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| One of the things you said you would be interested in doing is some
| | [[File:Turquebec_Folklore_Ensemble.jpg|200px|thumb|left|Turquebec Folklore Ensemble]] |
| camping in the desert, so here's a place you can go. The link below is to
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| the MapQuest page for this place. It's very near a small "hole in the
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| road" called Amboy:
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| http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?formtype=address&country=CA&popflag=0&latitude=&longitude=&name=&phone=&level=&addtohistory=&cat=&address=&city=Amboy&state=CA&zipcode
| | Turquebec's dance troupe has been dancing since 1993. The intriguing choreography of the Turquebec dancers is the brainchild of Suleyman Ozatilan. |
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| The best route to get there is down I-5 to Oceanside, then east across Hwy
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| 78 to I-15, then north on I-15 to I-215 which will rejoin I-15 bypassing a
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| lot of the metro areas, continue north on I-15 to I-40 at Barstow, then
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| East on I-40 to Ludlow, where you'll leave the interstate and pick up old
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| Route 66 continuing east past Amboy. Just past Amboy you'll be looking
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| for a side road coming in from the right (south) called Saltus Rd. Turn
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| right and follow it to just before you cross the railroad tracks. No more
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| than 50 ft. before the railroad crossing if I recall correctly you'll be
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| able to turn left onto a dirt access road. Now the going get's tricky. I
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| don't know what you're driving but I used to drive a Honda CRX and never
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| had any trouble as long as I kept my speed up a little going into the
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| sandy spots. You will come to a place where the road goes down into a
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| wash, descending maybe 8 to 10 ft below the level of the RR tracks. There
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| are two or three nice level places to set up a tent there. I usually set
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| my tent up right next to the railroad tracks on the west side of the wash,
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| but you may want to be across the road to the north to get a little
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| further away from the tracks. They're fairly busy tracks and the traffic
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| stays pretty heavy right through the night.
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| I recommend taking plenty of water with you. On the off chance that you
| | [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fnlvTAyzDwo Video of Turquebec Performance] |
| should get stuck in the sand you ARE close enough to both Amboy and to the
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| Saltus salt mining operation to walk to either of them as long as you can
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| stay hydrated.
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| Ok, on to other sights. Anza-Borrego Desert State park East of San Diego
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| is a good place to camp if you want to camp in an actual Campground and
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| the Palm Canyon trail is a really nice Hike. Here's the link:
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| [6]http://www.desertusa.com/anza_borrego/du_abp_camp.html | |
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| There is a great campground for mountain camping. It's at 9,900 ft. but
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| it's not on the map and a little difficult to find. If you were coming
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| back from Amboy on your way down I-15, just a little below the summit of
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| Cajon Pass is Hwy 138. Get off there and go west to Hwy 2, then south
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| toward Wrightwood. Go through Wrightwood to Big Pines. Here's the
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| mapquest link:
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| http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?formtype=address&country=CA&popflag=0&latitude=&longitude=&name=&phone=&level=&addtohistory=&cat=&address=&city=Wrightwood&state=CA&zipcode
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| Just beyond Big Pines the road forks. I can't remember if it's an actual
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| fork or a "T in from one side or the other. You're following signs for
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| Mt. Baeden-Powell, but you'll be turning off before you get there. When
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| the road comes to what at least appears to be a summit there is a gated
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| road "T"-ing in from the left. The gates stand open except in the
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| winter. Turn left and you're on the right road. I believe the campground
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| is a good 20 minute drive back off the main road and there you will have
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| to branch off the road you're on to the left but there will be a sign. I
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| can't recall the name of the campground but I'm pretty sure the sign has
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| the word camp in it.
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| OK, now about San Diego itself. Things you definitely want to see are
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| Balboa Park, the San Diego Zoo and Seaport Village. Seaport Village is a
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| shopping stop. All of these are right down in the heart of San Diego and
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| all are reasonably well marked.
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| If you have time, I also recommend Scripps Aquarium, Sea World and Mt.
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| Palomar. Also, if you're interested in historic things, the Mission San
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| Juan Capistrano, where the swallows return every year by the thousands is
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| very close to San Clemente. If you're interested in riding a HUGE Tram
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| car, drive out to Palm Springs and take the Tram ride up Mt. San Jacinto.
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| There's a Restaurant/Bar at the top and a 30 degree Fahrenheit temperature
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| difference between the base and the summit.
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| If you have any interest in taking a Glider ride let me know by return
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| e-mail and I'll tell you how to get out to Sky Sailing where I learned to
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| fly gliders.
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