Truckhaven Hills, at the northern part of Ocotillo Wells State Vehicular Recreation Area, is located near the Salton Sea in California and is the venue for the popular annual Tierra Del Sol Desert Safari. The area is a maze of deeply cut trenches and sharp ridges, extremely narrow canyons with tight turns, near vertical climbs and cliff-like descents.
The Tierra Del Sol Desert Safari provides an excellent opportunity to enjoy and explore this area. Started back in 1950’s by a small group from the El Cajon Search and Rescue (SAR) team of four wheeling enthusiasts, this has gone on to become the Tierra Del Sol Four Wheel Drive Club. Every year 4x4 enthusiasts gather for the annual weekend event at the Truckhaven hills. The Tierra Del Sol 4x4 Club of San Diego members layout and mark the trails for the organized trail runs.
After my Middle Willows hike in Upper Coyote Canyon, I met up with my family where we would be camping for the rest of the weekend. My wife's parents graciously invited us to stay with them in their tent trailer.
This would be Jackson's third camping trip.
Everyone was always bundled up in the morning.
Far below our camp we could spot others out having a blast along the hills and washes.
Our first order of business was checking out the Truckhaven 4X4 Training Area.
The Truckhaven 4X4 Training Area consists of 22 colorfully named obstacles spread across 30 acres in the northern section of the park. Built out of heavy equipment tires, logs, concrete tubes, boulders and more, these obstacles are ranked in three difficulty ratings. Here, my wife's cousin displays his Jeep Cherokee on the flex test.
That's some mad flex; stock Wranglers represent!
This one-of-a-kind destination is the result of a dynamic partnership between the State Parks, the Tierra del Sol Jeep Club, and W.E. Rock. The materials used were donated by a variety of stakeholders, and the course was designed to protect the area’s desert flavor. Recent additions include a vehicle-free, shaded observation area with picnic tables to watch the action, plus restrooms. ATVs and motorcycles are prohibited from the area.
This is how high everyone felt comfortable going up the obstacle.
I ended up getting a little too tired on the "GET TIRED" obstacle.
Now off to explore more of the Truckhaven Hills area.
Our son slept through his first off-road outing. I've known parents who were terrified to take their children off-highway until they were a few years old, let alone six months.
A closer exploration of the area reveals petrified wood.
Besides exploring a few of the nearby trails with the Jeep, much of our time was spent relaxing around camp.
No more digging holes in the dirt for us!
My wife's uncle having fun with a few of his RC planes.
Our view from camp.
Whenever I strayed from camp, Audrey was more than happy to come along.
I couldn't think of a better way to end the year; spending time with those I love in a place I love to explore. We had just barely scratched the surface of exploring this area. I look forward to coming back again sometime.
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