Joshua Tree National Park and Lake Havasu City

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We finally arrived in Joshua Tree National Park at about 10.30 in the evening, the park rangers had gone home so we drove straight through into the park, …well we could always pay when we departed. We drove to a series of campsites before finding a site that was not full up. We pitched the tent and went to bed not knowing what sort of scenery was surrounding us.

In the morning we found that we were encircled by large boulders, these provided some shelter from the strong desert sun. We packed up and started to explore the park. We started with a relatively easy mountain climb up Mount Ryan where we were able to see magnificent views of the park and of course the famous Joshua trees.
We spent a majority of our time in the park climbing the large boulders. The rocks were formed in such a way that natural handholds and footholds were available and made climbing all that more easier and a lot of fun. The funniest moment was when Ben thought he could climb up a certain section and sit himself on a ledge, this he did, but he couldn’t get down and was stuck until I rescued him.

We tried to go to as many attractions in the park as possible, so we saw a shabby dam and, from a distance, an old mine shaft as well as a spectacular view from ‘Keys View’ a cliff top viewpoint which looked out over the desert vista for over 100 miles with views of Mexico visible on a clear day.

After another arduous search for an available campsite we again resigned ourselves to staying in the same site as the previous night. Making good use of the honesty box for campsite fees (yeah right!) we pitched up and went to bed early. The next morning we got up early as we had 360 miles to drive in order to get to the Grand Canyon. Upon leaving the park we pulled up at the ranger station in order to pay our fees. To our great disappointment this, again, was closed so we drove off towards Arizona.

Shortly after crossing the California/Arizona boarder we saw signs for London Bridge. Remembering stories about a crazy American who purchased London Bridge thinking he was actually buying Tower Bridge, I thought that this could be the very same and had to check it out. I was right, although no mention of the purchaser’s error was made in the information centre. The Bridge located in a place called Lake Havasu City was complimented with an array of fake London attractions, a red plastic pillar box, a red concrete London Bus, a clock tower that played an electronic chime every so often, which I can only suppose was meant to be Big Ben. A poor excuse for Trafalgar Square was also a centrepiece. After taking a few pictures of the bridge we departed Lake Havasu with Ben getting ever more increasingly annoyed with the lack of available radio stations; God music, Country music or the advert station and with the distinct lack of petrol stations along route causing us some concern, 90 miles between stations at points, we bravely ventured on to the Grand Canyon.

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Photos

Joshua Tree National Park
The unique Joshua trees found in this region

Sunrise in the desert
Our first view of the park.

First Morning
The pair of us next to the car by our first campsite.

Boulders
Most of our day was spent climbing on and exploring ththe large rocks and boulders that scattered the park.

Ben on top of the world
Ben on top of a boulder stack

Lunch thief
This little Squirrel stole our lunch.

Boulder Rock
Again more boulders...

Silhouette Ben
An opportunity to be arty

Silhouette Stuart
An opportunity to be arty 2. Check out that hat, its like Indiana Jones or Clint Eastwood or Nick Cage from National Treasure.

The famous Joshua tree
Standing next to a Joshua Tree. The Joshua tree have adopted to desert climates. The trunk of a Joshua tree is made of thousands of small fibers and lacks annual growth rings, making it difficult to determine the tree's age. This tree is not very sturdy because of its shallow root area and top-heavy branch system

Desert
Joshua Tree National Park is set just shy of the Mojave Desert and Death Valley.

Desert Mirage
A photo to capture the reflection of the rocks in the lake.

Lizard
Ben caught a shot of this lizard under a rock

Route 66
Driving along part of route 66.

Amboy
Amboy, population 8, a small village along route 66.

London Bridge
London Bridge in Lake Havasu City. Purchased by American Robert McCulloch. It is a popular rumour that the bridge was bought in the mistaken belief that it was, in fact, London's more recognisable Tower Bridge.

Comments

[Andy]

Interesting
Just to let you know I'm reading your blog with interest. Keep up the entries. Hope you're enjoying yourselves. Take care.