As befits California we had a bit of a laid-back week, with only one visit to a National Park the whole time.  We wanted sun, sea and sand this week so we drove south, inland unfortunately owing to the landslides along California Highway 1, then to Oceano just south of San Luis Obispo.  We stayed in the public campground just up from the beach which was the busiest location we have yet seen for ATV’s (all terrain vehicles) with the beach used as not just a road but a campsite for dozens of RV’s that were literally parked on the beach.  Several looked as though they would be overwhelmed by the tide when it came it, we can only assume they were all still there the next morning as there were no emergency sirens in the night.

From Oceano we continued southward and found a campsite in Ventura Beach, between Santa Barbara and Malibu.  They had upped their prices slightly because the Ventura County fair was on, however the $86 a night was still far cheaper than the $170 for one in Malibu we saw.  We settled in for three nights but chose not to see Huey Lewis and the News nor KC and the Sunshine band who were headlining the fair. 

We both really loved Ventura, the beaches were sandy the sun was shining and you could watch hundreds of surfers waiting patiently to catch a wave.   Downtown was walkable from our site and we had fish tacos on the pier, rode our bikes along Highway 1, and lay on the beach reading our kindles and simply relaxing for the time we were there.

On Friday we drove from Ventura, via a tyre shop to replace yet another worn tyre, to Temecula an area of wineries south east of LA.  OK, we should have known, however we were on the road at 2pm and the traffic around LA was dreadful, apologies to Craig but why does anyone want to live in a traffic jam?  We took four hours forty five minutes to go 160 miles, along four, five and six lane freeways, all clogged with traffic.

By the time we reached our campsite at Lake Skinner Park we were tired and fed up.  Thankfully Sally came along on Saturday to give us the excuse to go wine tasting down the road, where we had lunch at Falkner Winery.  Lovely setting overlooking their vineyards, and their wares were satisfactory, particularly the Viognier from their own estate.  The rest of the diners seemed to be predominantly brides towing their prospective grooms around for viewings and a couple of the quietest hen parties we’ve ever seen.   It was lovely to catch up with Sally, to hear about her girls and how they’re both doing and to commiserate on the loss of her mother.

We woke this morning slightly sore headed, particularly those who had a white Russian before going to bed, and set off towards New York on our race across the continent.  It’s not such a race, however, that we can’t stop for a National Park and en-route was the Joshua Tree.  We drove to the visitor centre at the north entrance to be greeted by 100 degree Fahrenheit and posters of a couple in their early 20’s who are missing from the 28^th July.   They still haven’t been found and hope is running out for their fate unfortunately.

With this in mind we asked the ranger about the walk we had intended to do, she was wary to put it lightly as it is three miles with a 1,000 foot elevation and the time was around mid-day.  So, we decided to follow her advice and do several shorter walks and leave the longer one for a day in the future.  The park is famous for its Joshua Trees which are Yucca trees rather than cactus, there are thousands across the high dry plains in the norther section where the Mojave desert meets the Sonoran desert.  Nope couldn’t tell the difference myself apart from the Joshuas stop suddenly and give way to cactus for as far as the eye can see.

The park includes another striking feature in the rock formations created underground and then pushed to the surface by volcanic activity around 10,000 years ago.  The rocks are fractured and some appear in shapes reminiscent of animal and human forms, one such is Skull Rock which looks like Homer Simpson’s skull would I think.  It’s another example of the varied natural beauty of North America and we were both really happy we took the time to have a look.

We left the park and have parked in Palm Springs, eerily the park is really empty as this is their down season as its too hot, most people come in the winter as summers are generally too hot.  Tomorrow we start in earnest on our trip across the continent with a 300 mile drive to Arizona.

 M