We have enjoyed? our stay at the "free" Ocotillo Wells park. It has been an interesting experience. Diane and I have learned to survive without showers for 5 days, and learned to use next to no water for other purposes. As it turns out we will be leaving here with 1/2 tank of fresh water, yet our grey tank is 3/4 full. We found that when the weekend arrived, so did the people and their vehicles. I don't understate why theses folks get up at 7am and drive right next to our RV making all kinds of noise as they zoom around the camping area we are in when they have miles and miles of desert to drive in. Also, they seem to take a break about sundown and then come out at 10pm when I am ready to go to bed. Guess that is the life of some off-roaders. It is interesting to watch how many fathers come out for the day with their kids (some are girls, most are boys) and get into their fancy matching driving outfits and get on or into their vehicles that are sized accordingly and ride around yelling at each other over the noise of their engines. I guess I am getting too old to remember that kind of fun. Give me a corvette on a smooth blacktop road with the top down and no helmet and goggles.
One last look at our campsite. We are in the middle. We had many neighbors who came and went in our 5 days here. Some stayed for a day or two, others stayed for an afternoon and left as the sun went down. I struggled with not being able to get a signal with my new satellite dish. Diane struggled with our weak internet signal and limited electricity to charge her laptop battery which only seems to be good for 2 or 3 hours and takes about that much time running the generator to recharge. As we have always said, we really aren't "campers"!
We did the elephant tree trail again hoping the recent sunny and warm days had produces the blooming peak. When we had been on this trail before, Diane had not seen any of these bushes with the purple flowers. When we were in Yuma AZ, the bloom peak was predicted to be around the last week we were in AZ. When we arrived here, the prediction had changed to our current visit, and into maybe the following week. It was really just beginning and probably improved each day that went that the temps stay above 70. 
This bush was just starting to bloom. Diane is disappointed she will not be here when it is fully bloomed, but we have places to go and things to do down the road. (and I need a shower).
Some things were blooming, but many were just starting. We saw a fair number of other visitors along the trail, so we were not the only ones that were there a few days too early. 
You can see there were many blooms that are yet to open.
These flowers where more green when we passed through on our previous hike.
Back in front of the elephant tree. This time it was Diane's turn to pose.
A few more blooms on the barrel cactus.
I was ready to call it a day. I was looking off in the distance where the nest sits; 10 miles away.I was standing in front of a creosote bush. It was one of the most important bushes in early times according to Diane; the American Indians used almost every part of the bush for something, from medicine to you name it. It is the most common plant in the desert.
When we first saw and read about it in the fall it was just a dried up brown bush with no leaves. Now it had green leaves and was starting to bloom yellow flowers.
Diane only saw two of this tiny flower on the trail. Maybe it was just starting to bloom also.
As we walked back down a dry wash to our car we come upon a dead looking tree/bush of some kind. You never know what is dead out here and what is just dormant waiting for its time to grow leaves and bloom, and Diane said it made an interesting picture!
As we approached our camp area Diane asked me to drive on down the main road to another area where we had been before, so she could take a couple more pictures of something she had seen earlier and had missed the shot. 
This is a welcome sign of the park we have been wondering around in, the last five days. Diane wanted to document it, as we enter into the area where she wanted to photograph. She should have put this picture in a long time ago, or forgot it! But she is the editor of the blog and I am just the part time writer and we don't see eye to eye on all things, all the time!
A Texas Dip in California? 
This is what California considers a Texas Dip, (in the road).?
Looking from the other direction of the Texas Dip. We looked forward to electricity and showers at our next stop, San Diego. So long desert, welcome big city.
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