We entered Joshua Tree (park) from the south side as the Inn was on the north side which allowed us to see a lot (most) of the park before the end of the day. Those trees, really members of the agave family, are so bizarre looking and they are everywhere. There is a shockingly diverse group of flora in the park. One f the other bzarre collections was a jumping cholla garden which was really just a large area where this type of cactus seems happy. It was crazy seeng so many of one plant for a few acres on both sides of the road. They are called jumping chollas because if you get too close to them they will attach their spiny needles to you as they are like dandelions the way the flowers can blow in the wind. They had beautiful yellow flowers on them as well for that "come hither" look. Of course we stopped at Cap Rock to pay respects to Gram. This is where his manager and roady brought him after "stealing" his body at the airport as it was beng loaded to go to Louisiana to be buried. Here's the story on wiki.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Gram_Parsons for those unfamiliar with the story. The park is probably one of my favorites of all time. For those who think the desert is devoid of life and ugly, this place will change your mind. The rocks/boulders, plants and colors are inspiring. Hoping to see a roadrunner or a bighorn sheep but no luck.
We pulled into the Joshua Tree Inn and found the staff on the phone with someone from outside of the U.S. wanting to reserve the entire inn (12 rooms) for a group. Was that you Yves? They charge ($50) for each room straight away which means the person on the phone was on for $600 so they were trying to find out the details of possible reimbursement if their friends failed to follow through. Short story long, we waited about fifteen minutes for this phone call to finish but there were many cool mementos on the walls to look at and a guitar sitting on a stand so I played Gram's Sin City to pass the time. The young woman recommended Pappy & Harriet's in Pioneer town eleven miles away for dinner. I knew of the place but thought of it as a music venue instead of a dining establishment as it is where Macca played a few years ago around tge time his tour landed in L.A. It's not only a tiny stage but the music area is small as well. Lots and lots of photos of artists who have played there from Lucinda Williams, Jim Lauderdale to Thelonious Monster and more. It took almost 30 minutes to get seated (the lady at the Inn said it was their slow night and we'd have no problems getting a table. Rebecca ordered a Glenfiddich while waiting and was rewarded with a dram of massve proportion for $9.50. It was more than a double pour, almost filling the glass.
It was open mic night at Pappy's wth various levels of quality. I was going to sign up but realized I didn't have a guitar strap with me and tge stage was set for standing musicians. I have been playing pretty casual situations at hme where sitting is an option so it was a rookie mistake. Rebecca thought I was better than two of the first three we heard and we only stayed for four acts as our table needed to change and we were done in many ways. The place was so busy and crowded that it made it difficult for us having been in quiet/peaceful places most f the day. The reason they call it Pioneer Town is that it had been a place Hollywood had built for a movie and then left it behind. Some of the evidence was next to the auxiliary parking lot of Pappy's. A virtual western town all by itself. The town, such as is, is up in the hills north of Yucca Valley. Cudos to Rebecca for drivIng to Pappy's just before sundown which as searing our eyeballs as we headed west on 29 Palms Highway before finally turning north the final three miles. Walking out to the car afterwards we were rewarded by an amazing display of stars in the sky.
On the way east we went through Death Valley and on the return trip we came through the Colorado desert (Joshua Tree) and the Mojave desert. I didn't even know there was a town called Mojave.
We arrived in Tulare (Tulare Dust, a Merle Haggard reference) road weary. You know you're tired when arriving at your hotel makes you happy. We are 214 miles from home now so an easy drive tomorrow as long as we don't dink around and get caught in commute traffic. We shouldn't as it would be unusual for us to get a late start in the day.
We'd like to thank the Baron and Minnie for allowing us to stay with them in Austin. It was a nice reprieve after being with family for five nights and before we turned around to head west. It's been an extraordinary trip, one of my best and happy that Rebecca and I did so well together for 26 days! As Flower mentioned it isn't always easy being with someone all the time for such a long stretch but we did it.
Edit:we drove through Bakersfield and I saw the Crystal Palace (Buck Owens' old haunt) from the highway. Later we passed the exit for Merle Haggard Avenue.
While watching the World Series we heard our neighbors doing the horizontal bop. 
