Newberry Mountain RV Park, Newberry Springs, California

usbackroads destination--Newberry Mountain RV Park, Newberry Springs, California

One of the disadvantages to going to the University of California at Berkeley is that people seem to think that all the weird people in world live there.  Well, that is not true.  All the really weird people in the world live in the Mohave Desert.   More on this later.

Holding fast to our 4 hour and 200 mile rule means a stop somewhere along I-40.  We looked into finding a location just off the freeway, but decided to help the local economy in Newberry Springs by stopping for the night at the local RV park.

So the towns claim to fame is a German movie set in Newberry Springs.  Susie even remembers watching it on NetFlix.  So here are the important details:  Bagdad Cafe.  The cafe is open from 7:00am to 7:00pm so hardly the party place in town.  My ride down Route 66 which is the road through town featured barking dogs and a couple that gave chase.  The dogs were surprised to see this old man outrun them on his mountain bike.  I suspect they did not notice the battery hanging off the back.

The RV park is trying real hard to make your stay pleasant and comfortable.  For that, they deserve a nights lodging.  The spurs are rather short, but have all the hookups.  Cable TV reception was rather spotty.  You would probably do better raising the antenna.

We did not try the wi-fi, but Susie's IPHONE provided great 3G service as a hot spot. So far this trip it has worked much better than last year.  Must be all those folks switching to 4g and free up bandwidth on the 3g network.

The one drawback to the park is I-40.  You do get to hear the traffic noise.  The town and neighboring areas are decorated in typical desert landscaping and accessories.

Here is a picture of the campground.  Lots of room, we had only one other RV pull in during the night.

We did get the site with the only picnic table.

The RV park does have a very small pool.

And a caboose!!  Well, worth looking inside.  Now there was a boring job.

The real attraction at the park are the two ponds.  The water is pumped from the Mohave aquifer into the two ponds.  The local ducks appreciate it and the story is that the ponds are stocked with catfish.

Now getting to the weird people in the Mohave Desert.  I lived in the Mohave Desert for just less than six months.  Ah, the people living in Berkeley were quite normal in comparison.

So that pond in the first picture.  The picture does not do the water justice.  It was taken late in the day, so the brilliant glacier blue bordering on aqua does not show well.  It put all the glacier fed lakes I have seen in my day to shame.

So I had to ask "Is there copper in the water or some other chemical that causes that aqua blue color". No, the answer was much simpler than that.  Seems the owner found a large supply of non-toxic blue coloring.  So he decided to color his ponds.

Berkeley is normal compared to the Mohave Desert and its residents.

Book Read:  Wild...from lost to found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed.  I am a sucker for hiking books.  This one is about a hike on the Pacific Crest Trail by a novice hiker.  Really more a story about her relationship with her mother who died suddenly at age 50.   Decent read, more about a relationship than hiking.  Probably more of "chick" book, but the hiking stuff kept me going!