Loved our stay in Joshua Tree National Park, hiked every day, interesting geology:
Including Ninja Turtle
Skull Rock
And cool rock and boulder formations
Liked all the different desert cactii, like this barrel cactus.
And these California Fan Palms at 49 Palms Oasis.
Next we headed for a night at the Salton Sea State Recreation Area (best to avoid this place, stinking sulphur smell coming from the lake, lots of dead fish on the shoreline, a real treat!)
Then on to Yuma, AZ, or approximately 20 miles north of Yuma, next to the Yuma Proving Ground, and generally known as the BLM, Imperial Dam camping areas where we stayed at Squaw Lake campground, a little bend in the Colorado River, next to some other reservoir impoundments.
Entrance to the Yuma Proving Grounds.
We had very friendly camping neighbors, camping in this weird sort-of parking lot, real nice bathroom/shower facilities, access to good clean water, and nice enough views at times:
But it was like living in a parallel Universe. Literally thousands of campers living off the grid (no water or electrical hookups) almost everybody has Solar setups like us, and many ran generators in the hours they were allowed. But the desert was just a barren, rock strewn wasteland. Just strange that so many people would come here and spend their winters bopping about. Many from Western Canada (most of the folks at Squaw Lake were Canadians), British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Alberta, Ontario.
We did manage to hike every day, even though we were in an unseasonable heat wave 90deg+.
But now we're in a MUCH MORE BEAUTIFUL desert, the Sonoran desert incorporating the northern range of the Organ Pipe Cactus, green and beautiful. The Ocotillo are even flowering!
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