After 3 good weeks in Glenn, we hitch up the camper once more, and begin the journey eastward. Let me fill you in on the numerous stops along the way:

We depart from Glenn around 7 p.m. A few hours down the road, we park ourselves at a truck stop for night.

Sept. 29 –  Morning dawns. Jesse heads into Pilot, thinking he’ll shower and maybe grab a coffee. Not so. The power is out…

Thankfully, we have enough water left in our tank for (very brief) showers.

Our main destination for the day – Solvang. It’s a picturesque little Danish-style town. Definitely worth checking out if you are ever in the area!

We park and set off on foot to see what we can see.

A windmill with a little gift shop in it. A hat store. The Elverhøj Museum to learn a little of the town’s history. A bookstore + coffee shop. A delicious supper at the Copenhagen Sausage Garden. These were the highlights of our afternoon in Solvang.

And then on we go, to a campground not too far from Los Angeles.

Sept. 30 – Los Angeles.

Lunch was found at the Original Farmer’s Market. Apparently there’s a delicious Brazilian BBQ place there… We still don’t know if it’s that good or if everyone just sees the line-up and thinks it must be good. Anyhow, we stand in line. And so do many others. Minutes tick by, and I grow more and more hungry. After nearly 45 minutes in line, I give up and go find myself some chinese food instead. Jesse eventually decides to try his luck elsewhere too. It is nearly 3 o’clock by now after all…

Our hunger satisfied, we become a little more interested in our surroundings and discover some neat little shops. Un petit marché français, a small coffee roastery, etc.

Due in part to the delay in getting our lunch, we scrap the idea of going to the fashion district. We would barely make it there before shops close…

We plan to end the day with a visit to Griffith Observatory. I guess we picked the wrong day for that. We would’ve had to park a few miles away, which didn’t seem worth it, especially considering the crowds.

Much in the same manner, we had given up on finding parking near Venice Beach earlier in the day…

So there’s our glamorous day in LA. Heh. It was a fine day, all in all, but we were a little “citied-out” by the end of the day.

Oct. 1 – We journey on to Joshua Tree National Park. Arriving mid afternoon, we choose a spot to park the camper in dispersed camping. After setting up next to an ironwood tree, we make our way to the visitor center for the “mandatory” passport stamp/cancelation, as well as some hiking info.

And then, off to do some hiking! Equipped with freshly filled water bottles, we start on the 3 mile hike to Mastodon Peak and back.

There’s something about getting out, hiking among the desert brush and cacti, climbing up to a peak and looking over the vast wilderness that is Joshua Tree National Park… It’s rather awe-inspiring.

Mastodon Mine – an abondoned gold mine is along the trail, so of course we stop to check it out.

The hike completed, we decide to drive out to the Cholla Cactus Garden yet before dark.

And, what better way to end the day than sitting around a campfire back at the camper, stargazing?

Oct. 2 – Morning finds us hitching up the camper again. We meander our way through the park. The farther north we go, the more Joshua Trees there are.

We have one more place we want to check out before leaving:

Wall Street Mill – a 1930’s gold ore crushing mill. It was last used in 1966, and is the best preserved gold mill in the park.

After spending some time climbing the boulders next to the mill, we make our way back to the vehicle, grab some lunch, and hit the road. Destination: Grand Canyon.

It is already dark by the time we arrive near the south rim of the Grand Canyon and find a spot in dispersed camping. The air is chilly, but we don’t think too much of it. We’ll be nice and cozy in our camper, right? Never mind that we don’t even know if our heater works…

Oct. 3rd – It’s the middle of the night. And it’s cold. Now, how does this furnace work?

After a short time, the furnace has been figured out and the temperature, which had dropped to 46F in the camper, starts to rise… We sleep undisturbed until sunrise.

Our morning meanderings bring us to multiple lookout points, the neatest one being the Desert View Watchtower.

To be perfectly honest, I’ve never felt a huge desire to go to the Grand Canyon. Too touristy you know… But, I changed my mind. It is worth seeing, even though there are lots of people there. And I sort of wish we’d allotted a little more time to this stop.

But, on we travel. We are set to arrive in Albuquerque tonight yet.