Travel-Blog Day 5

On Day 5 of the Great California (and some) Road Trip of 2005, we slept in late in our communal bedroom in Newport Beach. We’d considered driving down to San Diego and hitting the zoo or Sea World, but when we looked at ticket prices, the sticker shock took the wind out of our sales. That, and our almost universal heartburn from Big Belly Deli’s pizza.

So, we scrapped all of our plans, and decided to take a leisurely drive east to our next destination, Joshua Tree National Park. The first leisurely stop on our leisurely trip was Target, for another load of provisions. While there, we met Mickey Mouse’s voice.

Not literally, of course. It wasn’t like some disembodied voice walked up to us in the store and said “Hi, kids” or something like that. Instead, a full-grown adult male greeted us at the store, with a high-pitched voice that made you wonder whether to start laughing along with the joke or feel sorry for the poor guy. I looked at him for about a second too long, just trying to figure out which approach to take, and realizing he was acting in earnest, I greeted him and walked to a nearby section so that I could listen to him greet other customers and see what reactions, if any, he got from them.

During the greeting, he was offering opportunities to sign up for Target credit cards. I’m in an on-going bout of credit counseling, so I couldn’t sign up if I wanted to, but it was interesting, nonetheless, to see if people were able to get past his freakish voice to understand exactly what he was uttering.

They weren’t. Each person had the same stunned look at the surreal sound being thrust at them from this otherwise-normal looking guy. And each tried to stifle laughter long enough to get to the nearest aisle, where they could turn down and burst into intense guffaws, gasping for breath as they wiped tears from their red faces. It was sad.

As we were at Target, we started to face an unpleasant realization. We would be camping that night, in the middle of the desert, and we’d opted against bringing a camping stove. Thus, our food options for both dinner and breakfast were limited.

So, what to have for camp meals? We pondered this over lunch at In’N’Out, widely recognized in Fast Food Nation as the best place to go if you can’t fight the urge for instant grease. And, as always, it was delish.

As we prepared to leave town, we passed the palatial grounds of Trinity Broadcasting Network. I wasn’t able to snap a picture of what I saw, but in comparison with what I’d eventually see in Vegas, this place was on par with Caesar’s Palace for tackiness taken to the extreme. JLowe and I, both Christians, joined in mutual reviling of the sight before us, realizing that TBN continues to characterize (much like PTL in the 80’s) everything that we hate about televangelism and the excesses of some of the more questionable characters in the church. How does this sort of gaudy, irresponsible financial splurging on creature comforts make life better for anyone? Other than, of course, the high-paid directors of the “ministry”?

Anyhoo, off the soap box. After taking in the embarrassment of riches, we went to a local grocer and decided on dinner: sandwiches, cookies, and fruit. Then we headed east towards Joshua Tree.

Joshua Tree was exceptional. We got there about 2 hours before sun-down. Upon arrival, we immediately set up camp in the Cottonwood campground at the south end of the park. Then, when we realized we’d built our camp almost directly over an ant colony, we broke camp and re-assembled one site away.

Then we took an opportunity to go on a nature hike, toward an area called Cottonwood Springs. While walking, we saw many different, lovely plants, a stairway into nowhere, and a random oasis next to the spring. These giant palm trees stand in stark contrast to the surrounding desert, and thrive next to the tiny, tiny stream which produces about 300 gallons of water per day.

The Missus, while walking around, nearly stepped on this tiny rattlesnake, which during our time looking at it stayed almost perfectly still, either out of fear, or being dead, or being cold as the sun was beginning to fall behind the horizon. Either way, she lived, thankfully, and we got a nice picture in the process.

Back at camp, we all realized that the desert night would be cold, and we bundled up and made quick work of dinner before the sun completely set. Then we congregated in JLowe’s tent, where Lady Lowe taught me and The Missus how to play rummy. We sat in that tent, listening to LL’s flatulence and burping, and admiring the show at that, until it was time to run to our tent to seek shelter both from her and from the bitter cold night.

Lesson learned: next campsite, buy firewood. Fire is essential, for heat or at least for a forum for late night, meaningless chats.

Sleep came quickly, and Day 5 was done.