Camping by the sea (Salton Sea that is).

We enjoyed the area around Barrego Springs and did quite a bit of hiking in the hills. The views from the trails were awesome with palm groves in the higher canyons and desert views to the horizon. We were constantly on the lookout for Bighorn sheep but the encounter with the ten on Wednesday was the only one we had. The small town was neat too and we did a little exploring there too. We both agreed we could come back here to camp again if we are ever out this way.

Yesterday we packed up camp from Barrego Springs and drove up the mountain to Joshua Tree N.P. We didn't have reservations for two nights, then we have an eight night stay at Black Rock Campground at Joshua Tree starting on Sunday night (already reserved). When we were planning our trip Cottonwood campground was on a first come, first served basis and we thought it wouldn't be a problem getting in early on a Friday. It turns out that starting in 2018 Cottonwood is on a reservation system and it is now all booked up! We asked about alternate campsites and were told the entire park was full and that camping was available on private camps out of the park or on BLM land outside the park. We're now camping at Salton Sea State Recreation area for two nights as an alternative to staying up in the mountain near Joshua Tree National Park. Since the high temperature up in the mountains was only in the forties at four thousand feet and highs near the sea were in the sixties we decided to go back to the lower elevations and camp here at Salton Sea, after all it was only thirty miles back off the mountain! After feeling the forty eight degree temperatures yesterday afternoon we are hoping for a warm up next week when we go back up!

We're enjoying just hanging out here and are doing some cleaning and re-stocking before going back off the grid for eight days.