Preparing for six weeks in the desert

We used up our allotted two weeks in Joshua Tree National Park, our favorite place to camp and hike in the US.  We wish they allowed more than that, and we're sure the Park Service doesn't really even keep track.  But we try to obey the rules, so we are leaving.  The park is within a three-hour drive of 18 million people, so the Park Service wants to give everyone the opportunity of camping there, especially since there is a relatively small window of time when the weather is nice.  On the other hand, even during the peak season, the campgrounds are pretty empty except for the weekends.

We hiked 81 miles, including 2 1/2 miles "up" (and back down of course), and went dancing twice.  Some of our hikes were really spectacular.  One of the reasons for the blog is so that we can relive them in several years when we no longer can get outdoors the same way we can now.  That's another type of "small window"--when you are retired and have the time, but your body is still reasonably strong.  We want to use this small window to create memories.  And we surely have.

We spent last night and tonight at our favorite (and only) RV resort--29 Palms RV Resort, in Twentynine Palms California.  On Saturday night we attended their "Date night," which was their name for their Valentine dance.  It was quite the deal--for $10 each we got large steaks, potatoes, bread, an awesome salad, and homemade deserts.  Beat that!

And we danced:

 

"Date Night" was advertised with this stuffed woman.  I kid you not.  It was really fun.  All week long she had a sign on her advertising it.  Didn't work though--nobody invited her.  Shows to go you that acting desperate isn't a good come-on. 

The entertainment mentioned on this ad by Peg and Bill was as corny as the day is long.  And Vicky and I agreed they were as funny as Burns and Allen.  Amazing what you find sometimes in out of the way places.

What was the "special treat" you ask?  Each attendee got a small bag of homemade fudge.  Yum!  We are saving some of it for later.

The other reason we are staying here is to fill up with provisions for a long trip into the Mojave Desert. 

We are planning on being at least 100 miles from a grocery store for six weeks.  That means, yep!  You guessed it!  We need six weeks of food, and wine.  We hope to be able to camp places where there is no water or toilets.  We are prepared.  In addition to loading up the camper with water (30 gallons), we have another 20 gallons of containers inside the camper.  We also have poop bags and a shovel.

Earlier this week we went shopping at Walmart, and purchased loads of drinks--mostly diet cokes and V-8 juice.  Plus about 15 packages of non-fat Pringles.  We got several pounds of hamburger, ham, and trail mix.

Then today we did our real shopping trip:

 

One of the reasons we wanted a 4-door pickup was for the added room in the backseat.  We can fit four large tubs in there, including one that now serves as our outside refrigerator.  Vicky is loading one of them full of cans:

The "outside refrigerator" we mentioned is a Rube Goldberg contraption.  We purchased a VERY large (purple, which pleased Vicky) tub, and inside it put a styrofoam cooler.  In the cooler we put two 10-pound blocks of ice plus seven pounds of chipped ice.  With the lid on, it will take days for the ice to melt, and all the while providing cooling to the rest of the inside of the large tub.  Surrounding the tub we put half a dozen bunches of celery, several packages of onions, about 60 peppers (seriously--we go through a lot of peppers), and 20 pounds of potatoes.

This leaves the refrigerator for frozen meat, yogurt (enough for some every day), sour cream, and more vegetables and fruit.  When room is created in the refrigerator, we will move stuff from our gerry-rigged cooler.

Pretty neat idea huh?  Or pretty stupid.  We'll let you know in a few weeks.

 

And when the ice starts to melt, we'll scoop it out and put it into our solar-powered shower bag.  We will need to lay in water a few times, but that should be all.

We are heading first to the Mojave National Preserve, and then after that to Death Valley.  We rarely have internet service in this part of the country, so there will probably not be any blog entries for several weeks.