Joshua Tree National Park

Yesterday we went to visit this National Park, we are now camped on the valley floor between the mountains of the National Park on the east and the Sierras on the west the San Andreas fault line runs right under us allong the valley. So once again the day starts with climbing a mountain road, that road was strait and in the desert so the view as we are climbing is awsome. The Cottonwood entrance to the park is about 25 miles away.

Joshua Tree National Park

We brought the dog alone, the planned trip is 5 to 6 hours, she's not aloud on trails but we can take turns staying with the dog, plus the ranger points out some dirt roads where the dog is allowed.

A dirt road in the park

We have more then 50 miles to drive trough the park to cross it from one end to the other, along the way there are interesting trails and interesting viewpoints. the first one on our trail is the chola cactus garden. We left early and the light is low and yellow perfect for pictures.

Chola Cactus Garden

This Chola Cactus is also known as the Jumping Teddy Bear Cactus because of it's soft bristle. However just brushing against it or a soft touch and the spines will detatch and stick on you, hence the Jumping part of the name.

High Altitude in the Park

Our last stop in the park was a place called Key View it's an high altitude viewpoint at the top of a winding road, You get a complete view of the valley at the bottom and the Salton Sea on the south. The was an interesting view of Mount San Jacinto that had a cloud ring around the summit.

The Raven Soars towards Mount San Jacinto 10,834 feet (3,302 m)