A friendly french couple.

Joshua Trees in the early morning.
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Joshua Tree National Park, on the way to Hidden Valley Campground, 11-10-2002.

My neighbors, the elderly french couple in a hired mobile home, are still deep asleep when I leave the campground. It`s very early in the morning with a silver line at the horizon showing the first rays of sun, the beginning of a new day filtering through the oustreched arms of the distinctive and omni-present Joshua Trees while I slowly cycle north leaving the hills behind and down to a massive plateau. A blueish early morning mist is hanging across the plateau giving the place a magical touch. The park might be a transition area between the Low and the High Desert but is nonetheless full with life. Travelling the world on a crappy old and overloaded bicycle I produce hardly any sounds unlike the other park visitors with their noicy mobile homes....often I surprise animals in their usual day to day business, flocks of californian quail coming out of low yucca bushes about to cross the road, rattle snakes sigsagging their scaled bodies on the hot asphalted tarmac of the road, road runners a-plenty here as well as cuckoos, burrowing owls sitting on top of cacti and watching my progress with sleepy eyes. Tuut, Tuut......Tuut, Tuut, Tuut.....with a start I`m back in the world of the human species, small finches in their dozens fly up from a creosote bush disturbed by the sudden honking of a passing mobile home. Pissed off myself by this unwellcome sign of human life I see an arm waving at me....big friendly grins from car window while the big monster comes to a grinding halt hurling up a massive cloud of red dust...it is the friendly elderly couple from last night`s campground. "Ne voulez pas vous un cafè au lait, monsieur"? The gray haired female part of the couple wants to know reminding me I didn`t have my habitual cup a coffee this morning. Foldable plastic camping table and chairs come out of the car, a huge can of strong smelling coffee, omelettes and fresh baquette, orange juice and even cold beer. "Le premier bierre du jour, mon jeun ami", the male part of the couple tells me smilling brightly.

"Le premier bierre du jour mon jeune ami", the male part of the couple tells me smiling brightly.