The Best Laid Plans - Part 2

Don't forget to read Part 1!

Meet the newest Olsen family member - Bea!

(she's the black and white kiddo on the right)

When I'd initially corresponded with Lori at California Paws Rescue, we'd planned to meet Bea (that's what we've decided to call her - I couldn't wrap my head around the idea of yelling "BEANS!" in a crowded dog park) around 2pm on Monday, but once we added Zoe into the mix, we figured an earlier time of 11am was a better idea.  Since the drive from Jumbo Rocks Campground to the rescue site took an hour and a half (it's not that far as the crow flies, but there aren't that many major roads in Joshua Tree National Park, so you have to drive allll the way around it), we spent some time enjoying our morning together, making biscuits, heating up breakfast casserole, and strolling Zoe around the amphitheater next to our campsite.  

This child loves her sleep

Figuring Miss Zoe might need a bit more exercise, we drove north out of the park toward the city of Twentynine Palms and the Oasis Visitor Center.  While dogs aren't allowed on most park trails, they are allowed on the paved options, and that included the Oasis of Mara trail.  It wasn't long, but it included all sorts of fun sights and smells, and that helped to wear her out.

Kids just don't want to pose for pictures sometimes

The Oasis of Mara was just that - an oasis full of vegetation including huge palm trees and mesquites where the native people of the area would visit for community, water, and food.

Contemplating life on the palm bench

A tuckered out dog = success!

It was getting close to 9:30, so we continued our drive through the towns of Twentynine Palms, Joshua Tree (the city is separate from the National Park), and Yucca Valley, eventually connecting with the I-10 east of Indio.  We've never been through this area, and it was really pretty!

You lose about 1000 feet of elevation in this small section of the drive

Looking across the windmills and freeway toward Palm Springs

While we were driving through Twentynine Palms and Yucca Valley, we noticed several road signs warning of upcoming severe weather, including high winds and flooding.  Chris had been watching the weather app on his phone as well, and it was reporting the same; this included gusts up to 60mph in the Coachella Valley (where we were currently located) starting around noon the next day.  As we drove toward Bea, we started making contingency plans for our stay that night - should we relocate, and if so, where?

This is scary at the best of times,

but it's downright terrifying when you're towing a travel trailer.

The meeting with Bea went well - she's slow to warm up to new people, but when you feed her enough treats, she'll be your best friend.  She and Zoe got along pretty well, too, and you can see them doing some romping in the video below:

We spent some time chatting about whether she'd make a good addition to our family, and we settled on yes, so we took care of some paperwork and asked the rescue ladies how early we could pick her up the next morning - we wanted to be well clear of the area before that storm moved in!  They told us 8am would be totally fine, so we headed back toward our campsite, stopping for a delicious lunch of banh mi's from a local sandwich shop (La Baguette in Palm Desert - seriously, so good).

Noms!

Although we love camping in Joshua Tree, we decided that we probably shouldn't stay there another night.  With the windstorm approaching, trying to do the hour and a half drive out of the park first thing the next morning didn't seem smart; once we made it back to the camper, we had a snack, then spent some time packing everything up for a move south.  Campendium reported a few decent, free sites near the junction of the 10 and 86 freeways near Indio, and we chose the one offered by the Spotlight 29 Casino.  On our way out of Joshua Tree, we dumped the waste tanks and filled up fresh water again, then drove another 30 minutes to the casino where we set up for the night.

This dog is DONE with our shenanigans.

The RV/big rig parking lot at the casino was huge, so there was plenty of space for Zelda and Aubie, and we quickly set things up so we could get inside and out of the wind (it wasn't that bad yet, but it was already increasing).  After feeding Zoe and taking showers ourselves, we cracked open a bottle of wine and made ourselves the steak, potato, and broccoli dinner we'd previously planned.  Although it wasn't as fun as cooking in/around a campfire, it worked just fine.

Our stunning view of the 10

A few other rigs settling in for the night

Dinner time!

Exhausted but well fed, we capped off the night streaming the replay of the F1 race from earlier on Sunday while cuddling with the kiddo.  We also spent some time obsessing about the weather forecast - the storm that initially planned to blow in around noon would likely be here even earlier - around 10am - so we texted the rescue and asked to pick Bea up at 7am instead of 8.  Thankfully, they were happy to oblige.

Fernando Alonso: perpetually in need of a haircut

Zonked!

As you might imagine, none of us slept well that night.  Even Zoe was awake most of the evening, due to the wind blowing and the big rigs coming and going.  While that wasn't super fun, it did mean we were awake before our 5am alarm, and we made breakfast and packed up the rig, departing the casino parking lot at 6:30 on the dot to go pick up Miss Bea.

While Chris and Zoe watched the rig, I collected Bea and all of her accoutrements from the rescue, including a full shopping bag of toys, leashes, harnesses, and clothes (she's like Barbie - she comes with SO MANY accessories!).  We got the whole family in one spot, and after unsuccessfully trying to get the girls to take care of potty business in the light rain, everyone was secured in the truck, and we were on the road.

"Hello, new human!  Where are we going?"

(please note she's already escaped part of her harness)

Both of them exhausted by all the excitement, the girls sacked out pretty hard, and although we'd hear a small growl when Bea got too close to Zoe, they slept most of the way home.  We stopped a few times - once at a rest area about 30 minutes down the road (the same one where Snuggles the fish tried to murder Chris a few years back), once for gas and to eat our lunch in Quartzsite, and once to dump our tanks on the west side of Phoenix.

Sacked out babies

Keeping an eye on Chris while he's dumping the tanks

Zoe is not so sure about this new little sister

Our early start served us well, and although we had light rail for most of our trip east, we made it back to Phoenix around 1:30pm without encountering any of the scary wind.  We unpacked the rig, gave everyone a bath, and started the laundry.  Before too long, the girls were enjoying their favorite activity:

Suns out, buns out!

Staying the one night in Joshua Tree and one night in the casino also let us claim one more state for our sticker map:

California is state number five in this camper!

As I type this (it'll be later when I publish it, of course), we've been a family of four for almost one whole week.  Everyone is still adjusting to one another, but we're seeing improvements in Bea's behavior and interactions with us and Zoe each day.  Cheers to new fur-babies!

Later!

Amy