BLM

 1/31- Joshua Tree CA

   We finally departed one of the coolest campsites ever. Just being around these rocks is fun. In case we haven’t had enough rock bouldering we stopped at another campground and walked on the trail amongst more gigantic boulders. One of the problems we had here is it is difficult to sometimes find the trail. People walk all over the place so there are footprints everywhere. You can be following what you think is the path only to have it end at a large rock. When you try to backtrack to find where you went wrong it turns out it could be anywhere. With my excellent navigation skills we eventually found our way back to the rv. ( fortunately we could see it the whole time)

    We wanted to spend tonight at another campground in the park but the system to do so is bizarre. National Park campgrounds are reserved through a website called recreation.gov. It is a good website and you put in all your information and it tells you exactly which sites are available to you. Trouble is there is no cell phone reception inside the park. So in order to get a campsite for tonight I had to go online and reserve one even if I could see there was one open. Of course there being no reception I couldn’t do it. When I asked the staff they directed me 7 miles down the road where they said I might get reception. 

    It turns out that 8 miles down the road is a BLM site. That is Bureau of Land Management. These properties allow you to camp for free. This is just a large piece of desert that has quasi roads and fairly level spots for camping. There are no services but also very few rules. 

   We just pulled in to a spot between some creosote bushes and it became our campsite for the night. This spot has a beautiful view of the surrounding mountains and we witnessed another spectacular sunset. Also I get internet so I can post this tonight. 

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