We woke up early this morning to the pleasant sound of a bird choir. A walk to the beach, a wave to the park host, followed by breakfast started the day. Thanks to the bird choir we hit the road early, heading for Joshua Tree National Park. The area we were passing through this morning is the "date" centre for California, but unfortunately, due to it being Easter Sunday, the date place I wanted to visit was closed. We did, however enjoy the drive through the very affluent areas of Palm Desert and and Palm Springs.
We got to Joshua Tree National Park at around noon and stopped at the visitor centre for some information and maps of hiking areas. We got a pleasant surprise when we were told that entry to the park was free due to it being National Parks Week in California. The Park is a whopping 790,000 acres, with lots of camping, rock climbing and hiking, all affording fantastic views.
Our first stop was Keys View, a look off area, where on a clear day, looking south, you can see all the way to Mexico. The view to the west is blocked by a wall of cloud which we were told is a result of smog from Los Angeles and industrial areas. From this view we also saw the San Andreas Fault line.
Our next stop was a short hike through Hidden Valley, a place where it is thought cattle rustlers would hide out. It truly looks like the setting of an old western with lots of varieties of cactus, some gorgeous desert flowers, and of course, Joshua trees. We did see some wildlife...some kind of rodent, birds, and lizards but fortunately none of the four varieties of rattle snakes found in the park.The park ranger also recommended the Barker Damn hike, another loop trail that went up and over and around the many enormous boulders in the park. On this hike we saw petroglyphs and one of the very few areas in this desert park where there is water...a very small desert oasis.
We left the park after four hours of exploring and headed to Twentynine Palms RV Resort. A swim in the indoor pool and a shower was refreshing after the heat and dust of the day at Joshua Tree. After dinner we walked to the adjacent golf course and made plans to play nine holes in the morning.
Life is good!
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