Jumbo Rocks Campround, Joshua Tree National Park

N33*59.521 W116*03.670 On the way out of Las Vegas, we drove “The Strip” twice looking for a Starbucks as the coffee and continental breakfast offered at our hotel were too awful to partake. Bob and Cathryn felt significant culture shock, despite having been back in the U.S. for almost two weeks. The “bling” and “wow!” factor were hard to absorb. The Eiffel Tower, Statue of Liberty, and London Bridge replicas, along with Trump Tower and gold-clad skyscrapers were astonishing! None of us had ever before been to Las Vegas, so this was a new experience. We left town and headed west to Joshua Tree National Park in California. The terrain between Las Vegas and Joshua Tree was somewhat interesting, but mostly we were astonished by the strong wind and swirling dust. Winds were running 25-30 mph steadily, with gusts to 60 mph, we were told on arrival at the Joshua Tree Visitor’s Center. We made our way to Jumbo Rocks Campground, set up the Chalet, and headed out for a hike to Skull Rock. The granite rock here is spectacular, and Cathryn was repeatedly amused watching how much alike Bob and Adrienne were in their pursuit of fabulous photographs. She took photos of the two of them taking photos of the rocks! After our hike, we returned to our campsite to set up Adrienne’s tent (on loan from Mackenzie and Matt, the one they used in Arizona and got as a wedding present from Jim and Phebe). The wind made the temps in the low 60s feel positively freezing, so we huddled inside the Chalet for a bit, then Bob and Adrienne returned to the rocks to take photos at dusk, as the light made the scenery so much more picturesque. Dinner in the Chalet, then the three of us read our respective books until bedtime.