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Finally, on May 5th, we were ready to depart. We'd said goodbye to our neighbors and friends, who graciously allowed us to pick fruit from their orchard to add to our provisions. We'd said emotional good-byes to our parents and grandfather, knowing we would miss them terribly, but as excited as anything to be leaving at last.
We decided that we would camp the first evening in Joshua Tree National Park, but as we drove through the mountains, we passed the high-elevation town of Idyllwild, where we had camped before, years ago. Since we had gotten a late start, we decided, that if a campground in these beautiful mountains was open, we would camp there.
We stopped at an overlook, Indian Vista, and gazed down the mountain chain. Pine trees soared on every side, mid-afternoon light glancing through their branches. We took Rascal on a walk over light, stony soil, flowers blooming in abundance. As we walked, I nearly stepped on a horned toad, whose light sandy color blended perfectly with the ground. (Toad is a misnomer, by the way. Horned toads are in fact lizards.) They're not rare animals, but it's unusual to see one in our area,
Joshua tree
our campsite at Joshua tree so they still have a certain exotic feel to them. We counted it as the first exciting wildlife spotting of the trip.
All the campgrounds in Idyllwild that were big enough for our RV were closed, so we continued down the mountains to Joshua Tree. As we drove through desert hills, Jessica spotted a big-horn sheep down in a gulch. Where there is one big-horn, there are likely to be more, but alas, the road had whisked us on and away. As we drove out through the little community of Yucca Hills on our way to Black Rock Campground, we saw quail and doves in abundance. The campground itself was lovely, surrounded by joshua trees and high hills, though the road to it had some serious potholes. We found ourselves a nice level campsite, and had ourselves some dinner. Jessie had prepared spaghetti pie at home, a dish of astounding deliciousness, which can be easily heated in a microwave and keeps for several days.
Afterwards, we took Rascal out for a long starlit walk. The little fellow loves going on adventures, and he loves his leash. Whenever we pick it up, he jumps up from where he's sitting
and comes over to beg for it to be put on, so he can go outside. At home, we left him off-leash nearly all the time, but out in the wilds, he cannot be relied upon to come when called, especially if there are interesting scents or SQUIRRELS to be pursued, so he must wear the leash at all times outside the RV. A late night walk produced a sighting a tiny desert mouse, and the glorious sight of the full moon rising over the hills, daffodil yellow in color.
In the wee hours of the morning, the setting moon shone in through Jessica's window, bright silver in a royal blue sky. Taking another walk around the campground, this one in daylight, showed blooming cacti and Joshua trees. We'd seen these yucca-family members before, but never in bloom, so we were pleased by that. Ground squirrels chirruped unseen, and every time Rascal heard one of these calls, his head whipped round, triangulating their position. As we were setting out a pair of quail strolled right past our door into some nearby bushes.
Then we were away driving through Joshua Tree National Park, where we bought an Adventure Pass
for access to all the National Parks. We stopped by roadside exhibits and at a picnic area, taking a pleasant walk with Rascal around a large assortment of rocks and boulders. One set of these looked uncannily like a giant loaf of sliced bread. We also stopped at Intersection Rock, one of the first official rock climbs in the desert. As we drove out of Joshua Tree Julia spotted a rock that looked like a giant skull.
As we continued on towards Mojave National Preserve we encountered that wonderful thing called desert wind, a true "joy" to drive through, especially when driving broadside or directly into it. (Why couldn't we have a tail wind?) We soon came across the salt flats. Salt mines and road work caused us to turn left instead of right, our intended direction. Now heading west on Route 66 we noticed old volcano craters. The first one was in excellent shape (a perfect cinder cone). As we continued the cones became more and more eroded, the last one no more than some rocks in a somewhat circular formation. We saw many a dust devil, (and even had to drive through one), had to stop for
a 62 car train, drove on a multi-colored road and made another wrong turn, but in the end made it safely to Mojave National Preserve and Hole-in-the-wall campground.
In the night the high winds continued and a thunder storm blew overhead, worrying us. It was after all, the first test of our motor home in bad weather. But by morning it was nothing but blue skies and gentle breeze. In Mojave, you can take dogs on the trails, so Rascal was able to accompany us on a nature trail. The trail brochure informed us about the different desert plants and their uses. Right after the nature trail we headed down Rings Loop trail. When I say "down" I truly do mean down. The trail was so steep in some areas that metal rings had been set in the walls to use as hand and foot holds. You would think since we had Rascal with us we would have turned back at that point. You underestimate us. One of us would clamber down, then the one on top would pass him down. At one point we had to leave him standing on top, Jess halfway down and Julia at the
Rings loop trail
yes we took the dog down those bottom. Jessica then had to get him onto her shoulder and pass him to Julia. (Dogs have surprisingly good gripping power and can be quite difficult to peel off of one's arm). Near the end of the hike we saw some pictographs, etched into the desert varnish on the boulders, and a jack rabbit. When we finally got back to the RV we had walked just under three miles, for once tuckering out the dog. In the late afternoon we took a bike ride, looking at the evening light on the mesas all around the campground, Rascal peering out of his wooden box on the back of Jessica's bike. There was little wind that night, and other campers arrived.
In the morning we did some house keeping and departed at 9 a.m. We drove through lots and lots of dry desert on the CA-40, I-15, CA-58 and CA-202. With the tumbleweeds escorting us out, we left the desert behind and started up the grade for Tehachapi.
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Jenny
non-member comment
Exciting!
Luv the pics. Really enjoyed reading about your adventures. Wish I was there.