Glamping Days

 Saw a wide variety of plants on my rambles today. There were Joshua trees & yuccas... ...some cool cacti...                                          ...& oaks along the trail & a dead one up above.   This desert scene was typical, but there are also a few areas which sometimes collect significant water.   Lovin' the late-day views from this campground.   

Took a drive to the south central part of the park called the Geology Loop. Don't know much about geology, but the variety of scenery/ecosystems was interesting.                                          From an overlook, you can see quite a bit of southern California. In the first pic, Palm Springs is at the base of the mountains. In the distance in the second pic is the Salton Sea (really a big salty lake) with Mexico behind that.  Took a hike through "Hidden Valley" where rustled horses & cattle were kept in past times.  A distinctive rock formation is called "Skull Rock".                                 ...and, a bit of a sunset from my campsite.

It was a longish drive over to the northwest corner of the park, but well worth it. Some interesting  specimen Joshua trees & a dense forest of them are in this section of the park.                                                                           A long drive up to Eureka Peak was well worth the time & dust. The hike up to High View overlooking Black Rock Canyon was also worth the trip.    The late-day light on the big rocks in the campground marked the end to a lovely day. 

Leaving the Palm Springs area today, I took a couple of pics of the area. It was 78* at noon as I left Palm Springs in the rear view mirror.   Driving up to Joshua Tree, where it's about 10* cooler... Will spend 7 nights at this campsite. The sunset this evening looks promising. 

Took a spin around the RV resort where I'm staying for 2 nights. It's VERY different than my usual basic campground, state park, or boon docking site. Many of the rigs here are amazing - it's surprising that they let me in with my little rig. This big boy is called a Super C class motorhome.    I'm seeing more of these; they look like horse trailers made into custom travel trailers. Would love to see inside one.  These folks must be hauling something quite heavy in this trailer to need this truck, or else they're just into the cool factor.                                              Had planned to go exploring today in Palm Springs today, but when returning from my am walk, a neighbor had a crew washing & waxing his RV. My trailer desperately needed a wash & wax, so I engaged them to do it, & I did some laundry too. Was getting a bit late to do too much exploring by the time they left, so I just pottered around here after that. The sun & 75* made it

Last night I was the only one in a state park out in the desert, with no facilities beyond a gravel pad to park on - loved that. Today, I drove to the Palm Springs area, where I'm staying in a fancy RV resort, complete with swimming pool, outdoor games, & manicured lawns - not my style, but it's okay for a couple of nights. It was sunny with a high of 78*, so lovin' that & all the flowers blooming! First 3 pics are in the campground here.                                   

Had a lovely visit today with my cousins in Lancaster, PA. I've only ever seen them before in a lager family group, so it was especially nice to visit with just the 3 of us. These pics are all taken in the campground here at Saddle Back Butte State Park. Lovin' the flowers in January!