Traveling From the Forest to the Desert – via Los Angeles

In spite of several things still on our wish list, it was time to leave Lemon Cove, California and head to our next stop. We have friends we are trying to catch up with in San Diego around their schedule and time is ticking on. We decided to split the trip and get a couple of nights near Joshua Tree National Park, especially since there was also a Thousand Trails park nearby included in our membership.

It was a 300 mile day (the general maximum for an RV travel day) and, not only would the weather be getting warm in the desert, but we had a steep mountain pass with crazy crosswinds, and we had to pass through the Los Angeles area. We’d been watching traffic and planned our travel day to get passed it before 3PM. Around 2PM, entering the L.A. area, traffic started picking up, then our Garmin suddenly alerted us to an entire southbound closure on 205, the bypass road around L.A., forcing us and everyone else onto I-5 and resulting in a 2-3 hour delay. Ugh.

I got on the phone and called the campground we were headed to so they’d know we were a late arrival, and because, strangely, this one hadn’t reached out to let us know the check-in procedure, which most do. I got voicemail and left a message and we continued on.

We arrived at Thousand Trails Palm Springs for our two-night stay at around 5:30–which is what some places consider a late arrival since it’s after office hours. We had not gotten a call back, so we checked for signs and saw a number to call for after hours check-in since there was not an arrival board with our packet. The number kept going to voicemail, so BJ kept calling while I walked over to the common areas, looking for someone. I met several people staying there that were puzzled no one was at the gate.

Finally, just after 6 a ranger pulled up stating they have a “state mandated lunch break” on their shift and the sign said someone would be back. We also pointed out the number to call that wasn’t being answered.

At this point, daylight was fading and we just wanted to get set up and have dinner, so we did the paperwork and headed to our spot.

Let me tell you, setting up in the dark in the desert without a bunch of lights is no fun, but BJ is a beast and got the rig backed in quickly. We got set up, had dinner, and took Luna for a walk to check out the park a little.

We also planned our excursion for the next day into Joshua Tree after making sure it was still accessible during the shutdown. We planned to visit for a couple of hours, then come home and get caught up on school and the blog before leaving the following day.

But it didn’t go as we planned! Be sure to follow/subscribe! I’ll share more about our Joshua Tree adventures in the next blog!

Even though we had a bad first impression, the park looks like a great spot and we’ve heard wonderful things from people we’ve talked to and met there, so we won’t let this experience turn us away from our Thousand Trails membership. It still helps us budget and travel in this full-time RV lifestyle!

If you’re not a Thousand Trails member, but are interested, use our referral sign up, linked here, and we will get your information to Sharon and Warren Lewis, our specialists, to help you find a membership that works for your budget and camping style!

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