We were having so much fun with the Rambling Three from BBB that we decided to caravan to Joshua Tree. We were a little disheveled from the long weekend and we were flagged down for some final goodbyes before we left the campground so we got separated quickly – before we even left Lake Havasu –  but met up at the visitor’s center at Joshua Tree.

Our first stop was somewhere in the desert with the amazing cacti. We tried to recreate the U2 album cover, but my memory card was full. 775 photos of VW buses from Lake Havasu had to be downloaded.

We pulled over at Skull Rock to do some exploration. The kids had a good time getting lost within the giant boulders and trying to find our way back to the vans.

The next day, we headed south and lunched and lingered in Palm Springs. Desert sushi was in order and Bode shoveled it in like an addict. We need to remember to get the kid more sushi. After a bit of lingering, we took the long way to San Diego via the Salton Sea.

The Salton Sea is a weird place. Not exactly a destination but still interesting to see. It’s actually an inland sea – seagulls and all. It’s saltier than the ocean and when you get out of the car the salt breeze smacks you in the face. The water increases in salinity by 1% each year, so just about every living creature is long gone except for the hearty tilapia. Once the tilapia finally die off, it will probably turn into a festering salty cesspool of algae. Interested in water-front property?

Long ago, developers salivated over building a resort destination like Palm Springs and invested heavily in infrastructure. The problem was that nobody came. The roads are all built and the power lines are all there – just no houses or people. Eerie. the houses that are there are pretty dilapidated, so I suppose this place will just eventually turn back into desert.

The drive through the mountains to San Diego was wet.  Really wet. I think we saw this guy at BBB, and we hope he’s okay.

Ghislain’s friend Jean had volunteered to put us all up near La Jolla, so we were plenty motivated to motor through the storm and we made it there just before dark.

If you see some sort of VW camper van on the road, it’s probably a Westfalia. These are not Westfalias.

For some reason, when I started searching for a bus, I had a predisposition towards Westys. Maybe it’s because my dad had Westfalias. The other ones just looked funny to me and were usually ragged out. I guess I thought they were bastards or somehow not ‘official’ VW buses or not good enough or some other ridiculous bias. I was wrong and I’ve changed my mind. If I can find one for sale, my next bus may be a high-top or a Dormobile. The Dutch variant is pretty cool too – and spacious.

I promise – really – that this is the last post from Buses by the Bride at Lake Havasu. Promise.

A GIANT VW bus… that lights up and has a dance floor on the roof.

I talked to the guy who is responsible for creating this beast and he was quite proud that they made it to Lake Havasu and cleared all the overpasses with mere inches to spare.

He started with some sort of old airport vehicle and stripped it down and reshaped it from the ground up.  There’s a small lounge on the bottom and a serious sound system throughout.  There’s a deck and dance floor on the top, of course.

He says it’s only rated for 50 mph, but he thinks it can do 70 mph.  Not that he would ever try.

USETHEM

Two more posts coming from Lake Havasu, so bear with me

More to come from Lake Havasu. Someday we’ll paint something on our bus. Someday.

We headed out to Lake Havasu and I saw a VW bus on the side of the road, so I pulled over to see if everything was okay. Boy was it, there were actually about 8 buses stopped that I didn’t originally see.  All were Lake Havasu bound.

We joined the caravan and drove Route 66 to our destination: Buses By the Bridge – a gathering of about 300 Volkswagen buses. The campsite was near the London Bridge – yes, the one that was falling down, falling down, falling down.

We pulled in and decided to do a loop around the campground to see if we could find some of the friends we’ve met on this adventure. When I got to the beach, Jason says “oh no! Don’t stop – whatever you do keep going.” Right then I heard someone yell “Angela!” and I slowed down to look.  That’s when we got stuck in the sand. But as we’ve learned, there ain’t a bad VW person around, so within seconds 5 or so guys were pushing and pulling the van.  A few minutes earlier, the same thing had happened to our new friends the Rambling 3 and they decided it was a perfect place to camp. We did to, and we pulled up next to them for the weekend.

We met Ghislain, Heather and Morgane after trying to meet up for months. They are from Montreal and are traveling for a year in a much newer and nicer VW Eurovan (running water! central heat!) Morgane is 7 and she and Bode played all weekend.

There was definitely the colorful vibe you’d expect from a VW party. Flaming and electric hula hoops, tie-dyed everything, bonfires, hootenannies, VW stuff everywhere and plenty of spare parts. Ghis and I were joking about everyone selling things, but Jason was in heaven, buying little bits and pieces. He even put them all on the van while we took the kids canoeing under London Bridge.

There were tons of planned activities that kept us busy. A jumpy house, kids raffles and games, and the chili cook-off I entered and lost. We skipped the polar bear club meeting.

And, we met some more great people and got some good information about the next part of our journey.

There were LOTS of buses at Havasu. If you’re VW bus averse, you may want to shield your eyes from the next few posts… all with themes.

We again took to the smaller roads and traversed Arizona to Jerome. It’s an old mining town with Victorian buildings set high on a mountainside. We arrived just before sundown, and had a look around. The town is pitching the ‘ghost town’ angle, and by 5 things were closing down, making the the story seem likely. The Haunted Hamburger was recommended and we had a good time listening to stories about the strange occurrences that happened around town.

The next morning we headed north to Sedona. This place has long been on my list of places to go, and I was really excited to be there. There are canyons and red rock cliffs everywhere, an outdoor paradise.  We toured the ‘vortexes’ , where supposedly people have reported feeling inspired by a beneficial source of energy. Jason was skeptical, but I swear it was one of the happiest days in my life.

Next we hiked Devils Bridge. We attempted to do several other hikes, as this one was out of the way, but Bode insisted on Devil’s Bridge. We finally gave in and headed to jeep territory. The dirt road was one of the more exciting trips the van has taken. Once we started we realized it was clearly a 4 wheel drive road (plenty of dune buggies,) but we were having so much fun it didn’t matter. Red Beard handled it like a champ – its all about ground clearance – but there has been something rattling around in the back ever since.

The hike was wonderful, and Bode was a real trooper. We hiked up to the top of a mountain for a killer view. Then, since we didn’t remember the flashlights, we had to race back down before the sun set.

Also, if you ask Bode to take your photo, your should probably specify that you want him to use your camera.