It was a very long drive, but the friend I am traveling with for a few days and I spent today in Joshua Tree National Park. I had been here before, and we did not have a lot of time, so I took us first to the more rocky and more scenic northwestern end of the park.
It has been beautiful weather here in Southern California, by the way, with lots of sunshine and days with highs in upper 60s and lower 70s! Perfect day for a long drive. The following first few photos show how the northwestern part of the park looks--lots of joshua trees and rocky mountains and outcroppings.
Joshua trees are not trees at all, but are related to yucca plants. Large ones, like these below can live for a couple of hundred years because they are very slow growers. They produce large white flowers if there is enough rainfall.
In a few places, you can find rock climbers like this bunch.
More rock climbers on a nearby stone formation.
Headed south, you see some joshua trees, but fewer of them and fewer rock hills. I love area like this where there is very little traffic!
I decided to drive all the way through the park so we could exit at the south entrance, Cottonwood entrance.
One advantage of taking the southern entrance is that you can follow the exit road past I-10 and drive through Box Canyon to the Salton Sea.
I have driven through this canyon a few years ago and since it was later in the year then, I found it full of campers. There can be rain and floods very rarely here, so you do have to watch out in rainy weather.
We did not pass a single car heading south through the canyon.
Almost out of the canyon!
No comments:
Post a Comment