Jack of All Trades

We headed west toward California Thursday morning.  Luckily, we filled up with gas at the last Arizona exit for $3.69/gallon.  There were long lines at every pump and everyone had California license plates.  Two miles later, we came to the first gas station in California and were appalled that gas prices had jumped 64 cents to $4.33!!!  We knew it would be an expensive drive through California.  

We got into Joshua Tree National Park mid-afternoon on Thursday.  We were a little confused by the desolate, desert atmosphere and wondered why this place would earn a National Park title.  We soon discovered that the park is divided into two desert ecosystems and that we were in the desolate, dry half of the park.  To get to the Mojave Desert (the higher elevation, wetter half), we would have to have driven 2.5 more hours.  After a 7 hour drive to the park, we weren’t too excited at this prospect, so we decided to stay put for the night.  We camped at Cottonwood Campground on the southern end of the park, which actually had beautiful views of the surrounding hills and mountains.  Jack decided to go on a rock-climbing adventure with our expensive new camera but thankfully returned it in one piece.  Later that evening, we cooked a five-star campfire dinner: sea-salted baked potatoes, bacon-wrapped filet mignons, cold Shiner beer, and s’mores for dessert. 

                         The view from the top of the rocks

The downside of staying on the southern of the Park was that there were no Joshua Trees.  It was somewhat disappointing to visit a National Park without encountering the Park’s namesake, but we decided to sacrifice this for relaxation.  

                       The sunset from our campground

When you’re living in a camper and traveling thousands of miles cross-country, you’d better be prepared to deal with some problems!  Yesterday we replaced the hole in the roof of the camper with a new bathroom vent cover; we also replaced a broken tail-light, fixed a leak in our fresh water tank, and had to deal with a leaky tire on the pickup truck this morning.  All part of the adventure!

Today we braved the busy highways of Los Angeles, drove through the mountains of southern California, and we are currently about an hour’s drive from our next destination: King’s Canyon and Sequoia National Parks!  We will be there for the next two nights before heading to Yosemite. 

Until next time…

Jack & Megan