Joshua Tree - A strange world

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Life is full of surprises. Some good, some bad. Joshua Tree National Park was a good surprise. We had planned to spend two or three nights, but ended up staying eight nights. There are two distinct areas, as the park includes both the Colorado Desert and the Mojave Desert. We spent half our time camped in each.

The Mojave section of the park is where the Joshua Trees are located. They are strange and other worldly. They are fascinating to look at, as each one is different. I tried to imagine traveling in this area before roads, compasses, GPS and road signs. Giving directions would be different with needing to rely on distinctive rocks, mountains, plants, etc. In other climates a fun thing to do is to see objects in the shape of the clouds. Here clouds are rare, so I could picture that game being one that involved the rocks and plants.

Cottonwood Springs

This is in the southern end of the park and is in the Colorado Desert. We hiked to the Oasis and Mastodon Peak. Ranger programs were fun and informative at the amphitheater that was connected to the campground.

Belle

This is in the northern area of the park and is in the Mohave Desert. Here we were camped among large rocks and Joshua Trees.

Keys View

Amazing view. We could see about 95 miles to a mountain in Mexico. I was impressed with being able to see the Salton Sea and San Andreas Fault. The fault was a surprise as it’s something that we’ve heard about, but I never really thought about seeing it. It did briefly awaken a concern for earthquakes, but that quickly passed.

Keys Ranch

This tour required reservations and a small fee, but it was well worth it. Our ranger guide was Beverly Swift Pony and she was excellent. She brought the area to life for us. She was able to both entertain and educate us.

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Photos

Keys View
San Andreas Fault was visible...that surprised me!

Belle Campground
That's our RV by the rocks. It was a good wind break when we had 40 mph sustained winds.

Mastadon Peak
George made it to the top. My concern for heights made me stop several feet shy of the top, but I had an nice place to wait on a rock ledge. George is pointing with his hiking stick.

Colorado Desert
I had George go ahead for perspective in this photo. It was a nice hike with some elevation changes.

Oasis
Near Cottonwood

Joshua Tree - Barber Pole
Joshua Trees grow staright until there is a cold enough temperature to damage the growth tip, then they branch. Somehow this one managed to not branch for a long time and just kept growing straight.

Art
This is outside one of the visitor centers. It moves with the wind and the 2 arms and disks rotate, so the structure is forever changing.

View along Pine City Trail
Snowy peaks off in the distance on the hike.

Phone or 3G service?
We were hiking out to the ghost town of Pine City. We missed the turn and hiked until we arrived at this lovely view, which was better in real life. It has become a game to see if we have a signal.

Comments

[Judy]

What an adventure!!!!
Your descriptions as usual, Lynne are so perfect! Not too much but just enough to peak my interest and wish I could venture into the places your photos and words take your blog readers.... Many thanks for taking the time to share......

[Phyllis]

re: Joshua tree
It's good to hear from you. These are great pictures. I wish we were there too, although it is going to warm up into the thirties next week here.