Day 309 – Tucson
On Sunday, we felt good enough to try another mountain climb, so we headed to the other half of Saguaro National Park on the west side of Tuscon to climb Wassen Peak. It was a fairly tough climb, but it was worth it, as we enjoyed incredible views for pretty much the entire hike. Besides thousands of saguaro cacti, we could see for dozens of miles in every direction, taking in awesome vistas of the mountains and valleys of southern Arizona.
Afterwards, we were exhausted, so we enjoyed a late picnic lunch in the park before heading back to the campground to recover after two solid days of hiking.
Day 310 – Tucson to Gila Bend
Monday started with work from the campground, then we headed to north Tuscon for some grocery and window shopping before getting back on the highway and heading through gusty winds to Gila Bend.
Day 311 – Gila Bend
Tuesday was a work/rest day from the motel.
Day 312 – Gila Bend to Blythe
After working Wednesday morning, we got back on the highway and continued our journey west, just barely crossing into California before stopping at a campground right on the Colorado River just outside of Blythe.
Day 313 – Blythe
We enjoyed a really nice day at the campground, with beautiful weather and nice views of the river and the surrounding mountains.
Day 314 – Blythe to Joshua Tree National Park
Friday started off with work from the campground, then we travelled further west into California to the south entrance of Joshua Tree National Park. We drove through the park, stopping for a few photo opportunities and taking a short side trip to the Keys View overlook, where the wind and elevation made it much, much colder than we were expecting. We enjoyed the views then quickly hopped back in the van to continue on to the Black Rock Campground, just inside the northern border of the park. On the way we stopped at the Visitor Center to pick up a magnet and for Tracey to take a quick peek at the World Famous Crochet Museum right across the street.
Day 315 – Joshua Tree National Park
We were lucky to have a beautiful clear day for hiking on Saturday, although it started off rather cold. We bundled up and took on the Panorama Loop hike, which took us up to and along a ridgeline of the Little San Bernardino mountains. The views of the Coachella Valley and Mount San Jacinto were stunning. Afterwards, we relaxed back in the van, staying out of the increasingly powerful wind and keeping warm.
Wow, that is beautiful country!……and crochet museum(?)
Go RC….Go….Go….Go!