wardsgirl
Active member
On the edge of the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, this road leads to the Mt. San Jacinto tramway in Palm Springs. I rode the pricy ($25) tram up the mountain. The views from the top were spectacular- good call, TomD! I brought my winter hiking gear, so I left the tourists and went on a hike.
I was glad I brought Microspikes because the trail was a thick sheet of ice. I hiked a 3 mile loop trail. The trees were a lot taller and wider than we are used to in the East.
The sun was setting when I reached Joshua Tree National Park. I got out of my rented minivan to take a picture of the sign. A jackrabbit hopped on by while I stood there.
The scenery in Joshua Tree was spectacular. I had better weather than Paul Bear! Temperatures ranged from 80s in the day and 40s in the night. I took many photos of the ‘trees’ which aren’t really trees at all, but a variety of yucca.
I camped at the Ryan Mountain Campground. From what I could see of all the car camping opportunities in Joshua Tree, the campsites are all somewhat nestled into the rock formations as seen here. The formations provided a lot of atmosphere.
The desert sky was lovely at night, changing colors and casting shadows from the trees and the rocks across the strange landscape of the high desert. It was a little weird for it to be pitch black outside and to be all ready to go to sleep by 6pm: a combination of jet lag and the desert night.
Ryan Mountain is perhaps the most popular hike in the park. There was only one other car at the trailhead, so crowds were not a concern. The trail was similar to trails one would hike in the Whites. At 5,000 plus feet, the summit had a 360 degree view. I didn't get to go on the longer hike that Marty did.
Cacti and rock formations are the order of the day at Joshua Tree. I spent three days in Joshua Tree. I had been concerned about scorpions and tarantulas, but I didn't see anything of the sort. It had been said that Joshua Tree might be cold and windy in December, but I was pleasantly rewarded with mild temperatures and calm winds.
I drove north through 29 Palms, where that Robert Plant song replaced U2 in my head:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHRcKD8T17g
I continued to the Mojave National Preserve, where there was not another vehicle in sight for miles and miles. It was really pretty freaky!
Good call on the Kelso Dunes, DSettahr! Apparently, the strange sound is the result of the grain construction and other scientific factors. It was tremendously difficult to hike and climb in the sand and I was grateful that the weather was kinda crappy and overcast with a little spitting of rain. I don't think this would have been fun if it was sunny and 100 degrees. When I reached the top of the tallest dune, I sat at the top for a while and hoped that the dune would make the sound that I had heard about. I was only going to give it one chance because I wasn't going to climb up the damn thing again. I stood up and began to run down the dune.... Boinnnnng, boinnnng, boinnnng!!!! It was so weird!
