Started the day with bacon and eggs at our awesome but slightly surreal campsite, then packed up for our last full day with the van - really just a further dash towards LA. Noticed that something - presumably our kangaroo rat neighbour - had somehow got into our van and nibbled a hole through a bag and a banana. Oh well.
We headed south through Joshua Tree NP to have a look at the Cholla Cactus Garden (mostly but not entirely cholla)...
..and the Ocotillo Patch.
Both were in the Colorado Desert, which meets the Mojave Desert at J-Tree, the latter being higher and therefore more varied and, to our minds, interesting and appealing. Returning to the harshness of the former had to be done, but wasn't particularly welcome.
So having camped at 4,400 feet we descended quite rapidly through the southern part of the park to the I-10, and by the time we got down to the Coachella Valley it was roasting hot. Spent a fairly unpleasant hour or so barrelling along the interstate at 80mph with the trucks, in scorching temperatures and following the San Andreas Fault.
Our final night will be at a campsite in Angeles National Forest, in the mountains to the north-east of LA. Before we skirted around the city and up into the hills we were in need of some lunch, and had been trying to find the opportunity for an In'N'Out Burger for some time. Sax had recommended them as the best fast food joint in the States, but only available in CA, NV and AZ. We hadn't managed it so far and will be leaving the south-west tomorrow, and as they proliferate around LA, this was our chance. Bloody delicious. Straightforward, fresh, real burgers, no messin'. And generous. Impressed.
Then on to Mountain Oak Campground. I'm fascinated by the whole San Andreas Fault thing, and was amused to see that it runs directly under the site. Fingers crossed the big one ain't tonight.
Not much to do in the area, and we got here mid-afternoon, so went into the local town, Wrightwood, looking for coffee and dinner supplies. Found the former with wifi, so made the most of that and managed to upload the blog text for a few days. New Orleans tomorrow, so hopefully photos then.
Picked up what we needed for tonight then turfed everything out of the van and packed it all up, ready for an early start in the morning. We're about 90 minutes' drive (in good conditions) from Inglewood, where the van has to be at 10am, and want to get there via Hollywood Boulevard.
Chicken risotto and a roaring campfire, plus the last of the beers - an uninspiring drop called Rolling Rock Extra Pale - then turned in.
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