Untitled Name

Storm Over Calipatria

Will Sherman — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 00:55:48 +0000

Skeletons of the Salton Sea

Will Sherman — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 23:29:39 +0000

The shoreline of the Salton Sea features a band of bones, dried fish and bird carcasses.

Red Hill Marina

Will Sherman — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 17:08:49 +0000

North of Imperial Valley lies the Salton Sea, a massive artificial lake located nearly 230 feet below sea. Fed by the area's irrigation runoff, the lake's high salinity averages just 15 feet deep. In many locations, low water levels have left long stretches of muddy shore exposed. Red Hill Marina, a county park on the southeast side of the sea, is in fact an island reached by causeway, but is currently surrounded by salt flats. Although I had planned to camp, I ended up only spending the afternoon. There's no drinking water and I wasn't carrying enough to last the few days I needed to rest. Before I left, the campground host topped off my water bottles and gave me a mango from his ice box, perhaps the best gift on a hot day.

Beef

Will Sherman — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 20:03:09 +0000

Camped at a county park between several feed lots north of Brawley, I had the pleasure of falling asleep to the incessant smells and sounds of thousands of cattle. In Imperial County, cows are a major part of the economy and outnumber humans more than two to one.

Ocotillo

Will Sherman — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 19:23:36 +0000

After skirting the border through Jacumba, Old Highway 80 joins Interstate 8 as it drops nearly 3,000 feet over ten twisting miles through In-Ko-Pah Gorge. It's a thrilling descent on a bicycle, especially one loaded so as to catch the crosswinds making it difficult to speed down the shoulder between wide turning trucks and cliffside guard rails. On the other side lies the 300-person town of Ocotillo where I spent the night at an RV park on the outskirts. I packed up slowly in the morning for the ride up to Brawley, but no before unloading some dead weight at the Post Office: an extra camera lens, some spare bike parts, a portable water filter, a belt and a few finished books. The day's ride started in low lying deserts and ended amongst the irrigated alfalfa fields and cattle feed lots that characterize Imperial Valley.

Border Fence in Jacumba, California

Will Sherman — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 04:36:42 +0000

I wasn't able to capture the white border patrol trucks driving up and down the fence and local roadways, sometimes the only traffic for hours.

Dressed Up

Will Sherman — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 04:27:48 +0000

On the approach to the border town of Jacumba, someone has lined their property with child-size statues, all inexplicably costumed.

Crossed Out

Will Sherman — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 17:26:27 +0000

The remains of an old stone building stand off the side of the road near Pine Valley.

Alpine

Will Sherman — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 03:53:54 +0000

At 2000 feet, camping in Alpine was a bit colder than the coast. It rained overnight and the temperature dropped into the 40s, making it difficult to get up and moving in the morning. After making breakfast and coffee, I continued bicycling on Old Highway 80 and Interstate 8, mostly up, sometimes down over cattle guards.

Oranges and Onions

Will Sherman — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 01:02:14 +0000

My route through Alpine was lined with sign after sign, hand painted, misspelled, advertising fruit for sale. Off the road up ahead, a man and two rottweiler puppies greeted me with local blood oranges, tangerines and lemons. Avocados were selling 25 for $5. I bought one, as well as a half dozen oranges that I stuffed into my pannier. Before I took off, the main reached over and filled the last crevices with handfuls of tangerines.