We went camping. Yes, I said Camping. It was the first time Sean and I have gone since we've been married, and probably about 20 years since I have gone. And we all made it back.

I know - it sounds a bit silly to be so proud of camping. I was very dubious about the whole thing though. And there were a couple moments of uncertainty lol.

We went desert camping. It was with the dogs and an ancient Coleman tent. We really went because of an off roading event for Sean. He had a WONDERFUL time :) And I had a blast just hanging out at camp with the dogs. There was a group of about 14 to 16 people there... and during the day there were a bunch who came by just to go off road.

Solo did pretty good considering the heat (about 80's) and Leo had a BLAST. They got to run and play pretty much as they wanted.

My real fun didn't start until around 3pm. I was sitting at the tent with the dogs watching everyone under the community tent (the dog's weren't that welcome and the tent was too hot to leave the dogs in - so I stayed with them) Anyway, I was sitting there with the dogs on leash and watching the group when all of a sudden a wind started blowing. I grabbed onto the tarp that was shading the area to keep it from flying away all the while hanging onto the dogs. A tent got loose and Sean noticed my trouble. We were about to lose our tarp and tent

Sean came running and we took down the tarp, dragged all our things in the tent to hold down the inside and took the "top" (a rain thing?) off the tent.

The wind really didn't stop blowing after that. It started like a switch was thrown and kept on til morning.

The group we were with were mainly younger folks and around evening they started a big bonfire. I was so exhausted that I was in bed already. I could see some had gone on a night run and watched their lights on the mesas, and little fire balls were bouncing past our tent. It was blowing a good 35 mph outside, a good 15 mph inside the tent and I swear about 8 mph in my sleeping bag.

The tent was freaky though. There was that bonfire which was creepy. But then there was a wild flapping on the tent which reminded me of a scene in Blair Witch Project (where they wake up suddenly and their tent is being shaken by children's hands). Plus the fireballs bouncing past... but to top it all off someone had turned on their car radio which was playing loudly the theme song from MTV's Fear. Ack! I was getting seriously spooked. And all the while waiting for the tent (and all of us) to go blowing away into the desert.

Overall it was a very cool weekend :D

Some pics:

Posted by Khiori at 03:59 PM | Permalink

I wondered why dogs are always so unwelcome at national (and other natural) sites. It always seemed a bit snobbish to me. I mean - they're dogs! There are coyotes all over the place and no one is out shooing *them* off.

But now it makes sense. Gotta read those handouts you get at the parks.

According to the Anza-Borrego annual newspaper: "Walking your dog on the trails is forbidden California State Parks. Dogs are predators by nature, and their presence or lingering scent may disturb or frighten wildlife. Dogs can also transmit diseases and parasites to our wild neighbors. Lastly, although your dog is probably delightful, many dogs scare visitors and harass wildlife."

Ok, I don't necessarily agree with the last two statements. Most dogs these days are socialized and vetted. But the first part makes perfect sense. So I finally do understand why they aren't allowed on trails.

In addition:
Why aren't dogs allowed on trails or in wilderness areas?

There are many reasons. Many animals in the Park react to the scent of a canine, reading only: predator. Although your dog may be friendly, many of the animals that live in a habitat will avoid areas where a predator scent has been left. This means they may not be able to search for food or find safety in their usual places. In addition, many diseases may be spread either to your dog from wildlife or vice versa. Some of these diseases like Plague and Lyme Disease are dangerous to humans as well.

The desert poses some special problems for dogs. Cholla cactus can easily become embedded in a dog's paw, then mouth, the other paw, etc. Many dogs have been rushed from the Park to emergency veterinary care an hour or more away. ....

It also talked of rattlesnakes and burned pads. I have to mention the cholla because it happened to us. When we were stranded in the sand, Leo was off exploring the road. (he stays on the road due to my *constant* reminding ;) ) About 10 minutes he can running back looking funny. Sure enough, he brushed into a cholla cactus, got it stuck on his side, tried to pull it off with his mouth, got it stuck in his flew, tried to paw it off, got it stuck on his leg, then finally got smart and ran to us for help. The stuff STICKS. I got it stuck on me as I pulled it from his flew. Thankfully, I had brought their grooming tools and a flea comb works perfectly for pulling out cholla safely.

Sometimes we do walk them on roads. That is allowed. And we did let them run at Truckhaven (no one was around and it's outside the park). It was a lot of fun watching them run 100 yards away from the car, turn around and race past to go 100 yards the other way. Then then jumped in the truck as if to say "Ok, let's go and see what else is out there *pant* *pant*" :D There's no cholla there ;)

Posted by Khiori at 07:48 AM | Permalink

I just wanted to add a little story to break up the Joshua Tree NP stories. This is of when we went to Anza Borrego and took Solo and Leo with us.

Leo LOVED it. He would rush out of the car every time we stopped. (on leash of course) Solo you would have to coax out and help him in and out :rolleyes: Well here's a photo of exactly what I mean. Can you guess who is Leo and who is Solo?? :\

Posted by Khiori at 10:36 AM | Permalink

Wow. So much has gone on the past week and a half. I'm not sure where to start. Perhaps at the beginning...

The last day of my entry I had expectations of a new job. Well. I had a call to go in for an interview on the following Tuesday. I had the interview - it went well. They checked out my references and ran a security check. Got hired and two days later I had to quit. It was too much. Blah. My joints hurt so bad I couldn't sleep at night. There were other (numerous) factors but bottomline was - I just physically could not do the job.

Next few days I'll add more. Specifically about Joshua Tree National Park and Anza-Borrego. Oh and getting stuck in sand. :|

Posted by Khiori at 01:57 PM | Permalink