#colorodoriver

The best ending to the best weekend at the lake slash river! Thanks @scottonwood It was SO FUN! #lakemohave #colorodoriver #firsttimer #mybodyhurts (at Cottonwood Cove @ Lake Mohave)

Had breakfast at Brawley Inn with Terry Weiner from the Desert Protective Council. The Imperial Valley desert area is her stomping ground, so she was to be our tour guide for the day. Our car was packed for camping, with no back seats, so David made me a makeshift seat out of patio cushions that worked out just fine. And off we went toward the dunes in Glamis, one of the most popular areas in the country for off road recreation. We passed by a long stretch of green – a surprising color here in the desert – where famers grow numerous things like alfalfa, peppers, lettuce, strawberries, etc. For years, they have been using water from the nearby Colorado River, which has been dammed, in numerous places. Our first stop was in front of what, according to Terry Weiner, a very good example of “solar done right”. It was a coral of cattle beneath solar panels – used both to generate electricity as well as shade the cows. An orchestra of singing blackbirds in nearby trees completed the mini eco-system, as they, in turn, were able to feast on the cow manure or the seeds.