Joshua Tree National Park

The trip from Borrego Springs to the south entrance of Joshua Tree National Park was less than 100 miles. We made a stop at Red Earth Casino to fill Sol's tank and to fill our fresh water. Since we had traveled this area before, we knew that we didn't have to go through Indio to get to I-10 and our exit. Instead, we turned east at Mecca and drove on Box Canyon Road right to the turn for our campground on BLM (Bureau of Land Management) land.  Connie and Larry arrived before us and picked out a good site. It seems the Xscapers (another group of Escapees) was having a convergence that weekend and it was a good thing we arrived early on Thursday! As you can see in this photo, Larry and Connie's rig is behind us.

After getting set up, Bob and I drove into the park to check things out. The visitor center was packed and closed. People were looking for campsites as all the campgrounds in the park were full. I guess some of them would end up at the BLM area.

Bob and I took a very short hike along the Cottonwood Springs Trail. A lot of the beginning of the trail is closed on the sides due to heavy metals in the soil from previous mining of the area. Once we hiked beyond that, the wildflowers were in abundance. These little orange flowers were everywhere.

 This claret cup cactus was nearing the end of its bloom.

 We walked to where the trail forked for Mastodon Mine. Behind me in the wash were some gorgeous flowers. And yes, the wind was blowing!

 Looking down in the wash, these were the flowers I saw. It amazes me how the plants and animals survive in the desert environment.

 We returned to Sol for dinner and a restful evening. The next morning when I looked out my window, I jumped out of bed and grabbed the phone to get this picture of the sunrise reflecting on Sol.

Connie, Bob and I took an early morning walk to Bajada Nature Trail just inside the park.

 On one of chollas along the trail, Connie spotted this ladybug. Yes, cholla has vicious thorns the size of toothpicks.

 This plant, the chuparosa, is loved by hummingbirds. We saw a lot of these flowers, but no hummingbirds.

Another strange plant we saw was bladder pod. It was a large bush by desert standards, almost as tall as me. It had yellow flowers and green pods.

 Bob tolerated Connie and I stopping to photograph the flowers. He is a patient man....sometimes.

On our walk back to the RVs, we spotted this large plant with white flowers growing on the berm behind the entrance sign.

 It reminded Connie and I of a large morning glory. I later found out that its name is Jimson Weed.

 Once we returned to the camping area, we continued walking to see how many rigs were parked in the desert. Connie saw this guy--a horned toad--scoot across the road and stop in front of us. He posed long enough for me to get closer and closer taking his picture. He really blended in with his surroundings.

Later that day, Bob and drove through the park, stopping at Cholla Garden. Cholla grows in abundance in this area as conditions are just right.

 Some of the cholla was even blooming.

 On a lone plant with yellow flowers, I spotted this caterpillar.

There are warnings as you enter the garden to stay on the path. I did not venture off, but many tourists did. Bob and I saw one trying to pull a cholla segment off his leg....you could tell by the grimace on his face and the sounds coming out of his mouth that it was painful.

 Cholla, cholla everywhere!

Bob and I continued on to Twenty-nine Palms, north of Joshua Tree. We made a visit to the commissary and exchange before heading back to our campsite.

The following morning Bob, Connie and I set out to hike Mastodon Mine Trail. We got to the trailhead early enough to get a parking spot. It was a Saturday, many people were on spring break and others were just enjoying a weekend outing.

Once again, Connie and I were flower photographers.

 This plant was shimmering in the morning sun, it looked so soft, but in fact when I felt it, it was bristly.

 These are seed pods. The small, purple petals have fallen off. Notice how one pod grows straight up out of the one below.

 

 These pink flowers looked like they were just resting in the shade of a cactus. There were no leaves at all.

Just when I thought we had seen all the different flowers, Connie or I would find another one!

 The group of rocks on the right mark the location of Mastodon Mine.

 The sides of the mountain were covered in mounds of yellow brittle bush.

 I finally made it to the Mastodon rocks. I wasn't quite to the top, but I was close.

 Bob and Connie chose to stay below!

 The entrance to Mastodon Mine was below the rocks. For safety reasons, the entrance to the mine is sealed.

 Most of our hike after the mine was through a dry river bed and mostly down hill.

Just before we reached the river bed, Connie and I spotted another new to us flower. The bottom leaves on this one looked like it belonged to the succulent family.

As we hiked the dry river bed, Bob spotted this lizard sunning on a rock.

The end of the dry river bed was the parking lot and boy was it crowded! It was a good thing we got an early start as people had parked on the road shoulders leading to the campground!

After we got back to the campground and had lunch, Larry took us to Sam's in Coachella and also Winco, a local grocery store. We stocked up on things we might need in the next week as Sunday would be a travel day. Connie and Larry were headed to Seal Beach for a week and Bob and I were going to explore Lone Pine, California.