Joshua Tree National Park — A teeming desert only few hours away from LA!

By Glen Bruels
This is part of a series called 40th Anniversary Roadtrip
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The side trip to Manzanar ended up costing us a day at Joshua Tree, but we felt it was worth it. The drive from Manzanar to Twenty Nine Palms was long and grueling, especially in the dark (and I’m talking seriously dark!) with lots of Barstow truck traffic.  Because it was dark, we really didn’t know what to expect in the morning.  This is a big park (794,000 acres) and we had one day to see it.  While it obviously takes more than a day to really experience Joshua Tree, we put a pretty good dent into it.

Many people see the desert as a somewhat lifeless and uninteresting place to visit. That is far from the truth and I think Joshua Tree brings that sharply into perspective. Even though the summers exceed 100 degrees, with relentless sun, and limited water, life (in a wide variety of forms) thrives here. And the rock formations (forms of monzogranite that were rose from the Earth’s crust) have created very interesting and complex rock formations around the park. As in the case of Death Valley, the area where Joshua Tree went through its phase of mining, cattle ranching, etc.  There are many ruins in the park to see.  But one thing that Joshua Tree had was potable water, much of it associated with five oases in its borders.  And like with so many other national parks, it took a zealot (Minerva Hamilton Hoyt) to pressure the creation of Joshua Tree as a national monument 1936.  It didn’t get national park status until 1994.  By the way, you might be asking yourself “why Joshua Tree?”  Good question!  Apparently, the pioneers thought that the outstretched “arms” of the tree resembled the biblical figure Joshua in supplication.  Nah, I don’t see it either.  I suspect a little loco weed was being smoked…  Anyway, we thoroughly enjoyed our time there and left only to pursue the last part of our trip before we leave for Mexico — Disneyland!

Yay! Joshua Tree!
There are amazing rock formations all around the park.
The shocking thing is how much life there is (flora and fauna) that live around these formations…
… including those that call the place home…
… and the interlopers who just like being slugs in the rocks.
How and where things grow is always a mystery to me. In Joshua Tree, this can mean focused areas where specific types of plants flourish, almost to the exclusion of others. In this particular case, there were wide expanses of ocotillo — very lush and healthy looking.
What I didn’t know was that ocotillos are actually deciduous trees and the leaves are soft.
There is also a massive area of cholla cactus. They are very beautiful, but these are the ones where their barbs embed themselves and are very difficult to deal with.
I’m sure the flowers are amazing in the Spring, but even these pods are beautiful
There were a number of dead (or dying) chollas mixed in with the healthy. Not sure what stresses cause them to die.
Tribbles!!!
Dune primrose, growing wild along the side of the road.
We stopped by Jumbo Rocks to look at some of the formations….
… including Skull Rock!
As I was walking along, I noticed this hole with some gossamer thin webbing over the top of it. You could only see it from one direction — it was invisible from the others. When I showed Deb the picture, she informed me that this was actually a tarantula nest and the web was to catch food. Glad I didn’t get too close!
The rock formations really provide a nice backdrop for the Joshua Trees.
On the hike out to Barker Dam. Lots of large Joshua Trees along the way. I do have to say, however, that this was one of the poorest marked trails I had come across for a while.
But this is what you come for — a beautiful pond behind the dam that is filled with life.
And where there is water, there are plants — both terrestrial…
… and under water. BTW, it looks like there are a lot of tannins in the water. It is quite brown.
And where there are plants, there are those that graze on the plants.
We weren’t quite sure if this was a cattle trough or not, but it looked pretty cool out there.
Color everywhere. I think this is Indian Paintbrush.
Enjoying the views!
Next we headed off up to Keys View, at an altitude of 5185 feet. Theoretically, you should be able to see Palm Springs, Indio, the Salton Sea, and the San Andreas Fault.
Unfortunately, the pollution (and the smoke from the SoCal fires) have left a thick layer of haze that prevents you from seeing much.
As you descend from the summit, the number and types of plants really starts to increase.
Driving back down, we took some time to admire the flowering yucca plants. Truly beautiful
But there were also some rather dense “forests” of Joshua Trees.
Some of these grow quite tall!
Obviously, this is a very spiritual place, but who knew? To misuse a quote, “when a student is ready, a monk will appear!”
But, of course, you can’t leave without seeing the sun set in the rocks. All of the following are from the Hidden Valley area.
It’s said that this area was a popular hideout for cattle rustlers in the area.
Today it is mostly for rock climbers who climb and rappel down these formations.
Liquid fire!
Saw this amazing cactus on the way out. I love the way it undulates!

 

This entry was posted in California, National Park/Monument, Travel, United States
Glen Bruels

I am a traveler and sometimes clay sculptor, following a long career working in consulting. My work allowed me to travel the world extensively and I was hooked. Today, I travel with my wife/best friend to explore new places, meet new people, and learn new things.

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