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
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