IN GODS COUNTRY

As I continued along route 66, I came to Joshua Tree National Park. In total, I spent 4 days in or around here. I camped for the first night in the National Park. That was a rough night. I was using my 'Ireland' registration plate as a shovel and digging a moat around the tent in an attempt to divert the steady stream of water that was pouring down in this desert. After that, I decided to pay the extra dollars, and sit out this storm in a motel room in the town of 29 palms. On TV I watched what the media labelled the "Western Wallop". To the east of me, I had tornadoes. To the west, I had snow storms. I had come from the south and the weather channel showed neighbourhoods in Mecca taking a hammering from flooding.
But 2 days later, Mother Nature calmed down and I was back out on my bicycle. I returned to the Joshua Tree National Park. Although it was very cold, it was both magical and eerie to be pedalling around a desert that was white with snow. I camped up for the night. Tomorrow I start my journey into the Mojave desert. This was going to be a big one.