Carrizo Plains National Monument - West
Gene and I started heading south on Elkhorn Road. While we appreciated the beautiful California-plains landscape, we didn’t stop for anything specific. We chose an off-road path to cut over to Soda Lake Road, so that we could check out Traver Ranch.
When we got to Traver Ranch, we first checked out the various farming tools that were on display next to the ranch. After that short walk, we were getting hot and hungry. Given how empty it was there, we setup our table and chairs next to the Traver Ranch information board and ate a yummy tuna sandwich that Gene had packed for us.
After lunch, we headed off to Van Matre Ranch, which turned out to have these wheat harvesters that reminded me of World War 1 tanks. There were also abandoned buildings that you could go inside of (unlike at Traver Ranch, where the houses were being occupied by bats).
Although it was still early in the afternoon, we decided to go west of Soda Lake Road and find our camp spot, so that we could have a relaxing afternoon. After a shorter drive than I anticipated, we found a great campsite which were surrounded by hills, which we thought would give us much protection from the wind (it did, for the most part).
We setup camp and Gene took a nap, while I played video games and read. For dinner, Gene had prepared a foil packet dinner for us, which I had never eaten before. We cooked it directly on a Duraflame log that I had brought, and it worked out perfectly. After that delicious meal, we finished it off with dessert, which was a campfire sausage for me, and a campfire banana for Gene.
Unlike the previous night, we didn’t stay up to take photos of the stars. I mean, we still enjoyed the stars, but in keeping with the theme of the day, we just took it easy.
The next morning, I took a hike while Gene packed up his things. We then drove home.
What I Learned:
Carrizo Plains was used in various ways before it was turned into a national monument. Previously, it was used as a salt mining operation (I knew that), farming land for wheat (did not know that), and animal grazing land (knew that). What I didn’t know about the last part was that it was over-grazed to the point where Carrizo almost turned into a desert.
Foil packet dinners are delicious and easy to cook. I loved it so much that I cooked it for my girls when I took them camping to Sequoia.
Traver Ranch (and various other abandoned houses) were used by bats as homes, so now they’re off limits to visitors.
Although wind was much less of an issue than the night before, while Gene was taking a nap, a dust devil touched down less than 50 ft away from our camp site. It was so cool that I woke Gene up, but before he could see it, the dust devil disappeared.
What we thought was a ground hog appeared within the mosquito tent that we had setup. Later we found out that this was a Kangaroo Rat.
You can cook a banana whole over a campfire. 🤯
Camp Review:
This was an amazing spot, and I hope to come back to it sometime. It’s private, with great views of the rest of the plains once you climb up on a little hill next to the site.
There’s also a tree, which provides shade, which is a rarity inside this park.