Nomads in Arizona and Joshua Tree National Park, California

We loaded up the car with a complete Thanksgiving dinner, including items for a vegan and travelled up to Tempe, AZ where #4 is going to college at ASU.  It was not our typical 12-person dinner at home with, homemade bread (baking I do miss), but it was the sweetest little dinner that we made.  Our youngest daughter bussed in from California and stayed with our youngest son.  We ended up at a fancy-dancy hotel down the street.  We have been on the road now since May, 2021 and I feel like we are starting to get a handle on travelling and flexibility.  We ended our Thanksgiving with a little hike up Hole in the Rock Trail in Papago Park right outside Tempe, Az.  A great way to end the holiday.

I have been thinking lately about what a Nomad really is.  The dictionary defines a nomad as one who wanders around aimlessly, frequently, without a fixed pattern of movement.   That is definitely NOT the way I travel around.  I am a hopeless romantic about the places I go.  I have thought about the places that I am travelling to right now...my whole life.  I was given a set of books involving children in different parts of the world when I was 6 years old.  I still remember thinking "I am going there one day."  I have to laugh though these days the price of gas definitely defines where one is traveling to.  

After Thanksgiving we went back to Tucson and picked up "Little R" to do a local trip for about 10 days.  We traveled to Quartzite, AZ where the movie Nomad was made and stayed for the night in the BLM La Posa Longterm Campsite.  Since we drove in late, we did not realize that you can only buy a longterm permit for this area...so the next morning, when I went to pay for the permit, the guy laughed at me and said "no charge."  I will tell you that place is organized by volunteers and they are serious about the way the water and dumpsite is used.  You form an orderly line and go through the process without issue.  In this area of Arizona, water is a real luxury and so we have been very careful for the last 4 days.  We went through about 14/20 gallons of our water tank.  

Right in back of the BLM land of Quartzite was the Kofa National Wildlife Refuge. We drove to Palm Canyon Road inside the Refuge where the southernmost population of California date palms are growing.  It was about 1/2 mile hike in and out, but definitely worth the time and effort to get there.  After that, we headed to Joshua Tree National Park.  Woo doggies-when we got there, it took $80 to fill up the van at about $4.80/gallon.  Not sure we are over the shock of that one.  We stayed at Indian Cove Campground, which is inside the Park, but just a little pocket of campsites outside of the city of 29 Palms.  

This time (as we have been in this park before) it was much warmer.  The last time we went in the spring and though we saw some beautiful wildflowers, it was soooo cold.  We were able to sit outside in the sun and have a comfortable campfire.  We met up with some campers from Portland, Oregon and enjoyed talking with them about all of our travels.  

While we were there, we drove the Geology Tour Road and learned about how the landscape has weathered: Pinto gneiss, monzogranite, Blue granodiorite, apolite, and basalt formed the valleys and mountains according to time and weathering processes.  The gneiss was 1.7 billion years old!  The monzogranite on the other hand was a baby rock at 85 million years old.  The Geology Tour road is 4-wheel and we were glad that "Little R" was able to make it around the loop.  It is one-way so you can't turn back.

The next day as I was walking out of the Park Visitor Center, someone called my name...what a pleasure to see Jan Abu Shakrah and her husband Samir.  This lady changed my life and taught me how to age well in all of the Gerontology coursework that I took from Portland Community College.  She is now retired and travelling to as many natural place as she and Samir can get to.  It was a pleasure to see how happy she and Samir are in retirement.  

We also hiked a lot this time.  I spent some time taking black and while pictures along Split Rock, Skull, and Discovery Trails.  The lighting is just so much more distinct when you have large rock landscapes in black and white.  

Even the Joshua trees seem more unearthly in grey, black, and white tones.  

However, here is a comparison though where color is better than black and white, so the concept does not always hold true.

Finally, I got a Pit Boss Griddle to take along on this trip and love it.  We have been trying to conserve the battery power of our chassis as it is time to replace the AGM batteries when we get back.  So I have been cooking either half-way through the day (then we are at full capacity when we stop for the night) or if we are in one place for a while--the griddle is a great alternative.  So far pancakes,  hamburgers and salmon and potatoes have come out pretty yummy.