5in29: Day 4
2024-12-14. 29 Palms to LA to Joshua Tree National Park, CA
[The previous posts are available at AABB’s website]
Van Life:
We got up at 6:30 AM. By now, our morning routine was in place. We could quickly put things where they belong. Still, it took a good 45 minutes. That was a huge improvement from two hours when we started.
We left for LA at 7:30 AM after getting coffee and arrived at the site of Indie Campers in Rancho Dominguez, LA exactly at 10 AM.
Luis, the assistant manager was shocked to hear our story and the reason for our visit. Their mechanic was on vacation and no one could test or replace the battery. He sent us to Auto Zone a few miles away for testing and replacement if proven dead, and the company would reimburse us. I was furious: if such could be done, we could have done it anywhere, no need to drive to LA. But we were here. So we went with the flow.
Auto Zone couldn’t test the battery if it was attached to a car and they didn’t want to remove it for testing.
Back at the Indie Campers, Luis listed two options: (1) keep the van and ask any auto shop to test if the battery was trouble again, and if it was dead, replace it, and they would reimburse us, (2) he could switch the van for us but that would take 3-4 hours, including getting the corporation’s approval, and preparing the van.
“Since we have 3000+ miles to go, we must have a working van. We will switch. But can you give us a newer model? That would be less trouble,” I requested. “All of our models have about 70K mileage ranges,” Luis said.
No way! The current van is in the 48K range. All parts worked except the house battery. We decided to keep the van.
At least Luis printed out the rental registration after Roman told him we never had received one. That registration might be worth this trip to LA. We were worried about being stopped by police because there had been no evidence of us having the right to drive this van. Even if we were lucky to reach any Las Vegas people by chat, it was questionable how they could send us the paperwork. Even if they did, we would have to find a place to print them out, making them available to anyone who may need to see them.
That night, after parked, we cooked our dinner. It was highly satisfying.
Attraction #1: New Impressions of LA
My previous experience with driving in LA was nightmarish. Rude drivers, confusing signs, and frustrating driving norms (one might exit when driving on the inside lane, and once out, no easy return). I’d avoid driving in LA at all costs.
My impression of driving around LA improved significantly. We encountered no traffic inbound and only a few short delays outbound. Drivers were polite on the road. We were able to drive fast—shockingly, even though we were at the speed of 80 miles per hour, other cars still passed us!
Along the road toward LA, there were many interesting sceneries. We didn’t stop and only took some photos in the car.
One fun observation was the holiday decorations of cars: we saw several cars with reindeer decorations. I appreciated many unique car plates. I didn’t start to photograph them until later and was only able to catch a few. Note: we both saw custom plates with a white background too, so not all custom plates have a black background.
Attraction #2: Joshua Tree National Park, CA
We didn’t want to waste our opportunity to fully enjoy Joshua Tree National Park. Plus, our next step would have to go through the park anyway. We drove back to the park and entered it from a different entry to have a different experience.
We arrived before sunset and were able to take some amazing photos with the setting sun and rising full moon.
After checking out all the campsites, we still loved the Jumble Rocks the best. This campsite was the largest, yet with the most unique spots surrounded by large rocks. For tonight, our home spot is #89. The rocks on one side of the van have bunny ears. A 45-minute walk under the moon on the campsite felt so peaceful and relaxing. We saw a lot more people, cars, tents, tables, lights, and campfire. Most spots were taken. Maybe it was Saturday.
Tomorrow, we will hike one of the hard hikes in the park!
West gate of Joshua Tree National Park.
Setting sun.
Rising full moon.
A scene from Moonlight Walk in the campsite.
Eureka Moments:
Don’t assume anything. We thought the rental documents were in the van’s glove box. We should have checked. The 1-800 number for 24x7 does not always work. The “headquarters,” if there is one, are not connected with the local shops. Don’t always trust what the headquarters say. We can be at the mercy of the local shop: no one wants to clean up another’s mess.
We should be around the renting area for a few days just to get used to the van life and make sure all works. We wasted about 6 hours and almost a full tank of gas by going to LA, but it was not a total waste.
One can never plan everything. Leave some room for error. Take a lot of deep breaths. Remind yourself “I am on vacation.”