The week started out quite warm with temperatures in the upper 80’s. Kitty and I were supposed to meet up in off Cottonwood Springs Road outside of Joshua Tree National Park, but since the temps were so high, she wanted to wait until Wednesday when it would cool down considerably. Since Ehrenberg was having high temperatures as well, it didn’t make much difference whether I baked one place of the other, so Tuesday morning, I headed west to JTNP and picked us out a spot. Actually, I got our favorite spot, quite off the beaten path. We’d stayed in that spot several times before, and try to get it every time we come, but often in the peak of the season, someone(s) has already snagged it. I got lucky and settled into it. It’s far enough from the road that Cosmo and I can play ball without fear of him chasing cars or bikers. It has a couple nice trees and a nice rock design that someone took the time to make at the base of one of the trees.
Kitty came the next day. It was very windy so we got inside my van and played Qwerkle and ate snack It was a lot of fun. Thursday was a bit windy as well, so se did the same with walks when we needed a break. The rest of the week was perfect weather. We had a huge bonfire two nights and sat out under the stars. It’s still my favorite part of life off the grid.
The sunset on Thursday was quite spectacular. We sat out and watched the sun go down (now, on California time, sunset is before 5:00). Getting dark so early just means we can light our campfire earlier.
On Friday afternoon, quite a few new vehicles came in. It got crowded “up front” near the road into Joshua Tree National Park. We talked about how when we first came here we thought the front section was the only section. It took several times of coming here and exploring to realize there were many other sections farther back. We were in one of those farther back sections, nearly alone while the newbies crowded in up front. There was a bit of an ugly crowd in the front section but they left before noon on Saturday. They were loud, had dogs off-leash, just generally inconsiderate. When they left, they all peeled out, leaving a cloud of dust. We were glad to see them go.
Lessons From The Road: Two different friends commented this week on how much more content I seem than last year. I notice it too. Although I try not to set any deadlines for myself, or plan too far ahead, I always have, at least a little. I came to JTNP BLM land thinking I’d leave on Sunday. Roy and Tom invited me (well, they invited Cosmo and told him he could bring his driver) to Thanksgiving. I’m about an hour east of Palm Springs where they live. I decided it seemed silly to drive two hours east back to Q and then next week turn around and drive 3 hours west for Thanksgiving, so I decided to stay put in JT until I head to Palm Springs next week.
My spot here in the desert feels much more remote than it actually is. We can see other rigs parked up the road, but at night time, they mostly disappear in the darkness. We are a mile or so from I-10. I watch most nights at the long, continuous procession of truck lights going in both directions along the interstate. They are far enough away from us to be silent, but they make a line of lights that string from east to west as far as we can see. I find them comforting. Kitty and I teased that they are the rat race of the empire. They are all rushing to get somewhere, or to deliver something. We watch them, but they are oblivious of us. They live in a hectic world just a mile from our world, and yet they don’t know even know we exist, and we, for the most part are perfectly OK with that.