Round The World and other travels
A frequent flyer's collection of trip diaries
March 2005 : Joshua Tree National Park
While staying
a few days in the Palm Springs area, I had the opportunity to make a
half-day trip to view the wonderful desert landscapes of Joshua Tree
National Park. The park lies to the north and east of the various
townships that are strung along the Coachella Valley and is
separated from these communities by three things : the Little San
Bernardino Mountains, the Interstate-10 freeway, and ... gulp!
...
the San Andreas fault. The park marks the area where the Mojave and
Colorado Deserts converge, causing a profusion of interesting plant
life.
I made the half-day visit with
fellow-FlyerTalker sftrvlr (Bruce from San Francisco), who
has become a good friend in the course of these pages! I gather he
was happy to discover that I can actually drive on the wrong side of
the road
Although the weather was excellent during my visit, Southern
California had one of its wettest winters this year and this was
responsible for making the tourists turn out in their droves. Why?
Well, this was not my first visit to the park, but it was certainly
the only time that I have seen parts of the desert floor carpeted
with colourful wild flowers. Amazing!
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Just off I-10, on the way to the Cottonwood Springs Visitor Center, this area is normally characterised by sand and scrub. |
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More of the wild flowers that had the tourists turning out in force. |
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An Ocotillo in the Pinto Basin, part of the Colorado Desert. |
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Close-up of a Bigelow Cholla ... that's 'choy-a', in case your Spanish is as ropey as mine! |
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Walking among these plants is a somewhat surreal experience. |
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Like the Ocotillo, the Cholla is characteristic of the Colorado Desert. |
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These formations came into view as we started to climb up to the Mojave Desert. |
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Joshua Trees appear above 3000' and are characteristic of the Mojave Desert. |