4th Annual SoCal Desert Rendezvous

Over the weekend of March 22 and 23, we made a 365 mile round trip out to the Colorado Desert, east of the Salton Sea and south of Interstate 10 to attend the 4th annual SoCal Desert Rendezvous, organized by the fine folks over at American Adventurist. Click here for the write up on our trip out to the 2013 Rendezvous event. 

For us, this is all about getting away from it all and relaxing in the desert. We also get to check out all the other rigs and camp setups, chat with like-minded adventurous folks, and enjoy some delicious food. The campsite for this year's event was at the same location as last year's, (Google Maps cut and paste: 33.599581,-115.536937) near the junction of Bradshaw and Summit road, along some abandoned railroad tracks, against the Orocopa Mountains.  

Finally getting off the pavement and onto BLM public land.

Heading towards the Orocopa Mountains and event campsite.

Our home away from home for the weekend.

Folks returning from their various desert explorations also brought back refuse from their clean up efforts.

Getting ready for the group shot.

The potluck and dutch oven competition provided some fantastic food.

After everyone had their fill, we all gathered 'round for the raffle in hopes of scoring some outdoor/overland gear.

Crossing the now disused Eagle Mountain Railroad tracks. Constructed in 1947, it was used until 1986 to haul iron-ore from Kaiser's Eagle Mountain Mine to an interchange with the Southern Pacific Transportation Company. The last revenue train to operate over the line was on March 24, 1986.

There are plenty of other campsites tucked away around this area.

Of course we were ready to enjoy our morning coffee. Unlike last year, the wind didn't pick up so we were able to enjoy ourselves for a bit on Sunday morning before heading out. 

We camped next to our friends, Steve and Tammy. Audrey was more than happy to keep their dogs company.

Looking west over the Desert Rendezvous campsite.

Its always fun checking out all the different overland vehicles that gather here. Camping here with my growing family made me think that we may soon need to upgrade to something larger than our current Jeep Wrangler. 

On our way home we made a slight detour along Highway 86 to check out the high water mark or "bathtub ring" from ancient lake Cahuilla along the mountains west of the Salton Sea. One of these days I'll do a more in-depth exploration of this area's ancient history.

We're looking forward to next year's event. Hopefully we'll be able to spend the whole three days out here and participate in some trail runs and exploring more of the surround area.

Check out this trip report from the Travel Adventures of the Roaming Robertsons: Desert Rendezvous 2014