Can't spell rainbow without rain

A lot has happened in the last 24 hours.

Last night was rough. We decided to visit Joshua Tree because the Apple Weather app forecast only 0.1 inch of rain. In fact, there was over 1 inch, with driving winds. Our campsite was badly out-of-level, and we have yet to get leveling blocks for R2V2. Finally, our Timberline diesel heater picked a bad night to stop working. It was too dark and dangerous to move, so we hunkered down for a long and cold night.

To put the rain in perspective, a ranger told us that Joshua Tree NP aspires to 5 inches of rain in a good year; we saw 20% of that rain in a single night. This gave us some views that we had not seen before, like a blooming Ocotillo, water pooling, and the rainbow in the cover photo.

This morning started a bit better; Greg was able to get the heater working again once the vehicle was level. The skies had cleared, and there was only faint reminders of the heavy rains from last night. However, the winds were still howling.

We did a brief ranger talk and took the hike around Barker Dam. Next, we decided to test the off-road capability of R2V2 on Geology Road, a rough gravel road down a valley. Unfortunately, it was too windy for any hikes, and Greg backed the vehicle onto a dirt embankment and broke a plastic trim piece. (Probably too late to replace before Mexico, but you can repair anything with duct tape, right?). We finally left, deciding that nature doesn't want us to visit Joshua Tree this week. Tonight, we're "dispersed camping" (read: free) on BLM land near Quartzsite, AZ.