Wow! I was only in Joshua Tree for one day but it was amazing. I arrived and headed straight towards the Jumbo Rocks campground, from Fred's recommendation. You remember Fred? He's my friend from Sequoia! Anyway, I had a fantastic campsite (#84) with access to huge expanses of Joshua Tree wilderness behind it. I set up camp and walked back there and was absolutely in awe. It was SO quiet. I kept walking straight so I wouldn't get lost, it all looks the same! I sat on a warm rock and felt a fantastic cool breeze, read my book and enjoyed watching the desert animals. No rattlesnakes, thank you!

In the later afternoon, I rode my bike around in the park. I just hopped on back, gravel, service roads and found myself in the craziest landscape. I haven't seen anything like Joshua Tree since the Badlands. There were just huge boulders placed in specific places with oddly beautiful and bizarre desert plants everywhere. It was one of the best sunsets I've seen on the trip. And the stars. Wow. Just incredible.

This morning, I set sail towards Las Vegas via the longer route. I drove south through the park towards a different desert, not the Mojave. Joshua Tree NP is where the two deserts meet, so it's a really cool contrasting desert scene you get to drive through. Most of my drive today was in backcountry desertland, it was amazing. It is about 90 degrees here in the daytime.

After a fantastic drive in, I got to Tuscany Suites in Las Vegas. Coming in to Vegas right now is a little odd. Many of the light-up billboards are lit up black with notes of thanks for the support and #VegasStrong in honor of the violent shooting a few weeks ago. I am sure it's a very emotional time for the city.

I got a fantastic little room with a view of the strip and a kitchen/little living room. I'm living the DREAM! I ordered room service and watched movies for the evening. I think I'll be poolside tomorrow afternoon. Sounds pretty awesome!