2 October 2020 - Joshua Tree National Park - California, USA

This is not our first time at this national park. So what is different? We've always just made a day trip of traveling here. Camping here is our new experience. We spent two nights at the Indian Cove campground. I've never been in JTNP after dark but had heard how brilliant the star viewing experience is. Indeed it was in spite of the full moon. Have you ever watched the moon rise over the mountains? Overall it was a brilliant few days of hiking and camping.

30 September 2020 - Gaviota State Beach/Solvang/Los Olivos, Californa, USA

 Another Vacation week had arrived. While most of my original plans for this week have been canceled, we have been able to adapt and decided to head out for some socially distanced camping. For two days we spent our time on the West Coast at Gaviota State Beach and Campground. This spot might not be the quietest, but the location is still nice.

We took a day trip to nearby Solvang to visit Birkhoms Bakery. This small town is Dutch themed and proved a good spot to walk around. Thanks to everything that has been going on it was not crowded. We got our customary bin of sugar cookies from the bakery, had some lunch, and then headed north.

Conkey suggested that we visit Los Olivos, a small town in the heart of Santa Barbara wine country. The weather started to get excessively hot, however. By 1pm it was nearly 107 deg F. We made the best of it, had a small wine tasting, and then headed back towards the cooler coast and our campsite.

Tomorrow we head for Joshua Tree National Park.