TWENTYNINE PALMS, CA – We drove through Joshua Tree N.P. yesterday, admiring the strangely formed plants that give the park its name and the granite boulders stacked in odd formations throughout the park.
The park is located just south of this city where we’ve parked our RV, and about 150 miles east of Los Angeles. The landscape is not spectacular in terms of mountain peaks and canyons, but it is strange and unique, with the twisted Joshua Trees dotting open areas surrounded by boulder fields. It’s worth a visit, although we found we could see it all easily in a day.
[Captions for the photos below: 1) Atop Keys View at sunset; the San Andreas Fault runs through the valley floor in the distance; 2) An oasis of palms at the Oasis Visitor Center; 3) The Cholla Cactus Garden in the park; 4) “The Skull” rock formation; 5) A frequent vista in the park; 6) A blooming hedgehog cactus along the Hidden Valley trail.]
Joshua Trees are not really trees but a species of yucca plant. They were named by early Morman settlers who thought their limbs resembled the outstretched arms of Moses’ successor leading Israel to victory as it conquered the promised land. Joshua 8:18 tells us:
Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Stretch out the javelin that is in your hand toward Ai, for I will give it into your hand.” And Joshua stretched out the javelin that was in his hand toward the city.
I was tempted to joke that the park was actually named in honor of the mega-selling, 1987 U2 album “The Joshua Tree.” Two of the songs from that album are among my favorites, “Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” and “With or Without You.” They served as a fitting soundtrack as we left the park for home yesterday afternoon.
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One of the many things I’ve learned during our time in this part of the country is that it’s too sweeping to refer, as I have in previous blogs, to “the desert southwest.” There are actually four desert systems: the Chihuahuan Desert, which we crossed in west Texas and southern New Mexico; the Sonoran Desert, home to the saguaro cactus; the Mohave Desert; and the Great Basin Desert that covers most of Nevada. Joshua Tree N.P. straddles the Mojave and Sonora deserts, adding to its diversity of plant and animal life.
We’ll be spending the next four weeks traveling through California, Lord willing. If anyone has suggestions about what we should see or people we can visit, please send the suggestions my way!
Dashboard:
Days on the road: 75;
Miles towing the RV: 3,756;
RV parks stayed at: 24;
National parks visited: 9.
The road ahead (Lord willing): Los Angeles and the West Coast
Daniel Griswold's Blog 