Jumbo Rocks Campground --- Joshua Tree NP... I didn't break my ankles.

Roger here....  OK, we had it!  The industrial equipment rumbled by our site at 7:00 a.m.  Monday morning and closed the main exit.  The litter was still blowing in the wind with no indication of anyone wanting to tidy it up.  The asphalt smell was still in the air.  We had decided to leave the RV park in Twentynine Palms a day early before this early morning awakening.  (It would have been two days had it not been for the finale of The Amazing Race.)  To top it off, a long-term resident chastised me for not positioning the garbage in the correct position for pickup.  Enough!  

What would it be like to have this view from our campsite in place of the view of litter, crumbling asphalt and nasty neighbors?  Well, we can and we did.  After looking at the Jumbo Rocks (boondocking) campground a couple of days ago, we talked to the nice ranger, with the perfect British accent, about whether our rig would fit here.  She gave us a list of the possible sites.  We found a great one --- site # 88.

No electricity, no cell phone coverage, no TV (the Amazing Race is over), no water (except what we put in our fresh-water tank), no sewer.  BUT, oh what a place to lounge around, read, and explore for a day!

Just look at our huge and private campsite (surrounded by gigantic boulders).  Note the doggies hiding in the shade of the picnic table.

This is the view that we had from our lounge chairs.  I thought it looked like our grand-beagle, Cinnamon, sniffing a rock.  

It was great to see Dianne relaxing in this amazing place, but try as I may, my book did not hold my attention as I gazed at my own private boulder-garden.  So, off I went.

Look at the guy waving in the center.  It's me!  I found a wedge in the rocks that I was pretty sure I could use to climb up.  When I got to the top, I called to Dianne below (whom I could not see), and asked her to bring the camera to the next campsite.  Look who she found!

(Eye roll...Dianne)  I asked Dianne to go a couple of sites over so she could watch me climb down.  She admonished: "I do not know how to drive the motor home (which she needs to do); don't break an ankle!"  

OK, I won't!  I really had no trouble scrambling back down the rocks.  AND, as shown below, I did not break my ankles.

Nope, nothing broken there.  No worries for the next drive in the motor home.

Back to the lounge chair, and the book.  Wow, this is a reason for not reading. Look at those colors, green, golden-tan, white, and a blue sky we have not seen since Bryce Canyon.

OK, I have read enough today.  Time to climb a bit more.  Good view of the campsite, the motor home and a tiny turquoise Dianne.

As the air cooled, Dianne wanted a campfire.  We had no fire wood.  Never to be denied :-), Dianne found a huge log in a nearby abandoned campsite.  Adding the kindling that we had brought, the giant log provided a fire, not a big fire, but a fire.

Starting to get dark.  Soon there will be a sunset.  I really like this blue and white preview of things to come with the Joshua Tree in the center.   Here is the look from the other direction.

Great view of our motor home at sunset.

I wish we could stay in this place for a longer time, but it is time to point north.  We will spend two days on the road before arriving at Vacaville, CA and a new set of experiences.

There are two pet pictures of the day.  The first  shows Bandido at the end of the day behind the haze of our (kind-of) campfire.

The second, shows a picture from Dianne's wildlife cam that was taken from our site in the middle of the night.  Obviously, a kit fox!  Scary eyes, don't ya think?