Today was another great one - we filled the gas tank and headed out to Joshua National Park. So, those who know me - know I love to take photos (especially nature) and this was a hard day for me to blog! We had approx. 300 photos just from today - so be prepared for a very picture heavy blog entry.....
On the way to the Park...
Entering the Park...
This is a massive park - it took us several hours (most of the day) to drive through with a few short hikes/stops along the way. It was so interesting to me that every 10 minutes or so of driving and the terrain would completely change, whether it be the type of cacti/flowers, the terrain, the hillside or the views. You could spend an entire month or more here hiking the different trails and think you were in a different desert every day.
Map of Park...
We have lots of photos of the "Wildflowers" of the Park, as I had picked up a copy of a Wildflower guide at the visitor's centre and we were trying to take pictures of all the wildflowers in the area (but I will try to keep it down to a few...)
The view just behind the visitor's centre...
At Cottonwood Spring...
At Turkey Flats...
Dad's favorite cactus 'Ocotillo',
this was the most impressive one we saw and we just had to stop and take some photos..
My "new" favorite cactus is the 'cholla' cactus (pics below)
also known as "teddybear cholla" or "jumping cholla"
"Once hooked by the vicious barbed thorns, clothes or skin will pull off a whole branch of this cactus, which conitnues to impale the victim as they struggle to remove it".
quote from the "Road Guide to Joshua National Park" that I picked up at the visitor centre.
loved this plant - as it looked like an ostrich type of bird to me...
the 'cholla' flower...
On the way to White Tank Campground...
White Tank campground (elevation 3800 feet)...
a little bug I saw...
I'm still trying to find out about the neat feature we saw through this hike of a granite-type line that divided the rocks - see below...
As we were looking for the trail to Arch Rock, which we initially started in the wrong direction, walking through brush with me leading, we surprised an orange/red skinned snake, but by the time I realized what had happened it had already hid in the brush, we made a wide berth...
More pictures of the campsite as we continued to find the path to Arch Rock trail...
Finally, we decided to check the guide book for the directions, found the trail we were supposed to be on and headed to the "Arch"...
Mom would have joined Dad and I climbing on the rocks, but unfortunately she had sandals on and so became our photographer instead...
Hi Mom!...
To me the Arch looks somewhat like an elephant lying on its stomach...
Our biggest lizard we saw on the trip, it was sunning itself on one of the rocks...
White Tank is a campground, I don't know how I would like to sleep in a tent amongst the rocks once the dark would come around, but there were people camped out...
It was weird, the whole time I was here, I kept thinking the campground reminded me of Flintstone's Bedrock or even the rock place the crew from the movie "Galaxy Quest" visited...
We stopped for a picnic of cheese, kolbasz and crackers at Hidden Valley (I think), there was a hiker who ventured to the top of the rocks...
Skull Rock...
The view from Keys View, you can see Salton Sea, the Santa Rosa Mountains, Palm Springs, San Jacinto Peak, San Gorgonio Pass and Mountain and the San Andreas Fault from here (it was a bit windy way up here)...
Joshua Trees (the namesake of the Park) and Mom's favorite cactus (or rather yucca) in Lost Horse Valley...
Just starting to bloom (Mom says last time they were here, massive white flowers were in full bloom and absolutely beautiful - we were a bit early yet - but you could imagine how these once in full bloom would be very impressive)....
A balanced rock near the Desert Queen Ranch...
We lucked out by seeing a coyote cross our path and then hang out long enough for me to snap a few pictures from the safety of the car..
On the way back to the resort, we passed by the windmills in the valley - these are huge and there are hundreds of them!
We finished this wonderful day by stopping in quickly at Walmart and then heading home for a fantastic steak dinner with baked potatoes and a fresh spinach salad.
What a great day!
On the way to the Park...
Entering the Park...
This is a massive park - it took us several hours (most of the day) to drive through with a few short hikes/stops along the way. It was so interesting to me that every 10 minutes or so of driving and the terrain would completely change, whether it be the type of cacti/flowers, the terrain, the hillside or the views. You could spend an entire month or more here hiking the different trails and think you were in a different desert every day.
Map of Park...
We have lots of photos of the "Wildflowers" of the Park, as I had picked up a copy of a Wildflower guide at the visitor's centre and we were trying to take pictures of all the wildflowers in the area (but I will try to keep it down to a few...)
The view just behind the visitor's centre...
At Cottonwood Spring...
At Turkey Flats...
Dad's favorite cactus 'Ocotillo',
this was the most impressive one we saw and we just had to stop and take some photos..
My "new" favorite cactus is the 'cholla' cactus (pics below)
also known as "teddybear cholla" or "jumping cholla"
"Once hooked by the vicious barbed thorns, clothes or skin will pull off a whole branch of this cactus, which conitnues to impale the victim as they struggle to remove it".
quote from the "Road Guide to Joshua National Park" that I picked up at the visitor centre.
loved this plant - as it looked like an ostrich type of bird to me...
the 'cholla' flower...
On the way to White Tank Campground...
White Tank campground (elevation 3800 feet)...
a little bug I saw...
I'm still trying to find out about the neat feature we saw through this hike of a granite-type line that divided the rocks - see below...
As we were looking for the trail to Arch Rock, which we initially started in the wrong direction, walking through brush with me leading, we surprised an orange/red skinned snake, but by the time I realized what had happened it had already hid in the brush, we made a wide berth...
More pictures of the campsite as we continued to find the path to Arch Rock trail...
Finally, we decided to check the guide book for the directions, found the trail we were supposed to be on and headed to the "Arch"...
Mom would have joined Dad and I climbing on the rocks, but unfortunately she had sandals on and so became our photographer instead...
Hi Mom!...
To me the Arch looks somewhat like an elephant lying on its stomach...
Our biggest lizard we saw on the trip, it was sunning itself on one of the rocks...
White Tank is a campground, I don't know how I would like to sleep in a tent amongst the rocks once the dark would come around, but there were people camped out...
It was weird, the whole time I was here, I kept thinking the campground reminded me of Flintstone's Bedrock or even the rock place the crew from the movie "Galaxy Quest" visited...
We stopped for a picnic of cheese, kolbasz and crackers at Hidden Valley (I think), there was a hiker who ventured to the top of the rocks...
Skull Rock...
The view from Keys View, you can see Salton Sea, the Santa Rosa Mountains, Palm Springs, San Jacinto Peak, San Gorgonio Pass and Mountain and the San Andreas Fault from here (it was a bit windy way up here)...
Joshua Trees (the namesake of the Park) and Mom's favorite cactus (or rather yucca) in Lost Horse Valley...
Just starting to bloom (Mom says last time they were here, massive white flowers were in full bloom and absolutely beautiful - we were a bit early yet - but you could imagine how these once in full bloom would be very impressive)....
A balanced rock near the Desert Queen Ranch...
We lucked out by seeing a coyote cross our path and then hang out long enough for me to snap a few pictures from the safety of the car..
On the way back to the resort, we passed by the windmills in the valley - these are huge and there are hundreds of them!
We finished this wonderful day by stopping in quickly at Walmart and then heading home for a fantastic steak dinner with baked potatoes and a fresh spinach salad.
What a great day!
