Other Half and I are not that great at touristy stuff. It’s not that we don’t enjoy touristy stuff. We do. But when you live in a recreational vehicle, also known as the Big Rig, it can be hard to distinguish between regular days and touristy days.
Recently we decided to get better at it. We are camped in the Palm Springs area in a community called Desert Hot Springs. The desert of Desert Hot Springs is the Mojave Desert. About an hour west of our campground, Sam’s Family Spa, is Joshua Tree National Park.
Joshua Tree is where the Mojave Desert and the Colorado Desert meet. The Mojave Desert is the western half of the park at elevations above 3000 feet. The Colorado Desert is the eastern half of the park at elevations below 3000 feet. The Colorado Desert is part of the gigantic Sonoran Desert which spans southern Arizona and northern Mexico.
It’s amazing what you can learn when you read the brochure.
We entered the park at the South entrance. We stopped at the Cottonwood Visitor Center and Other Half whipped out his National Parks Lifetime Pass. While the younger crowd dig out their wallets, we get a nod and a wave. Works every time.
Before heading out, we stopped and talked to a Park Ranger. My big question is always about wildlife, in this case Bighorn Sheep. I LOVE spotting wildlife actually in the wild. Makes my day. The ranger answered by patiently explaining the park is the size of Rhode Island and the Bighorn herd is 340 strong. You figure the odds. Oh well, the scenery is spectacular.
It takes several hours to drive through the park. There are lots of places to stop and take a closer look. The Cholla Cactus Garden is stunning – from afar. Cholla’s are also known as jumping chollas because they stick you if you’re not paying attention. I first learned about this less-than-friendly cactus last year.
Hiking is a popular park activity. There are all levels of hikes available from paved wheelchair-accessible to strenuous backcountry treks. We’re somewhere in the middle – that is once my ankle is stronger. For now we settled for hiking from the parking lot to the picnic table for lunch.
Rock climbing is also a big deal in the park. We’re not exactly the rock climber type but with boulders like these you can see why it’s popular.
Camping rounds out the big three and fills up quickly. If you want to sleep under the stars, reservations are a good idea.
Before leaving the park, we wanted to know just exactly what is a Joshua Tree. Turns out the Joshua tree is a Yucca tree. It’s the largest of the yuccas and only grows in the Mojave Desert. Mormon pioneers are said to have named the tree after the Old Testament prophet Joshua.
Mother Nature is not joking around in Joshua Tree and the park service wants you to understand what that means. People have died here from preventable accidents. In other words don’t be an idiot and enjoy your day.