Two distinct desert ecosystems of Mohave and Colorado come together to form Joshua Tree National Park. Neither of us knew much about the park except the namesake trees were there. We were pleasantly surprised by a few things about the park:
1. Joshua Trees are much taller, larger, and numerous than we thought or had previously seen in pictures
2. The park has significant rock formations that are just as interesting as the trees, and together make up a weird and otherworldly look to the place
3. The cholla cactus on the drive out were an unexpected sight and amazing.
What we did know in advance was that this park is sightseeing only without lodging (except campgrounds) or restaurants within. The surrounding towns are very small which is why we opted to stay in a large city further away from the park. After a quick stop at a Visitor Center outside the park, we drove the 5 miles up to the west entrance off of I-10.
The road within is nicely paved and has many pull offs to see viewpoints. We stopped at a few for pictures and decided to backtrack to town to catch a quick lunch at Firehouse Subs before exploring further. Back in the park, we ventured deeper along the scenic drive. Rob scoped out a few hiking trails and viewpoints in advance on the NPS app. He downloaded the park info in advance since there was no cell service in the park, which allowed us to find the trails. The park is a great place to practice rock climbing as these brave folks were doing.
We stopped at Minerva Hoyt trail for a hike. This park exists because of her fighting to protect the land. She envisioned the million acre park to protect native desert plants, and it paid off when Roosevelt established the park as a monument in 1936. In 1994 it became a national park.
Our hike was a large field full of Joshua Trees with rock walls in view.
Joshua Trees are part of the agave family. The name's origin is said to be biblical, named by Morman pioneers in the 19th century. We walked up to Keys View, a panoramic view of the southern portion of the park. From here one can see the Salton Sea to the left and the San Andreas fault along the base of the mountain ridges in the foreground.
Rob was debating whether he could get sunset photos since the skies were partially cloudy. As we were slowly making our way north on the hour's drive out of the park, we found the Cholla Cactus Garden. This area is closed for renovation until March, but Rob found a small pulloff and set up his camera. Look at these shots!
These cholla cactus are commonly known as teddy-bear cholla. The tall ones were about Michele's height. We stayed and took sunset photos for 45 minutes, then headed out since it was dark and 6pm.
Back on the I-10, we drove to dinner to pick up Hawaiian BBQ. The place was very busy at 7pm so we took it as a sign of good food. We enjoyed the Aloha plates with teriyaki and BBQ chicken, rice and asian-style salad.
Tomorrow we plan to visit the park and do more hiking.
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