Memorial Day Camping

Memorial Day Weekend 2015. We prepped and headed to Idyllwild, to go deep into the mountains and camp out for a day or two. Well, we got to the mountain and the higher we drove, the foggier, colder, and more wet it got. Not ideal for camping. We paused on the side of the road and had to figure out where to go. Joshua Tree. Why not. Maybe there would be a camp site somewhere on the busiest camping weekend of the year!

The view from the road that climbs into Idyllwild:

We got to Joshua Tree in the early afternoon. We stopped for some snacks, firewood, and Panda Express after a morning of driving all over. We rolled into the National Park, after a long line of cars waiting at the entrance gate. We stopped at the campsites as we passed them and started feeling like we might not find a place to sleep. Eventually, in the middle of a big campground, we happened alongside an RV that was pulling out. It was perfect timing and they left the perfect little nook for us. We drove around a little later and we didn't see a single other open site. It kind of felt like we found the last one available!

So here we go, second camping trip in Joshua Tree, with a fantastic (quiet) new tent!

Kim used the Mamiya and shot some medium format over the weekend. Here she is loading it up. If you want to see her photos, be sure to take a look at her cool blog! 
(I shot these with my Olympus OM1N and some old Agfa 100 speed film that I accidentally exposed at 400, ah film.)

One of my pandas came along this time - meet Charlie!

Dinner! Freeze dried spaghetti and chili!

The fire starter.

And smores!

Good morning! Time for coffee... that JetBoil stove comes in quite handy when you really need a quick cup of coffee in the mornings.

Before leaving for the day, we took the south drive and stopped to visit the Cholla Garden.

Then we arrived at the Lost Palms Oasis Trailhead and packed for the journey into the desert. Eight hot, dry, very sunny, up-hill and down-hill miles... to see some palm trees in the middle of the desert.

We found this little lady leopard lizard along the way. She was nearly 2 feet long and quite interesting looking.