March 8, 2015. More Joshua Tree National Park

CAMPGROUND:  3rd (and last) night at Cottonwood Campground inside the park

LOCATION:  Southeast California

WEATHER:  Sunny. Highs in 70s

We planned a day trip to the center part of the park.  I made a picnic lunch (the weird pickled fish made into sandwiches) and we packed lots of water.

The park is pretty crowded today, likely day trippers from Los Angeles.  There was even a tou bus full of Japanese tourists.

We drove on some of the scenic roads.  This section of the park has lots if Joshua trees.

At our first stop, we took a 2 1/2 mile hike to an old gold processing plant.  Old, rusty Model T cars and other vehicles were lying around.  

We stopped for our picnic at a popular trailhead.

This area has lots of huge rocks.  We saw lots of people climbing to their peaks.

We went on another ranger-led walk/talk, this time about the origins of the park and info about the trees themselves.  All very interesting.

Back at the campground, George made a roaring fire.  Almost everyone has left. Me went around to their campfires, scrounging leftover wood.  

DINNER:  I used the last of the leftover grilled sausages.  Yeah!  This time, I made gumbo.  I sautéed onions and diced brats.  Then added cooked okra and cooked leftover rice.  To that I added a half can of vegetable soup to get some veggies and broth.  I threw in some hatch pepper slices to kick it up a notch.  It tasted good on a cool evening......the desert gets hot during the day, but quite cool at night.