Sand Dunes and Mines, CA

Just a few miles west of the Arizona/California border are the Imperial Sand Dunes, a playground for folks with OHVs (Off-Highway Vehicles or 4-wheelers or dune buggies).  The dunes are about 200-300 feet high and stretch for 40 miles from north to south and 5 miles east to west, cutting through Interstate 8 near the Mexico border.

The area east of the dunes is also known for gold mines, and it is at the Tumco Historic Site on Ogilby Road where we set up camp, with a great view of the dunes.

	From the Cargo Muchachos Mountains at the Tumco mining site, our trailer and the view of the Imperial Sand Dunes (aka the Algodones Dunes).
	Just a beautiful sunset behind this ocotillo plant. Taken from our campsite.
	The Old Plank Road - a wooden road that was used from 1914 to 1927 to allow vehicles to cross the dunes. If winds buried the road in sand, horses were used to move the sections of plank road to allow travel to resume.
	The border between the U.S. and Mexico. I'm glad we don't have to look at something like this between Canada and the U.S.
	When you look at the fence at 90 degrees, you can see it's actually steel bars that are very close together, not a solid surface. The sign behind Brad says to stay 100 feet away from the fence, but we had to get closer than 50 feet to be able to read it! Fortunately, no Border Patrol Guards swarmed us.
	We have a campfire one night and the smell of Brad's hotdogs draws some attention from this guy. It's a desert kit fox. This inquisitive little guy is no bigger than Grady, but he's fully grown. He's so adorable I just want to scoop him up and hug him.
	Our little foxy friend is very bold and comes within a couple of feet of us. He is obviously fed by other campers as he is quite persistent and stays with us for about 45 minutes, leaving only when we go back inside.