Sash and I returned to Joshua Tree BLM South, a dispersed camping area on BLM land, just on the south side of Joshua Tree National Park.
The first time we camped here, back in November 2018, we spent a few weeks enjoying the cooler weather and free camping. Back then, we also enjoyed relative solitude during a time when snow birds still had yet to flock into Southern California. It was of that memory and good experience that lead us back to here for another round of camping.
This time around, we arrived on the first day of March 2019, right at the start of the Spring Super Bloom. We were joined by our friend John, another full time RVer and boondocker. John is busy starting up his new online presence, “The Boondoctor” where he writes about the technical aspects of outfitting an RV for long term boondocking.
It was actually a lot of fun.
Sash and I were more than pleased to have a friend to camp with. We spent many nights around the campfire, burning meat, drinking beer, and talking about whatever came to mind. We watched the stars, went out on hikes, gathered firewood, and built what we hope to be a long term friendship.
On one afternoon, we took an afternoon trip into Mexicali, Mexico for some tacos, margaritas, and pharmaceutical shopping. It’s where Sash prefers to go to buy drugs that would otherwise require physician exams and lots and lots of money. In Mexicali, they don’t ask for for an actual prescription, and pricing is only a 10th of what it is in the States.
Anyway, I ended up getting sick.
I had a plate of lamb tacos at a very small, very independently run, taco shop. I made the mistake of sprinkling of fresh onions and cilantro on them. In Mexico, fresh food is riddled with e-Coli bacteria. You always want to eat only cooked food, or bottled drinks. About 30 minutes later, I was feeling sick. I was losing energy, feeling chills, and getting sick to my stomach.
As of this writing, about 3 weeks after that afternoon in Mexicali, I’m still feeling sick. It’s mostly chills, light nausea, and loss of energy. I’ve been on Cipro (an antibiotic), and it’s only barely fighting the infection.
Otherwise, Sash and I ended up spending a full month camped here the second time around at Joshua Tree BLM South. The temperatures in March are perfect, ranging from low-60s to low-80s at the high, and low-30s to low-50s at the low.
The Spring Super Bloom was amazing this year. Joshua Tree National Park perhaps had the best showcase of flowers throughout the Mojave and Colorado Deserts of California. Endless seas of purple, yellow, white, and spatterings of orange and red. Lot of Lupine, Poppies, Verbena, and Chia.
I’m certain when we come back to Southern California at the end of 2019, we’ll back here to Joshua Tree BLM South.
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