Day 6: To Center of the World road

March 2, 2012

I got away from my campsite at 8 AM, but then stopped for a short soak at the warm spring. Back on pavement I backtracked 3 miles west on highway 78, across the canal and into the farms, then turned south on county road S33.

Typical harvest scene. White school bus, toilets on a trailer, flatbed trucks stacked with crates, etc.

The county road ends at highway 115, where I detoured west 3 miles to have lunch in Holtville. Then I pedaled east on highway 115 and turned onto the access road on the north side of I-8. A mile down the road is a bridge under construction-closed to cars but open to cyclists and pedestrians.

Just past the bridge I stopped at Holtville hot spring. It's a free hot spring developed by the BLM. I soaked for an hour with seasonal RV residents from the Long Term Vehicle Area across the road.

Runoff from the hot spring creates this nice palm-lined pond.

*Long Term Vehicle Area* and geothermal power plant across the road from the hot spring.

I continued east on the access road. There was no traffic, no development, no reason to maintain the pavement. The pavement is awful but I can wander anywhere in the road. The road gently climbs above sea level once again.

Awful pavement on the unused old road parallel to I-8.

After 20 miles the access road ends and I had to pedal 8 miles east on I-8 to cross the Imperial Dunes. The dunes looked great in the late afternoon sun but the strong north wind blew sand across I-8.

This part of I-8 has a vehicle barrier on the south side because it's less than a mile from the border with Mexico.

The area of blowing sand is about 2 miles, gently uphill. The sand naturally blows close to the ground but passing trucks stir up a cloud of sand, similar to how they stir up a cloud of muddy spray when it's raining. I was downwind of the traffic, so it was not pleasant. I had to look downwind to keep sand out of my eyes.

I-8 crosses the All-American canal in the Imperial Dunes. This huge canal is the Imperial Valley's only water supply, diverting water from the Colorado river. The canal diverts most of the water out of the Colorado river just before it flows into Mexico.

The All-American canal is the only water source for the Imperial valley. It diverts water from the Colorado river.

On the east side of the dunes I exited to get to the Buttercup ranger station where I filled my water bottles and the gallon jug. Then I got back on I-8 for 3 more miles to the next exit.

I exited north on Ogilby road, then immediately turned east on Center of the World Drive. A mile down the road I camped behind a giant Tamarisk tree, out of sight from the road. I could hear traffic on I-8 only 1/4 mile away, but I had a nice view of desert mountains.

Sunset view of the mountains north of my free campsite.

Today was a bit cooler than yesterday, high in the low 70's. Sunny all day. The north wind was a tailwind when going south, crosswind when going east. I'm now out of the Imperial Valley, about to cross the Colorado river into Arizona.

Distance: 63.6 mi. (102 km)

Climbing: 1018 ft. (308 m)

Average Speed: 11 mph (17.6 km/h)

Today's ride: 64 miles (103 km)
Total: 313 miles (504 km)

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