- This topic has 58 replies, 15 voices, and was last updated 03/16/2020 | 17:29 by .
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*** UPDATE WITH CAMPING INFO ***
I figured I better get started planning our Joshua Tree trip for March 27, 28 and 29th. It is an amazing time of year for this beautiful area. Our plan is for a Friday ride out, Saturday Poker Run ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poker_run ) in the National Park (that concludes with a group dinner, star gazing and celebratory Saturday night), and a ride home on Sunday.Ground Zero for the weekend is the Joshua Tree Inn. If you hurry, the Gram Parsons room 8 is still available! They have offered us a 10% discount with your reservation if you mention “South Coast BMW Riders Club.” Deedee told me it is their busy season and they don’t usually discount it, but will for us with a 2 night minimum. She did offer guidance that March is their busy season and they are already booking up so time is of the essence. JT Inn is a funky little place with a large outdoor courtyard area, a small memorial to Gram Parsons, firepit, pool, quick walk to town and a cool vibe I personally enjoy. I have rented the 3 bedroom house they also offer as part of the Inn, that sits on an acre up the road. Either it or the Inn’s courtyard will be our location to relax, star gaze, bench race, etc on Saturday night.
https://www.joshuatreeinn.com/
There are a number of hotel and motel chains nearby in 29 Palms if that is more your preference.
Camping …. Rob Tripp was able to reserve FOUR INDIVIDUAL campsites at Indian Cove Campground (see his post lower in this thread). Once the 4 currently reserved are spoken for thru this thread, we will attempt to get more as site cancellations occur/allow. It is fully reserved but Rob has been tracking for cancellations thru the recreation.gov app .. thanks again Rob.
This will be a PHENOMENAL TRIP!!! So please consider making reservations sooner rather than later and I will keep my fingers crossed for a great turn out to take advantage of this super fun event in one of the most awe inspiring deserts SoCal has to offer … March 2020 is closer than you think!!!
Chris
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Campers! I reserved 4 camp sites at Indian Cove Campground, only a few miles from Twentynine Palms. Listed occupancy for the 4 sites is 10 campers 5 tents. But they’re not strict on regulations there. So, maybe room for more.
Post your claim for the sites.
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A room is open at the Joshua Tree Inn for March 27, 28 and checkout on 29th. I had booked the Emmylou Harris Room 9 for the event, but now have a conflict with “Grandparents Day” at my GK’s school in No. Calif. Before I cancel the room, I thought I would post here to see if anyone would want to transfer the room into their name. I’ll leave this post here for a couple of weeks before I cancel. The outstanding balance on the room will be $260.30 as I have already paid a $50 deposit. You can check out the room on their website, but I believe it is a Queen bed w/patio. If interested call me at 714-883-9744. I’ll update this post once the room is transferred or cancelled. Alan DeCarr
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29 Palms has a number of hotels and is very near the campground and start of the ride on Saturday.
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Campers,
I am camping at Joshua Tree this weekend and was able to scout our sites that are reserved.Indian Cove Campground, located on 29Palms Highway, Hwy 62. About 6 miles west of 29Palms and 12 miles east of the Joshua Tree Inn. The campground is not in the main park area, so National Park fees are not assessed.
We have 4 sites that will accommodate 10 campers, their tents and MC’s. While the sites have an occupancy limit, the host does not seem to enforce the limits. As long as the MC’s fit in the parking.
Please use this forum thread to claim your space and tent size. I will need 4 to volunteer their names to add to the reservation as the main occupant, as I will not be camping.
Site # 23 has occupancy for 4, 4 small tents and 4 MC’s.
Site # 28 has occupancy for 2, 2-small tents and 2 MC’s.
Site #93 has occupancy for 1 small and 1 larger tent and 2 MC’s
Site #94 has occupancy for 4, 2 larger and 2 small tents.
The above are published occupancy numbers. Sites 93/94 are connecting sites and can be good for a group fire or gathering and perhaps exceeding the occupancy.
All the sites also have some space for a small tent in the parking area.
I define small tents as 2-3 man and large as a 4 man.
The campground only has port-a-potties. Running water is available at the main gate. All the sites offer great views; you won’t be disappointed. There is a grocery store in 29Palms.
Check-in at the main entrance is not necessary, you can go directly to the sites. Vehicle tags are not needed.
Firewood is not sold at the campground and they is no store. Supplies can be found in 28Palms.
Cost for the camp sights are $40 each($160 total). With full 10 person occupancy, $16 each.
Again, please use this forum thread to claim your space. I will need 4 to volunteer their names to add to the reservation as the main occupant.
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5 campers are confirmed:
– Karl and Sharon (large tent site 94)
– Jacob Furgatch
– Bill Allen
– John CrittendenSince Karl and Sharon are in one tent, we should be able to accommodate 11 campers.
There is room for 5 -6 more campers.
You campers won’t be disappointed with the campground, it is absolutely stunning. You may not want to leave.
Kellie and are hoteling it at the Marriott in 29 Palms, so I hope we can have a fire!
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The ride will be within the NP so as Rob said, bring your passes or they may require the fee … last time we rode there as a group, as soon as I showed my pass the Ranger waved us all in. We can’t assume that will happen again, but we can hope.
I will add more details soon, but the plan is to have a small entry fee (estimating $20) for the Poker Run that will cover expenses incurred pulling it together. I will be purchasing and preparing Carne Asada, tortillas, etc for an end of trail meal after the ride at the house Eric Wolf, Brandon and I are renting from the Joshua Tree Inn. The Poker Run won’t be more than 100 miles or so and the meal will be early enough that we can all congregate for a fire and libations at the campgrounds afterwards hopefully.
Unfortunately, I find it necessary to take my truck instead of bike in order to host this one. Therefore, I am requesting those of you attending that want a group-ride to coordinate amongst yourselves or on this thread.
More details to follow as they are available. I appreciate all of you that have signed up and am hoping we have a great weekend. Hopefully the addition of a poker run to one of our weekend rides is a novelty enjoyed by all.
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Camping in Joshua Tree. No water, pit toilets. Brings back memories. The last time I was with the club camping in JT was in January, 2002. Friday had nice weather, but in the afternoon, a cold front blew in. By the time we got to the campsite, temps dropped 20 degrees and there was a constant 20-25 mph wind. We turned the picnic tables on their side to act as a wind break. It was one of the coldest campouts I’ve ever been on.
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Kind of fun reading the old newsletter Bill, thanks.
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Love the quote in the JT article…..
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“I have thawed out from Joshua Tree.
The photos at the site are proof that
there is a fine line between adventure
and stupidity”
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Those type of adventures make some of the Best memories…….. 🙂
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I know it will not be this cold in March, but it will be a good weekend, lookign forward to it! -
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I highly recommend camping at Indian Cove. My son is an Eagle Scout and we’ve camped there many times. There’s awesome hiking, rock climbing, and some of the best star gazing you’ll find! You’ll see lots of people free/rope climbing gigantic boulders.
Some campsite photos: Click here for photos
FYI: Potable water is at least a mile away from the campsites. Bring some kind of water container to tote drinking/cooking water. (If Larry Troffer is going maybe he can arrange a water buffalo from MCAS Yuma :-))
It is also VERY windy at night. Make sure you tie your tents down… you know those little connections all over your tent that you typically don’t use? Trust me and use them. Even when our tents were tied down well, I thought many times we were going to blow away 🙂
The road into the campground is unpaved. It’s hard packed dirt which freaks out some non-GS riders. Also for those who like to use hammocks, Chris, the park prohibits tying lines to Joshua or Juniper trees.
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*** UPDATE ***
We are getting close to our event. Anyone interested in camping that hasn’t already communicated with Rob Tripp need to do so ASAP. We need to let go of the unused campsites very soon to avoid fees (in addition to the cancellation fees we are already on the hook for.)
I finalized the route yesterday and we end up with a 103 mile loop for Saturday. It will include a poker hand card drawn by each entrant at the start, 3 checkpoints and finish line. Best poker hand will win the $100 gift card graciously donated by Aerostich. One of our club’s senior statesmen (ahmmmm thanks Bill Allen) had a great idea of offering the purchase of an additional card at checkpoint #3 for $5 if entrants aren’t happy with their odds after drawing 4 of their 5 poker hand cards. The Poker Run route will take around 2.5 – 3 hours. Gate drops at 10:00AM with a 9:45AM pre ride meeting at the start location just inside the Joshua Tree National Parks 29 Palms North Entrance Gates. The finish location is the Joshua Tree Inn where we will have tacos, chips & salsa, cold drinks and our awards ceremony. I anticipate this to start around 1:00PM and to disperse whenever. Afterwards we will have a campfire at Bill Allens campsite #23. Since I am bringing my truck, I will bring up some firewood for a group bonfire on Saturday.
We will have some expenses to cover and I plan to do that with a $20 Poker Run entry fee. Each entry fee will purchase a poker hand, a fine dining experience at the Joshua Tree Inn (a bit of sarcasm here, but even I can’t mess up tacos), the after ride ceremony at our Joshua Tree Inn compound, a campfire bench racing session at the Indian Cove campground hosted by Bill Allen on Saturday night and miscellaneous fees (like water for checkpoints, campsite reservations cancellations, food, firewood, etc.) Pre-payment of your entry fee would be appreciated and can be done with me at our General Meeting this Saturday or through Venmo at @Christopher-Roady or at [email protected]. Sign ups in Joshua Tree will be $25, so pre-register and save 20% 😉
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Hey everyone – I’ll be leading a Friday ride up to the Joshua Tree Inn (assuming anyone wants to join me). It’ll be starting at the Starbucks in Orange, and departing there at 9am, so arrive gassed up. The plan is to stop at the Pollos El Compa Mexican Restaurant for lunch, which we should be arriving there just before noon. And from there head to the Joshua Tree Inn.
I’ve created PDF and GPX files for both the Fri ride to the Joshua Tree Inn, and for Sat’s Poker Run with the checkpoint locations (see attached). Let me know if anyone has any questions!
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** URGENT NOTICE **
With regret, I am going to cancel the Joshua Tree Poker Run in light of the Convid19 virus, restrictions called for today by our State Governor and an abundance of caution. I would have preferred to have waited a bit longer to make the call, but we only have 12 days until the event. Unfortunately, the Joshua Tree Inn has a cancellation policy that only refund if cancelled a full week in advance.
I will be in contact with those of you who pre-paid to determine your preferred method of repayment. I am disappointed to cancel after pulling together what I think would have been a very fun event, but after much thought and consultation with others I believe this is the best call for this event.
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Just called to cancel my Joshua Tree reservation. They are not waiving the $50 deposit, even in light of COVID-19. Though if you email them, they can hold the $50 deposit until the end of the year, and it can be used during week days – but not on weekends or holidays, which sucks. So basically I’m out $50.
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Chris, my $.02 is that you made the RIGHT call. I know that many of you put some substantial time and effort in bringing this event to the Club. For that, we should all say thanks and hopefully, when this is able to be rescheduled, more of us will be able to partake and your efforts will again be recognized.
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