On Sunday, Brian and I went on the Mastodon Mine Loop Trail in Joshua Tree National Park.
We chose this hike because it was a loop. We like loops, however it wasn’t very clear where the loop was. About halfway through the hike, we came to a sign that pointed toward the campground. Even though it was in the same general direction as the trailhead, we weren’t confident that it was the right way to go.
We continued hiking until we got to the mine,
where Brian disregarded the warning sign and insisted on poking around.
When we got back to the trailhead we saw that the trail would have brought us right back to the entrance. Next time I’ll take a photo of the map before we start our hike.
2014 Cost of Camping:
167 night paid camping
182 nights free camping
349 days this year
Total spent on camping this year: $4276.79
Daily average cost of camping: $12.30
8 Comments
Totally understand the need to poke around in a danger area. Must be a guy thing!!
I forgot to mention that I made the Quinoa Chili the other day when we had rain. We really enjoyed it. Thank goodness it made so much because it has been our evening meal for several nights after hiking days:) It certainly made a crowd size amount. Thanks for sharing:)
Give Curtis a hug for me!
Aww Curtie hugs. I’m glad you liked the chili!
We just visited Joshua Tree N.P. about a month ago. It was a recon mission, checking out future hikes we would like to do. We live about an hour northwest. Too close NOT to play there occasionally.
This may not be the appropriate place for a question about Airstream ownership, but I’ll plow ahead anyway. I’m considering an airstream travel trailer but have been dismayed with the full timing owners list of repairs they have experienced. Some required to be repaired almost before they towed them off the dealers lot. New units at that.
Would you mind commenting on the design and workmanship of your airstream? I guess I’m looking for a frank assessment why the premier rv travel trailer, priced significantly more than comparable sizes rigs seems to have such reliability issues. Thank you.
Hi Bill, it’s fine that you asked here. I think repairs on any rig are to be expected, even unfortunately brand new. I’ve heard some refer to it as “getting the kinks out.” The good news is that’s usually during the warranty period. I would definitely recommend no matter what brand you get, to camp near the dealer for a week so you can find the issues and bring it in for fixing.
The majority of our issues have been 3rd party products, the Dexter axle, the Dometic toilet, the Atwater water heater. My only complaint about design would be about the fresh water tank.
Overall, we’re very happy with our rig and would still buy Airstream.
Shoot, I wasn’t paying attention. I just drove through Joshua Tree yesterday. Ah well, next time.
Argh! That’s nuts!
Bill:
We have been full timing in a 2012 28 ft. Airstream International for the past year and a half. Warranty issues have been relatively minor and we are satisfied overall (we have about 30,000 km. on the trailer). They are hand built – I’ll take a robot any day but that comes with the territory given small volumes amongst various models. We are now staying at an Airstream park in Florida and there are over 200 Airstreams going back to the 1970’s at least. The well maintained ones are a joy to view; I doubt you will find many other trailer brands with that many vintage trailers roadworthy. Wd have dealt with three dealers on warranty issues in Ontario, Vancouver and Los Angeles and all have been excellent.