Yuha Desert Fossils, Plaster City to Split Mtn to Salton Sea, CALIF

[Posted on the San Diego BS thread originally]


While we planned it to be a 2 night camping trip, it was so cold at night we packed a 2 day trip into one!

Who are we?: My 26 y/o son Chris (who wants a 4WD Tacoma badly) from Lakeside and myself (you guys know me from my Baja posts and A-TRAC posts mostly).

Chris had some vacation time from his work, and I had no work but a truck that loves four wheeling in the desert.

Not sure at first where to go... Chris knew that when I was a kid (1967) my folks took me to the Yuha Desert to hunt for fossils in their Jeep Wagoneer. The huge oyster shell beds are there from when the sea levels really were higher by a few hundred feet (not just a couple inches)! So, he suggested we go there...

We left Lakeside about sundown on Thursday and headed east on I-8 to Ocotillo, then popped on the old Hwy. 80 (now called the Imperial Highway) to just past Coyote Wells. Now it was dark, and I didn't want to kick on all my HID and Halogen lights while still on public highways!

Back in 1967, there was no Interstate 8 freeway, just Hwy. 80 and the San Diego & Arizona Eastern Railroad track parallel to it. I found a spot to drive under the railroad line in a wash, but couldn't find (at first) the bridge to get under the freeway, to the south side. I ended up on the mesa at the edge of the freeway cut, too far east of where I knew there was a bridge I could drive under it with.

I then remembered the technology I possessed with my smart phone, and clicked on Google Maps to see the satellite view of where I was, the roads, and where I wanted to go! In the end, we got to the region of the Yuha Buttes (which are mountains of fossil oysters and other sea shells) and set up camp.

Chris picked up a tent a a sleeping pad, and I just inflated my air mattress and would enjoy the stars. We ate when we left Lakeside, so just the campfire was nice with some beef jerky for snacks. There was no wind, but it was cold and by sunrise, really cold. Between his dog getting cold in the tent, Chris's new sleeping pad (one of those backpacker ones that self inflate when you unroll it) was not adequate, and I didn't sleep as well as I usually do (too cold)... the next morning we decided to not spend a second night out.






Tailgating in then rough!






Next morning we made coffee and cooked up some Beer Brats, yum! I went on a hike to look for specimen fossils and Chris threw a ball for his dog, Aria to retrieve. It was a beautiful Friday morning!










5 million year old oysters!




'Fossilized' sea salt!



I let Chris drive and we found the road to the Yuha Wells, on the Anza Trail (Spain's land connection to Alta California from Sonora, Mainland Mexico). Water is located very near the surface here, and with some digging water would be found. Wells were dug next to the arroyo over 100 years ago for horse and human needs. In 1967, there was water almost at the top of the wells, but today, they were filled with sand, and quite dry. Chris didn't want to amuse me and dig down to the water table with my folding army shovel.












That's Signal Mountain in the distance (the Mexican Border).






This sign was at the De Anza Overlook.

From the Yuha Wells, the road continues west then south to the De Anza lookout and a Border Patrol watch truck, just north of Hwy. 98. We drove the 98 back to Ocotillo, then Hwy. 80 to Plaster City and beyond to the narrow gauge railroad that brings the gypsum from Split Mountain to Plaster City so USG (United States Gypsum) can make drywall sheets and other gypsum/ plaster products.

The road parallel to the train tracks is pretty good, goes through a bombing range (you must stay on the road), and goes through some deep silt, just like we find in parts of Baja! Chris got real excited powering through the silt... loves the four wheel drive!




We watched the Blue Angels practicing around Superstition Mountain for a few minutes before the silt section... There were four jets flying in diamond formation for several minutes, circling around the mountain... very cool.

Once back on the pavement at Split Mountain, we headed north to Ocotillo Wells on Hwy. 78. We could see big clouds of dust from many miles away, and wondered what was causing it? An off road race, a wind storm, what was it?



It was a pair of Ospreys practicing landing on the dry lake bed airport at Ocotillo Wells!

Chris wanted to see the Salton Sea, so we headed east. Last time he (and I) were there... 10-15 years ago, it was real stinky and dead fish and bones lined the shore. We were surprised to see the seashore much cleaner, not stinky, but lower and further out. Some pelicans and gulls were there, so something must still be alive in that water, but it really is a dead sea. All the old marina buildings are gone, and the area near the sea is nearly deserted. A few nice homes are between the highway and the sea, but it is only a fraction of what was here in the 60's when we used to boat and fish on the Salton Sea.

Panorama from North to East to South to West:









Awesome vehicle!


Topped the gas tank at the Salton City AM/PM truck stop station ($2.25/ gal) and racing fuel is $7.99/ gal. We went west to Borrego Springs, stopping at the 4WD test course to do a little A-TRAC and rear locker testing. Burritos in Borrego Springs took care of us for a late lunch, and then came back to Lakeside via Ranchita, Santa Ysabel, and Ramona. After dropping off Chris and Aria, I returned home to San Marcos.

In 24 hours, we traveled about 250 miles, did a lot of four wheeling, had a campfire, went fossil hunting, and saw sites I had not seen in almost 50 years!

 

Nice write up David....

I love exploring those ancient oyster beds, still have a couple fossils from there... (this was before it was illegal to remove)

 

It is??? LOL

 

Our dirty secret...haha

 

In Baja, about 150 miles south of the Yuha Desert, 30 miles south of San Felipe, and about 5 miles from the beach, the same oyster shell beds are seen... about the same elevation above today's sea level, too.