After a long and arduous journey or rather flight we arrived well in L.A. In Frankfurt our airplane could not start at first because of computer problems - you begin to feel somewhat queasy thereby. We stayed overnight at the Marriott Hotel directly at the airport of L.A. On Tuesday, the 15th of May, we started with our tour. Since we had booked the early pick-up service, we were picked up at the hotel by a shuttle of El Monte before the rush-hour. But the shuttle was not very punctual. The contract for our motorhome was quickly made but the handing-over of the motorhome took longer. We were somewhat angry that the briefing was not as promised in German but in English. That made everything a bit more difficult. Fortunately we had additionally watched an introduction video. We had a quick American breakfast with donuts and coffee and around 12 o´clock we could finally start. We had to get used to the first meters on American roads. Ronny had to get accustomed to the extens of the vehicle (it even was one size bigger then we had booked) and I had to get used to the traffic management. First we headed for a supermarket (Albertson). Our first grocery shopping took us 2 hours, despite the shopping list we had written. Then we finally went on towards Joshua Tree NP. Having arrived at the park, we first headed for the Oasis Visitor Center at the entrance in order to get some information about the park. We were lucky, it was still open. But we could not buy the National Parks Pass since there was nobody at the park entrance anymore. After a short stop we drove past the Slip Rock to Keys View (1581 m), the best view point of the park. The temperature was still 30°C, during the day it had even been 38°C. On we went to the campground Jumbo Rocks with short photo stops on the way. Jumbo Rocks was one of the most beautiful and idyllic campgrounds on our trip. There is no electricity or water but it is wonderfully situated in the midst of rock formations and it´s even free. Up to the evening we had made ourselves comfortable and knew almost all functions in and at the motorhome. Our first dinner - frozen pizza out of the oven. On Wednesday morning (16th of May) we woke up with the first sunbeams at 5:30 a.m.The View out of the window could not hold us in bed very long and we went on a little morning walk trough the rock and desert landscape around our campground. Only in the beginning it was a bit chilly with 15°C but the temperature rose qickly. After our breakfast outside we went to the Hidden Valley at 8 a.m. The road there was very bad but it was worth the way. At the exit of the park we bought the National Parks Pass now, which enables to free entrance into all national parks.

Our Tips

A first note applies to the reservation of the hotel for the overnight accommodation after arrival and before leaving the USA. Here it is useful to take advantage of the possibilities the tour operators offer, since the hotels are from a very good standard and price. You also pay in the currency of your country. Concerning the high dollar exchange rate it was of advantage for us. During the briefing for the motorhome you should be explained everything exactly and you should try it out as well. The operating instructions are not very detailed and we made the experience that not everything functioned so smoothly. It also makes sense to process a prepared check list and to let all damages at the RV note down. The purchase of the National Parks Pass pays off. For $50 you have free entrance into all national parks in America. With the number of parks that can be visited and admission fees of sometimes $20 per park the pass also payed off for us.