Last night, I had multiple bad dreams and woke up cold at one point and basically did not sleep so well. I think it was all mostly due to the fact that I would leaving in the morning and was not sure how I felt about it. When I did wake up, finally at 05:00, and could not go back to sleep I decided to jump into the shower. Getting out I heard that Sal was out in the kitchen so I opted to not blow-dry and straighten my hair so I just gathered all my things and got dressed.
Stepping out into the main area I said good morning and he offered me some tea which I gladly accepted. As I sat down at the counter thing waiting for the tea to cool down Sal went thru his mail and then sat down next to me to eat his oatmeal. We continued to talk about things and I tried to not think about me leaving and getting back on the road. With his oatmeal gone, he went to take a shower while I sat on the couch for him to get out so that we could say goodbye. The moment I was not looking forward to had come and I do hate goodbyes more than anything. We hugged inside and as an after-thought I wish I had removed my backpack but alas I did not. He then walked me to the gate so that I could get out and we hugged once more and then off to my vehicle I went.
As I sat in my vehicle I was reluctant to get back on the road but I did not know why; usually, I can not wait to get going again. I think that I had gotten accustomed to company and being around others that the thought of being alone once again depressed me. Another thing that I think held me back from putting my vehicle in drive was the thought that I never imagined that I would actually make to the west coast. It was always one of those things people tend to say they will do but never do like, "one day I will do that." Well that "one day" had finally come for me and I was hesitant to move forward. Was it fear that it would not live up to my expectations or was it something else? I do not know. What I did know was that I had to woman up, put my emotions in check and put that vehicle in drive and that is exactly what I did.
Pulling away, I headed to Joshua Tree National Park which was around a five hour drive away and my first stop in California. As I entered California, the road seemed to open up into a five lane highway with people zooming all around in their cars. The view was beautiful for all around me were mountains and though they were not covered in trees and were quite barren they were still magnificent. The drive itself was uneventful and I just tuned it all out going from listening to music to not paying attention to the music at all. When I arrived at the town of Joshua Tree, it was a small town with not much there at all and I would have to say that it was worse off then my home town of Park Falls.
Finding the park visitor center took some time for it was hidden off a side road and I missed the sign on my first pass thru the town. When I pulled in, I acquired my sticker and a postcard and walked up to the counter to talk to an older woman about the trails within the park and other things to see or do in the area. I do find it very intriguing, that at all the national park visitor centers it is either always an older woman with a very young guy working or just an old man. Everyone I talk to suggests that I work at a national park but I fear I would find it quite dull and would prefer to go back to work for the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources before I did that. Anyways when I went to go pay there was a $5.00 limit on cards so I had to put my things back for I did not have any cash on me.
Pulling out of the parking lot I drove a few miles down the road to the park entrance. There was a line of vehicles to get in but it went by quickly and the woman who checked my pass was also from Wisconsin. Driving thru the park, I stopped at a few spots but I was just not in the mood to fully enjoy the park to its fullest so after not even an hour I turned around and headed back out of the park. I made one final stop at the visitor center to buy my sticker and postcard with the change I had for my laundry. After that I went across the street to fill up my water bottles and five gallon water jug with water from the spigot out back.
From there I went off in search of the BLM land that my campground app showed me was north of the park. I do need to work on remembering that my vehicle is not an off-road vehicle and that I am pulling a little camper behind me. I keep taking these roads that I should not be on at all and Sunflower road was one such road. It was very sandy and I actually think it was a wash for when it rains. I was a little worried that I was going to become stuck or break my camper in the process of finding this free camping area. In the end, I think I found what was supposed to be the BLM area in a wide open desert with no shade but luckily it was cooling off so I did have that to look forward to!
As I went about setting up camp I called my dad in Florida back to talk to him about what has all been going on. While I was on the phone an old veteran pulled up on a four wheeler so I threw the rice bag I was about to cook for dinner over my gun and told my dad I would call him back. The guy just wanted to make sure I picked up after myself for he lives in the area and drives around picking up everyone's' trash. We talked for awhile then about the man who owns the mountain behind me, yeah you heard that right he owns a mountain, and about how the military tried to make this area into a lake and therefore a source of fresh water but it just soaked up the water and is now a sink hole basically!
After he left, I called my dad back and then made some white rice to eat. Once dinner was done I decided to get my yoga mat out and do some workouts and also videotape it for the backdrop was stunning. When I was done with that I wrote in my journal while taking a million pictures of the sun setting, for the sky was constantly changing, and with the mountains all around me it was truly breathtaking! I sat for a long time on my yoga mat staring off at the sky, waiting for the sun to go down and the moon to rise in the sky. The entire day seemed to drag on but not in a bad way and now I was three hours behind everyone back home in Wisconsin.
Once the sun had gone, I climbed into my camper to have a relaxing nights rest; however, I would end up waking every hour or so for the moon was so bright it felt like daylight outside. I could literally see everything within the landscape without the assistance of a light! All night I would wake up, almost every hour, thinking it was morning only to find out it was not.
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