05/25/2024
For a number of years now, whenever I have mentioned that I traveled out west, I have been bombarded with the question, “Did you visit Joshua Tree National Park?” I have always said, “no,” because I never was near enough with sufficient time to make the visit. Not so today!
After a windy day arrival yesterday (wind speeds were probably 25-45 mph), we awoke this morning to more wind, just less of it. In fact, it blew enough all night to constantly shake the RV while we slept. It was kind of like being rocked to sleep. Today, we were able to leave the RV park in Desert Hot Springs, CA, by 8:10 AM, expecting to take about an hour to get to the entrance to Joshua Tree National Park. It actually took about 45 minutes.
Before we left for JTNP, we needed to refuel our RV. We only hoped that this tank would last until we got into Arizona. So, we filled up ($4.99/gal.) in anticipation that we would make it all the way to our next RV park before needing more. Didn’t happen!
Excited to see what all the “buzz” was about from my friends, we drove to the west entrance of the Park. I want Leigh Ann to describe her experiences in the park, since she did more than I did.
I really didn’t know what to expect. The only time I had actually heard the term Joshua Tree was from a U2 album (which I never really listened to myself). For several trips now, we have used an app called GuideAlong, and you purchase the guide for whatever national park you are going through, and it connects through GPS and tells you historical facts, scientific tidbits and other interesting info as well as guides you through the park to sights and highlights, so you don’t miss a thing! We got Mr. GuideAlong going and learned a lot about Joshua trees themselves but also a lot about the two different deserts that it connects (Colorado Desert and Mojave Desert), the Cholla Cactus, the rock formations and hiking trails. We knew we couldn’t spend all day there, and hiking was not really realistic for Dad, but when we got to the Arch Rock and Heart Rock, I just had to see them. So, he read and took a nap in the car while I hiked a mile or so up to see them, and I’m SO glad I did! Just check out the pictures…you’ll figure it out!
I think what I was most baffled by was the mountains of rocks. Mr. GuideAlong told us about the millions of years…yada yada yada…but every single mountain or mound of rock was literally a pile of smaller rocks and a few huge boulders. I mean I can’t really even describe how they looked, and we tried to take pictures, but I’m not sure if you’ll really be able to see it. Anyhoo…It was amazing to see all the different topography and plant life despite the harsh environment. The Cholla Cactus Garden was another mind-blowing field…just acres and acres of these dangerously barbed cacti that are also known as the teddy bear cactus (because apparently, they look cuddly like a teddy bear), but not only do they have SUPER sharp spikes, each spike has microscopic barbs that continue to sting and poke and just ouch!!!! Beauty and pain all from one plant.
The other thing we noticed was the great lack of wildlife. There are supposed to be about 200 great horned sheep in the park and tortoises, but the only thing we saw was a zebratail lizard, and I think we caught a quick picture of him too. I guess it takes a special animal to survive in a land with very little water, hot temps and sticky stingy spikes! It really was all a sight to behold and reminded me a little of the song “My Redeemer Lives” with the lyric “who told the sea to only come this far?” It was like God said, “ok, over here I want you Joshua Trees to gather together. Some of you can scatter around here and there, but this is home base.” And then to the Cholla Cacti “you guys are a little dangerous so let’s put you all together so we can make a beautiful scene, and everyone will not worry about how prickly you are.” And on down the road he carved images in stone with curves and angles and depth to remind us of man (Skull Rock) being covered (Arch Rock) by His love (Heart Rock). I guess you can tell this put me a little deeper in thought, but God’s creativity is just endless and amazing, and I’m so grateful that we got to see just a little bit more of it today!
After exiting the park, we hit I-10, looking toward the next 250+ miles to get to our next overnight in Mesa, AZ. Long stretches of highway, fighting the wind and, frankly, a boring expanse of scenery, traffic was not bad and, with a 70 MPH speed limit, we made pretty good time. After enduring the drive through California, we came to Blythe, CA, on the border with Arizona. Blythe is located in the Colorado section of the Sonoran Desert. Along with Needles, CA, it is one of the hottest locations in the United States, having recorded an astounding 124 degrees F on June 20, 2016. By this time, we had gone from a cool 60+ degrees in Desert Hot Springs to 98 degrees as we passed through Blythe. And thankfully, as we crossed the CA/AZ state line, gas prices dropped by $1.50/gal.
Then another long stretch of highway as far as the eye could see on I-10 traveling between the Eagle Tail Mountains to the south and the Big Horn Mountains to the north. Finally, by 3:30 PM, we had reached the Good Life RV Park, for our overnight stay in Mesa, AZ, local temperature 100 degrees. It felt hotter.
What a good day it was though in spite of our weariness from travel. The trip through Joshua Tree National Park was, indeed, worth the wait. See you tomorrow.