November 26, 2012

Joshua Tree National Park

We had thought that it might take us longer to break down after being in one place for a couple of weeks but we were ready to pull out of Oasis Palms by 10:30.  We stopped in at the office to say goodbye to Ryan, the owner’s son and manager.

 

The GPS directed us to go the same route we had taken last week when we went to Joshua Tree NP but that had been in my car and we knew it wouldn’t be the best route to take with the rig.  So we went a little out of our way by going west to I-10 and then east to the exit for Joshua Tree NP.

We had already scoped out the sites that would accommodate our rig.  We hoped that at least one of them would be available.  When we arrived we found there were only two other rigs there and so we had our pick of sites.  Although the bigger sites are pull alongs it was quite an ordeal to get in place.  There were these huge boulders along the perimeter and the site are not very wide so you really have to pull along very close to the sandy area or you will stick out in the road and not be able to bring out the slides.  Monte had to go back and forward many, many times while we communicated via walkie talkies.  I had to let him know when he was about to hit a boulder.  It was very stressful but after an hour we were finally off the road enough to satisfy the camp hosts.

 

The camp hosts told us that we were welcome to take firewood from sites that were unoccupied.  We drove around and found enough wood for a couple of nights if we use it sparingly. 

There are no electric hook-ups so we are relying on our generator which we can only use during posted hours.  We had filled our fresh water tanks and dumped our black and gray tanks before leaving Oasis Palms.  There is a dump station located at the exit so we will be able to empty the tanks when we leave. 

Since there were no utilities to hook-up to set up was accomplished quickly.  I sat outside reading for a while.  Once the sun set behind the mountains it was too chilly and dark to sit outside comfortably.

We went for a walk while it was still light enough to see without a flashlight.  We saw quite a few jack rabbits and got close enough to take some pictures. 

 

We arrived back at the rig in time for the 5pm to 7pm generator hours.  I made us dinner.  While we ate we took advantage of the generator being on to watch a DVD.  After turning the generator off (and getting applause from tent campers at other sites) Monte built a nice fire. 

We sat outside roasting marshmallows and listening to the group of bicyclists in a nearby site playing guitar and singing.  When we had used up our allotment of wood we went inside and watched a DVD on my computer.  After adding another blanket we went to bed at 10pm.  I had trouble falling asleep probably because it was early and, after being a place for two weeks so close to a major road with constant traffic noise, I had to adjust to the absolute quiet of the night desert.