Joshua Tree National Park, CA

July 4

We continued on to Joshua Tree National Park, CA. We were hoping to meet up with Esther’s parents and sister Nicole over the weekend. We hadn’t seen them in a almost two years and 5 years respectively, too long. Joshua Tree National Park protects 794,000 acres where the Mojave and Colorado deserts meet. It is famous for its joshua trees and its jumbles of stacked granite boulders.

We entered the park at the southern Cottonwood entrance and briefly stopped at the visitor center. As most of the campgrounds in Joshua Tree do not have any water whatsoever, we made sure to fill up our tank and all other water containers we had. The 34-mile drive north to our campground was painfully slow and desolate. After about 380 miles and 8 hours we pulled into the Jumbo Rocks Campground. We found a nice private spot at the base of giant, rounded granite boulders. The whole campground is in the midst of huge rock piles.

Nicole arrived around 6 pm. We spent the evening catching up. At night the coyotes howled.

July 5

In the morning we saw a mother Gambel’s quail with her brood of tiny chicks. We accidentally separated them and watched the mother frantically call for her babies to join her across the road.

We drove up to Keys View at an elevation of 5185 feet. From this point one can look down into the valley and see the San Andreas Fault, the city of Palm Springs, and a piece of the Salton Sea in the distance. We actually got a decent cell phone signal here. On the drive back we took the unpaved road to the Lost Horse Mine trail head and then hiked the roughly 4 ½ mile trail up to the ruins of the old mine.

Before we left in the morning we had set out a bucket of melted ice water, not wanting to just pour it out. Perhaps we could use it to rinse off dusty feet or something else later. When we returned the bucket was swarmed with thirsty honey bees. Evidently they need water to cool themselves and their hives in the summer. We had seen the sign about the bee hive near the campsite across the road and the warning that the bees would look for any source of moisture, including the sweat on your skin. Well, we had forgotten all about them. So, for the rest of the afternoon we had to evade, shoo, and redirect the bees with another water source. Most eventually left our area but a few scouts were very persistent. Enjoying our cold drinks in the shade of a juniper was a little less carefree. Nicole was especially alert as she is allergic to bee venom.

The afternoon was spent with cold drinks and hanging out. Ethan did a lot of scrambling on all the rocks behind our site and found a little “cave”. The boys had to wear gloves to keep the rough granite from tearing their skin. Esther’s parents, Tom and Rosa, arrived late afternoon. After dinner, Tom had to leave. Nicole and Rosa spent the night with us in the camper. Nicole got the more comfortable dinette bed while Rosa got the uncomfortable, short, pull-out jackknife sofa.

Around 3 in the morning we were all awakened by the horrible sounds of a screaming animal. We had seen lots of cottontails in the campground, including one that liked to hop through our site. We hoped that it wasn’t our rabbit in the jaws of those coyotes. It wasn’t.

July 6

In the morning we walked the 1-mile Hidden Valley loop trail. This valley is rumored to have been used as a hideout by cattle rustlers. Next we walked about ½ mile to Barker Dam. This dam used to hold back a rain-fed lake which now is not much more than a green puddle. On the way to the dam, at a shady area under a large rock, a jay sat on a tree looking intently down at us as we took a quick break and snacked on some almonds. Usually we don’t feed wildlife as it can really have detrimental effects on the critters. However, rationalizing that almonds weren’t too far removed from the bird’s natural diet of pinyon nuts, Esther suggested that Ethan put a small piece of almond on his hand and hold it out. Sure enough, the jay briefly landed on Ethan’s had and snatched up the almond. William and Liam repeated this in the hopes of getting some pictures. On the way back from the dam, the jay was still sitting in the tree waiting for the next willing human. We decided he had had enough nuts. William poured some water into the cap of his water bottle and placed it on a log. The jay landed and had a few sips.

In the afternoon Tom arrived with Johnny, Nicole’s fiance. We all hung out at the campsite with cold drinks and a few bees. Tom and Johnny left before dinner. We had some wilted lettuce leaves that we tossed under a creosote bush by the camper. Our resident rabbit really enjoyed them. Rosa and Nicole stayed a while longer before returning home. Once again we heard the coyotes howling, but thankfully, no screaming rabbits.

Here are the pictures.