Trip Odometer: 9,833 (Today or tomorrow will be a banner day!)
We’ve been through some desert lands and incredible national parks since our last dispatch. This one is coming to you from Moab, Utah. But there’s a lot of ground to cover — let’s go back in time a few weeks.
Sunday, April 30: After saying goodbye to Oliver the pig and the alpacas in Monte Rio, we traveled straight to Vacaville, CA to spend some time with our dear friend Brian, who we first met many years ago when he was a visiting percussionist with the Juneau Symphony.
Twyla (the car) got a full check up. She’s doing great, though there is a small oil leak we will have to watch. Our time in Vacaville was spent taking some short day trips, working on the camper, and of course spending time with Brian!
The Good Professor Brian Simpson. 
Bending the awning rails to the camper curve. 
Part of our Bridge series, this one in Sacramento. 
Along a path in Vacaville. This is one of three squirrel cafes in the area. 
Brian may have a drum problem. 
And we love him! Thanks for the hospitality (and the paper towels), Brian!
Saturday, May 6: It was time to head on, so we loaded up and hit the highway. We stayed clear of (but often close to) the interstate through Rio Vista, Lodi, Stockton, and Tipton. This is agricultural land, for sure.
Just past Porterville we stayed the night at a campground on Lake Success, an Army Corps of Engineers project. It gave us a chance to test out the awning (still a work in progress) and enjoy a well-lit campground, thanks to our neighbor who brought enough wattage to light a professional baseball game.
The next day we took I65 to Bakersfield, listening to Buck Owens the whole way.
From there we hopped on East 58 and quickly gained 2000 ft, leaving the orchards for desert. In Barstow we picked up 247 to Lucerne, then a hard left to Joshua Tree Lake RV park for three nights.
The first night we just enjoyed the RV park. It’s a funky little family-owned campground – they’re not just providing campsites and restrooms, they also produce mini-festivals (we *just* missed a small folk festival and songwriting workshop!) and have been thoughtful about tree plantings and art placement. Plus a pond with lots of ducks!
Day two: Kayla did office work and Matthew worked on the camper. Then in the afternoon we drove the length of Joshua Tree National Park, with a few short excursions. What a weird and wild landscape!
Pro tips for visiting Joshua Tree: If you’re driving through in late afternoon, drive west to east (from Joshua Tree to 29 Palms) so the setting sun is behind you and shining on the rock formations as you drive toward them (and the sun’s not in your eyes!). If you’re driving through in the morning, well … go the other direction! Also, if you like the band U2, we highly recommend cueing up their Joshua Tree album – it really did reflect the vast majesty of this incredible park full of Seussian trees and big rock piles.
Our third day in Joshua Tree – there was a prediction of high winds in the afternoon, so we hit the park “early” for some nice hikes. (I think we entered the park at 9:30 am, so we’re still not exactly early birds!) The winds came as predicted, and whoo boy was it brutal. We kept shelter in our tent, and managed to make dinner.
There were plenty of spaces available at the rv park. Look closely and you’ll see us on the left. 
One of several little stage areas at the rv park. 
A sitting area. 
There once were 300,000 desert tortoises in Joshua Tree. Now there are something like 300. Matthew helped this one cross the road. 
There’s those Joshua Trees! 
A fun little slot canyon. 
On the other side of this one was…another one. 
Setting up to watch the sun go down. 
And so it did!
The Desert Plant and Flower Series
After Joshua Tree … well … we’ve covered some incredible ground over the last 10 days! Stay tuned for an upcoming post about our visit to Navajo National Monument, plus Mesa Verde, Canyonlands, and Arches National Parks! (Spoiler: they’re all amazing!!) Right now, we’re about to head out of Moab and make our way to some friends around the Grand Junction, CO area. Thanks for following along – sending you big hugs!!
Sounds and looks beautiful!
I love the cactus blossom photos, it all looks like tons of fun😁
Happy to know what a Joshua tree looks like! Enjoy! and keep those photos coming.