3 March 2023: Joshua Tree National Park, California

 

So spent the work week in Quartzsite - got the one blind fixed that I tried to fix and )#$%*@ up even further - $60 later - works like a charm and cheap at the price.

Figuring out that where a boat cost $50, $500 or $5000, an RV costs $50, $200 or $1000... so definitely cheaper (touch wood).

Without much of a plan except to go see the Salton sea, I set off on Friday for Joshua Tree National Park.  Really amazing.  Booked in the Cottonwood RV site ($30/night) and stayed for 2 nights sans any cell reception - which was just great.

Did a walk that I thought was going to be 1 mile and turned out to be 4.  Got back to the bike just before total darkness.  Saw one of the many abandoned mines in the area - must have been really hard work. The walk starts at a natural spring - that is basically just a crack in the earth's crust where water comes up  from deep down somewhere. There are multiple springs in the area marked by small clumps of palm trees and a few 'bloekom bome' - eucalyptus trees which I thought was native to Australia (but some of them migrated to South Africa).

See the whale right at the top

 

 

 

The start of the walk - note the pics are not edited.  These are the colors

A warm water spring in the middle of nowhere
 

Big palm trees

 

Sunset on my walk

 

An old woman sitting among the rocks

 

First the mist settled in - quite eerie

Evening Bosveld TV

Sunset

 

Woke up Sunday morning with a good dusting of snow - crazy thing to see in the desert - cactus + palm trees + snow...

Chilled glass for a morning margarita?

The thorns do not look that bad when covered in snow

Another oasis

Very very big palms

Headed out the western entrance and went from the Sonora desert (at 1000ft) to the Mojave desert (at 4000ft).  Amazing trip.  Huge heaps of boulders everywhere.  Stopped at some spot and took the bicycle on an 8 mile uphill road to a lookout point over the Salton sea.   The trip down back to the RV... did between 25 and 35mph in 35F, but I was wrapped up, so very exhilarating, except for the fact that I could not see much because my eyes were teary.

A Joshua Tree

Huge boulders everywhere

and the amazing part was there were campsites between the boulders on a first-come-first serve basis.

Jagged mountains

and vast plains

 

Up at the lookout... it was cold

Some areas had more snow than others

The Salton sea in the background - next weeks stop

Hanging rock

Will definitely go back to visit Joshua Tree.  Beautiful place.

Descended from 4000 ft down to about sea level in 50 miles and hit the big wind tunnel that is called Palm Springs.  Constant 30-40mph winds and wind generators everywhere - the first wind farm in the USA was built here - unfortunately they are all decommissioned, but still an amazing sight. Spent the week at the KOA in Desert Edge - nothing spectacular and relatively remote.

The local KOA road-runner.  The comic strip really does a good job of imitating the real thing (or is it the other way round?)

Must be in California...

View for the week.

A Joshua Tree does not really have large branches.

Could not beat the view from the campground