March 27 -- Through Joshua Tree Nat'l Park to the Salton Sea

Remember that "Third World" road I mentioned earlier, the one that leads into the Black Rock Canyon campground that has potholes? Well, I heard the reason for its state of disrepair is -- no one wants to take responsibility for repairing it. The Park Service says it's not on Park grounds, so it's not their problem.  And apparently no one knows whose problem it is...So nothing gets done, and chances are good someone will end up with a broken axle -- if it hasn't already happened...The folks who told me about The State Of The Road were Bruce and Shannon Pound, owners of another Lance 1685 who were using the RV dump just as I pulled up on the other side. They've traveled quite a bit since leaving their home in Seattle, Washington. So we talked Things Lance and I took their photo, and posted it on the Lance Owners of America website --

The took the main north-south road through Joshua Tree National Park. The wildflowers are just starting to bloom, but I just had to walk back 300 yards to get a shot of these cacti in the Joshua Tree high desert -- 

There is an Ocotillo "garden" along the southern section of the road --

As with so many plants and animals in the desert, its beauty masks barbed danger -- 

And its blooms are delicate; this was taken with my new "macro" setup, the Canon 40D with the 17-55mm f/2.8 lens with a 12mm Canon tube extension added -- 

I arrived at the campground along the north shore of the Salton Sea around 3pm, and was greeted by friends Bill Stewart and Anne Smiley, snowbirding Canadians who were on their way back north but spent an extra day with me. I had dinner with them in their RV, then I went to bed knowing that the excitement of being at the Salton Sea during early spring had just begun...