Michael Jordan can forget this room! |
Joy with the Suttles. Is that the Salton Sea or the North Sea in the background? |
My goal today is a beach near Johnson's Landing (map point 5), about 13 miles from Avenue 81. This stretch of the west shore of the Salton Sea frequently gets hit with the infamous Borrego winds. But as I paddle past The Dome, a familiar landmark, I am feeling pretty smug. There has only been a slight breeze so far and I am less than an hour from Johnson's Landing. Suddenly, though, the wind starts to pick up. The Sea here is quite shallow even hundreds of feet out and as such, I am kayaking about 500 feet offshore. Even though I need water less than 8 inches deep to move about, paddling efficiency requires somewhat deeper water. Just a tad concerned, I quickly paddle towards the shore. The powerful gusts, however, are making it hard to keep the kayak on course. Luckily, there is a slight lull and I seize the opportunity to move within 100 feet of the shore. As I relax, I notice something unusual. The waves are not pounding the shore; they are originating at the shore and traveling out to the sea! Now I understand why some locals warned me to take these winds seriously or risk being washed out to Bombay Beach on the opposite shore.
Later, we are visited by our friends from Poway (near San Diego). I was happy that we had the motel room to sit and talk in while the winds howled outside. Our room was large and clean, but it had a low sloping ceiling and our friend Gary "Tall" Suttle could stand up only in a small part of the room.
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Michael Jordan can forget this room! |
Joy with the Suttles. Is that the Salton Sea or the North Sea in the background? |