I left Phoenix at 10 am May 15, already exhausted by all the unhooking and discharge preparations, and another load of laundry because Sara had unexpectedly vomited, and a brief discussion with the manager to see if I could take over my neighbor's lease and stay a little longer - that would be a strong NO! But thanks to D & C for offering:). And then stopped by Debbie's with a last McDonald's cheeseburger from me (she loves them with extra pickles!) and to drop off my old iPhone, hoping she can use it a little easier than her old one. And finally on the road at 11:30 am to cross another state border, CALIFORNIA! As I approached the Joshua Tree exit, I had two shocks - first was price of gas (we were in the middle of nowhere, and going deeper into nowhere!) but gas was $3.29/gal!! Fortunately, I wasn't very low on gas, but wanted to be sure I had some before entering the park which is 65 miles across, with no gas/food sales until you get out the other side. The other shock was that I had left Phoenix at 93 degrees, and arrived here with temps cold enough to send me in for long pants, sweatshirt, and socks! Quite chilly. I headed to the first campground since I had no reservations and was pleased to find many available sites. While walking Sara, and looking for the registration box, I met a camper who was sporting the 30A sticker on his car. Those of you who frequent the panhandle coast of FL would recognize that sticker, so I asked him if he was from that area. No, he loves to vacation in that area (don't we all!), but he was from "a little town in NE Ohio" - turns out an Ashtabula man, had just driven his son down to San Diego to drop him for the Pacific Crest hike, and now he's on his way back to Ohio, but was surprised to meet a Kent Stater in this area! Nice chat! But the campground - it's a desert wilderness!! This is my introduction to National Parks campgrounds - no dogs on any trails, must be walked on the driving roads or in campgrounds; no hookups; generator use only at certain hours, and of course, don't even mention cable TV! It's a true nature experience, except that I'm in a heated, self contained rolling house! Silly me, I was going to plug in my electric blanket, but realized no generator or electric, means no electric blanket. Oh, and no cell phone coverage, so no internet! Thank goodness my heat is propane, and it's quiet, so they allow that! So I spent a quiet,comfortable night in the RV, hand writing some notes for Debbie's caretakers, and my blog notes - that's right, just pen and paper!! The next morning, I left Sara in the RV for my brief hike to Cottonwood Springs, since the trailhead is in my campground. It was only 0.5 miles into the desert, but felt like I had been dropped into another land because it was so quiet and desolate - just a few desert hares! Was on the watch for rattlesnakes and bees - apparently these desert bees are so thirsty they swarm to a/c from car engines, sweat on human bodies, or any other moisture and can be quite troublesome. It happened to me once when I got out of the RV, and came back to find swarms around the engine with a few near my door! I am pretty allergic, so jumped in quickly and moved out rapidly! (And keeping the epi pen handy!). After the walk to springs (no springs to be seen, just like their "rivers" which are big, wide sand bars), I set across the desert by RV - the southern side is low shrubs, flat land, traditional desert; the northern side grows Joshua Trees and has thousands of round boulders heaped in piles like some giant had been stacking his donut holes! I saw the Cholla Gardens, stickers are very dangerous; the Jumbo Rocks (and the renowned Joshua Tree Rock Climbing School), the Keys View which is a fabulous lookout point, and the Joshua Trees, which suddenly start appearing at a certain demarcation. Joshua trees which grow mostly in the Mohave Desert area, were named by the Mormons who thought they resembled Joshua leading people to the promised land, and made famous by the U2 album cover of 1987. I was heading out the west side of the park to reach Black Rock Canyon for my second night. I did not realize it was almost 20 miles outside the west gate, through town, and back out to the canyon for this campground. Thank goodness they had a spot for me, because it would have been a long wasted trip. Once again, arid, dusty ground and very chilly at night. I thought about staying another night since it was an effort to get here, but Linda reminded me tomorrow night is Designated Survivor season finale, so that means I need cable! Bakersfield here I come!