Joshua Tree National Park - A New Adventure!

The other day we took a ride up to Joshua Tree National Park with a couple of new friends who had never been to the park before. It’s always fun to introduce people to Joshua Tree, both because it’s one of our favorite places, and because people are always so amazed by it. 

The park is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year. It was first established as Joshua Tree National Monument in 1936, and was elevated to National Park status on October 31, 1994. It’s definitely a study in contrasts. Elevations in the park range from a low of 536 feet to a high of 5,814 feet and encompass almost 800,000 acres.

 

It’s hard to pick a favorite area within the park, but if we just had to, it would probably be (at least for me) the Jumbo Rocks area near the 29 Palms Entrance. This area, punctuated by boulders the size of office buildings that are piled up on top of each other, look like nothing so much as a set from the Flintstones (maybe that’s even where the animators got their inspiration for Bedrock).

In any event, geologists believe these giant granite boulders were born more than 100 million years ago, and slowly emerged from the earth as wind and water eroded the soil around them. Seems like a plausible explanation, especially when you look at other areas of the park where the process exists in less finished stages, but it’s hard to imagine the amount of time required to change a landscape so dramatically.

The Joshua Tree forests themselves also tend to amaze people - especially those from the East Coast. Joshua Trees, for anyone who hasn’t seen them, look like giant Yucca plants that have grown up to be tree-size, with multiple branches coming out of a single central stalk. There’s just nothing quite like seeing an entire landscape filled with thousands of Joshua Trees, especially when they are blooming (which has, by the way, just begun).

Wildflower season is still a couple of weeks away this year in Joshua Tree, but you can already see the signs that it’s going to be a great wildflower season. The ground is still damp, and all sorts of green plants have emerged. Desert blooms are always spectacular, and the ones in the Joshua Tree National Park are no exception. For the best wildflower watching, we generally recommend that people enter at the Cottonwood entrance (East of Palm Springs on Interstate 10). Cottonwood starts out in the low desert and climbs up gradually. Each new elevation brings a new group of wildflowers and cacti, along with a new and often vibrant color palate.

Each time we visit Joshua Tree National Park, we try to check out a new turn-off, and there are hundreds of them. We also like to visit favorites like Split Rock, Skull Rock, Hidden Valley and Key’s View (where, if it’s really clear, you can see the Salton Sea, and all the way to Mexico). Makes it tough, because as we add new favorites, each visit takes longer! :)

Winter Weather...a Study in Contrasts...

One of the amazing things about living in the desert during the Winter months is getting to see the snow at the tops of the mountains and the flowers blooming here in the valley.

We've had several heavy snowfalls this year, but thankfully, none of the white fluffy stuff has come down below 4,000 feet. That means we get to enjoy it from afar (unless we get adventurous and ride the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway to the top of Mount San Jacinto or drive up to Big Bear for some skiing).

Better yet, lots of snow up there and a little rain down here means we'll have water to replenish our water table and Spring Flowers blooming all over the desert in just a couple of weeks.

Not to say we don't already have some flowers. We do. The citrus trees are already blooming and their scents are wafting through the air, the jasmine (my favorite) is beginning to bloom, and the flowers in the gardens are up and in full bloom.

We've also been busy in the vegetable garden - enjoying fresh lettuces, beets and carrots while anxiously awaiting the potatoes, squash, beans and tomatoes! We can grow some sort of veggies pretty much year-round, and do pretty well, despite limited space, thanks to David's diligence and green thumbs!



Not to say we don't have seasons either. We have them too. There's a definite change in the air already, and lots of the bulb plants are coming up now that the night-time temperatures are getting warmer and the days are getting longer. 

This week, the weather is particularly nice with daytime temps in the low eighties and  nighttime temps in the high fifties.

Lots of events are coming up. Springtime in Palm Springs is filled to overflowing with things to do, both in terms of special events, and in terms of just being able to enjoy the natural surroundings. Life is good, and it's a great time to be here!