March 6, 2015. California, here we come!

CAMPGROUND:  Cottonwood, inside Joshua Tree National Park.  Like other national park campgrounds, this has only a few amenities...toilet, dump station, picnic tables, and grills.  Kind of small camping sites. $7.50/night. 3 stars

LOCATION:  Southeast California.  About 75 miles east of Palm Springs

WEATHER:  We climbed in altitude so it is cooler, in the 60s

At our boon-docking site in Quartzite, we prepared to leave.  There wasn't much to do since we hadn't unhooked, and there were certainly no electricity cords or water hoses to put away!  I ran ahead of George acting as scout.  There are no roads; vehicles just drive through the desert. My task was to look for hidden boulders and drop-offs, or washes.  We had to make one u-turn when the path ended in a big gully.

Safely on the road, we drove about 100 miles due west to Joshua Tree National Park.  Our goal is to visit as many national parks as possible on this trip.  It is very remote here. We thought we would stop for groceries (including beer, which we are almost out of!), on our way, but there is nothing around.  We'll have to make do with what we have for the 3 nights we will be here.  There is no internet, so the blog will be posted later.  

We got settled at our site.  This is the view...

Then, we took a hike.  The trail is a sandy/rocky river bed.  It is hard to believe that they fill up with water and have flash floods, since everything seems so dry.

We visited the ranger station to plan to attend some ranger-led hikes and talks.  

Since it is the weekend, the campground filled up early with families.  I think every space is taken.  Now that we are approaching spring and summer, we will have  to plan for weekends in advance, since campgrounds get so busy.

We watched the full moon rise in the cool wind.  Then we attended a ranger evening program in the amphitheater, then had dinner.

DINNER:  Thank goodness we bought sausages and brats the last time we shopped.  We'll be eating them at every dinner meal while we are here.  Tonight I made home-made chili (not the kind from a can).  I sautéed onions and green peppers, then added diced brats and Italian sausage.  Then, I added canned tomatoes and some black beans.  I spiced it up with cumin, cayenne, and chipotle.  I also rehydrated  2 Hatch peppers (from Hatch, New Mexico), and added them, minced.  Spicy and good!