We awoke Friday morning to flurries going past the window, in the desert? By the time we had breakfast and broke camp you could see some accumulation on the nearby hills but nothing at our elevation.

We are in a high wind warning with gusts to 50 miles per hour and now they have even added thunderstorm warnings. Hummm. Not the desert weather we were expecting. We got out today anyway and did a little hiking. It was chilly and not desert-like sunny but still pretty nice. We saw mule deer, a horned lizard we hadn’t seen before, and some new spring wildflowers. It is rugged terrain here so lots of pretty views too. Something is “just right” around here for Joshua trees. This is the largest and densest Joshua Tree forest in the world. Even more than in the Joshua Tree Nat’L Park…odd huh? Anyway, they are a cool plant. They are about done blooming but I got a glimpse of one lingering huge bloom. It is much like other big yucca blooms, pretty impressive.

Unbelievable. It rained this afternoon and now it is still and absolutely silent. The sense of smell is remarkable. The air is thick with earthy smells of sun baked soil, creosote bush and sage. As I inhale, with my eyes closed, the mental image is remarkably vivid. Totally amazing.

A wonderfully quiet, dark sky campground with views of the distant snow covered mountains and nearby cool volcanic formed rock out croppings

Fun trail idea. Not the typical National Park kind of campground trail.
The trail we hiked today ended with a section in a narrow steep canyon that they provided loops into the canyon walls for handholds. It was really fun climbing them. I don’t think I would have liked to have been going down it though!

We had a flat on the trailer. Kent noticed it in the rest top though so he changed it there with no further mishap. Looks like we will have to get into town to get a replacement. Our current schedule has us essentially out in the boonies for three weeks or more. Mojave, Death Valley, Sequoia, then Yosemite.

First stop, Rainbow Basin, Owl Canyon campground. Kent went from playing Miata dodgem with 1000s of cars to zigzagging a 4 mile stretch of washboardy gravel road in the motorhome. Not exactly the relaxing drive he hoped for. But, great rock formations once we got there. It was a quiet site. Just what we needed to unwind. Only a couple other campers around and far from traffic and noise.
We took a couple mile hike up into the badland-like hills with colorful rocks and cool erosion formed formations. We drove too…that wasn’t the best idea it turns out. The “no problem for a sports car” recommendation from the host was a little optimistic. We wollered through a number of washed out spots, moved some rocks to bridge some others, and rattled across the washboards. It was pretty though. The road wound right through the formations. It was worth the drive. So says the one who was riding most of the time. We saw a new bird here too, the chukar. Looks a lot like the Gamble’s Quail we have been seeing but without the boopie (plume) on its head. It sounds just like a chicken clucking. More fun to watch and listen to.

As we finished up our scenic drive, Kent’s eyes were still glued to the roadbed looking for the next hazard. I heard, “Is that a snake?” Sure enough, about a 4 foot Mojave Rattler was crossing the road. Everyone had been telling us, “just give them a way out and they will move away. They are not looking for a fight.” WRONG. This guy curled up into striking position and rattled furiously even when we were in the car and 15 feet away. A very grumpy snake. Cool pictures though and we went on our way without incident.

We have been watching for the beaver tail cactus to bloom over the past few days. (sounds a little bizarre, huh? Obviously we had pressing things to do! ). A nature center hike through a wash in the Santa Rosa & San Jacinto Mountains gave us the chance. We saw beaver tail, barrel, teddy bear cholla and pencil cholla all blooming. The palo verde had the tiny dark blue blossoms that we had heard they were supposed to have and there were actually areas blanketed with blossoms in some of the wash areas. They have had even more moisture here.

We took a stroll down El Paseo drive in Palm Desert yesterday. That is their ritzy shopping district. It is lined with art galleries and famous designers’ shops. Our blue jeans and T shirts didn’t exactly blend right in with the local shoppers. We spent an hour or so then headed for more familiar environs, the SantaRosa & San Jacinto Mountains National park.

We moved out to a BLM boondocking site that was a little closer to the day trips we are planning. As we were settling in, “JJ” just appeared. He came right up to Kent first then came to the motorhome door and even up the first step. At first we worried that he had been dumped off and this area has NO surface water. But it soon became obvious that he knew all about where food came from and he was very healthy looking. He was all friendly until we got in the car to head off into town. He chased us, barking and kicking gravel and sand up into the car. Seems he didn’t want us to leave. Since then he appears to have returned to his owner who is camped about ¼ miles away. As long as they are home he is content to hang with them, it appears.