Desert Peace

~Monday, November 29, 2021~

Day 533

Bring on that sunshine!! Not a cloud in the sky and we’re pulling in 11 amps from the solar panels. Woo hoo!. What a terrific day just laying low at the campground trying to soak in at least some relaxation before the craziness hits in Napa.

So many peeps to see, so little time. We decided not to sightsee in Joshua Tree National Park today (40 minutes away from our boondocking site), not because we didn’t want to see it again (it’s been about a year since we were here the last time), but because we’re frankly sick of being in the car, especially Sadie.

We are, however, happy that we headed west the way we did. We could have done a faster, more direct route, but have enjoyed all of the stops along the way…..Destin, New Orleans, Magnolia Beach, Fredericksburg, and Big Bend National Park. It’s all been worth the extra miles.

After a delicious omelet breakfast, we found our place in the shade on the other side of the trailer; Jeff reading “Rage” by Wilbur Smith, and me, cross-stitching. I have a long way to go on this little project to get it done in time for Christmas 2022. So I work on it when I can (that’s why I keep those ungodly last nights). It is so dang quiet here, it almost hurts your ears, but it’s a welcome sound. As we looked out on the landscape, it begs the question why this road is even here. Jeff had done a little investigating noticing equally spaced vents along the length of the 2-3 mile long berm. His best guess is that it was established to build the water pipeline that’s adjacent to the berm (likely feeding water from the Colorado River to L.A. and/or Palm Springs). The berm is in place to redirect the water from flash floods so it doesn’t wash out the pipework. Makes sense to me. He also read that the BLM (Bureau of Land Management) land allows up to 15 RV’s at this location. Clearly, no one is monitoring this.

While we were enjoying the peace and quiet, it was easy to hear any disruption. About 200 yards from us (across the “wash” area), a 5th wheel appeared to be stuck. Things can’t possibly be good when you see a bunch of people standing around an RV, looking down trying to figure out what to do next. There were plenty of trucks and people working on the issue, so we decided not to add to the problem solving. After hearing a few rev ups and spinning wheels, they managed to get the beast out of its sandy terrain 30 minutes later. This 5th wheel must have been 40 feet. But here’s the funny part. Later in the day, while Jeff was checking his Instagram Feed, he noticed photos of what appeared to be the same rig, with a caption that read, “Joshua Tree Dispersed Camping”. It was them (our BLM neighbors)….The Wanderpreneurs, full-time RVer’s in their third year. We’ll now be avid followers keeping up with their journey. I made sure to message “them” to let them know we were short-term neighbors at Joshua Tree. Definitely one good thing about social media. Hopefully we’ll actually meet them in person, one day. You can check them out too on Instagram at the.wanderpreneurs.