake or just a big, harmless bull snake?

We decided probably just a bull snake, but we weren’t going to mess with it.

We continued on in the heat. By then it was mid-day and around 100 degrees.

Almost back to the van…

By the time we got back, we knew it had been too long of a hike for me, even though there was no significant elevation gain. I am still recovering from the cancer treatment and don’t have the stamina that I used to have. I had a migraine for a couple of days afterwards, but still, I’m grateful I was able to go on such an adventure.

The next morning we packed up and headed back through the culvert and south toward Arizona.

To send Kristina a comment, email turning51bykristina@gmail.com