We have been completely off grid. No electricity, water, cell, or Internet service. It wasn't on purpose that this happened but we are glad that it did. The views alone are worth it.
I'm laying her now typing this post and can't help but to keep glancing out of the window. I've been watching the mountains made of boulders turn from black, to brown, to tan as the sun rises.
We are nestled in a spot deep inside of Joshua Tree National Park. And when I say deep, I mean it. This campground is about 15 miles into the park and the park is another 5 miles from the town of Joshua Tree.
It has actually been pretty great being off grid. No annoying phone calls, no tiny electronic gadgets glued to our hands, no FB posts, no video games. Instead, we've hiked the boulder mountains, explored natural caves, gotten a laugh from the local wildlife. We've read together, played board games, told stories, made plans for future trips and have genuinely enjoyed each other's company.
We are parked here as we wait for our generator to be fixed. Yes! That's right. We survived in the freezing cold mountains with no generator. We are actually in this area because I finally found someone to take a look at all the issues Sammie Blue had including the generator. I had been calling around to different RV shops for two weeks prior to coming here and no one was able to get me in within the week (we're nomads... We couldn't wait nine days in one area just to be seen by a mechanic). So when I found someone who could get me in AND he was in the direction we were headed anyway I made that appointment.
We got to Morongo Valley, CA on Saturday for our appointment. It was an easy drive from where we were on the Colorado River. It took us only a few hours and that included the cool stops we made along the way. We got there only to learn that parts were needed that they didn't have and since the next day was Sunday it wouldn't be until Monday that we could get things fixed. Since we were only 15 miles from Joshua Tree NP we decided to head back up the hill and revisit the park.
The first night we stayed in the park until bedtime but then we chickened out and drove the twenty miles back to town and stayed in the Walmart parking lot. We woke up early, did a little Walmart shopping and headed back up the mountain to the park. We spent the entire day in the park and decided to just stay the night. No more chickening out.
Of course the night that we decide to stay a winter storm comes through the area. Outside of almost freezing the wind was really something. We were under a severe wind advisory but I had no idea what that meant. Let me say, I have never ever experienced wind like that... Is that a west coast thing or just a desert thing? All night long the wind tore at our rig. It pounded against the sides and shook the whole RV. I knew at any second our rig would go toppling over with us inside it. I listened to the wind beat us up and the little pellets of ice hammer down on our roof. Needless to say it was a sleepless night for me. Things finally started to slow down around two thirty in the morning and I was finally able to shut me eyes and get some real sleep (at least until my natural alarm clock woke me up at 630).
Joshua Tree NP has been an interesting experience. The beauty and absolute majesty of the place is unreal. And although we happened to come when they were hit by a winter storm we won't hold that against them. We'll definitely be back to visit again.
So until we see you on the road or somewhere around the globe... Peace, Love, and Visit a National Park near you!
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