Jumbo rocks and hazelnut gelato – what could be better? Today Obi and I explored Joshua Tree National Park – despite the extremely high heat. We headed out in the morning, driving about 45 minutes to the park entrance. I had downloaded the map of the park but we also gathered one from the visitor’s center just in case. Obi had been to Joshua Tree years ago and had moments along the drive of, “yes, this does look familiar” – but seemed to experience new elements the second time around. It was very hot today – as it’s been here in the desert. Today’s temps while out and about in the park were hovering just under 100 degrees – our hotel was at 106 degrees but given the slightly higher elevation of the park, our phone indicated 96 degrees in Joshua Tree. We knew we wouldn’t be doing any long hiking trails but along the way we explored various look out points and shorter trails. Along on of the paths we met a ranger who said he turned back two couples because they didn’t have any water (on the 1 mile) walk. At first I thought – it’s only a mile you’re fine without water, but truthfully – even a mile in this heat left me feeling parched. Joshua Tree is a mix of two deserts meeting: the Mojave and Colorado Desert. The park is covered in Joshua Trees at some points as far as the eye can see. These are relatively short trees with scales for bark and spiky leaves as branches. The branches are short for the most part and at certain points twist with another. The trees do not beckon you to climb it – given the defensive nature of their leaves. After running up a large rock outcrop and back down, I walked unknowingly past a dense bush with spikes like the Joshua Tree and came away with about four large “claw” like marks on my left arm. These new markings paired well with the thorny scratches I acquired at the Grand Canyon. While it’s the desert and it’s hot, there was for the most part a steady light breeze which offered a sense of relief from the heat. Most of the trail heads we saw span across long flat plains weaving in and out of the trees. There is a main road which passes through the park, creating an easy route to follow to see some exhilarating sights. I asked the ranger if climbing up long the rocks is alright and he was more than encouraging but did warn us that going up is easier than coming down (yes, I knew that) but found his information helpful. This park is truly a climber’s paradise with so many rocks to climb. There were many moments where I skipped ahead or up and few rocks only to see a new point of destination or route and ventured onward. Here are just a few of the places we explored, Quail Springs, Hidden Valley, Hall of Horrors, Skull Rock, Jumbo Rock and Split rock. What great names!? At each of these locations we parked the car, grabbed out water and camera and went exploring. You can imagine what Skull rock is – a rock truly shaped as a skull – I managed to climb up and sit in the right eye socket for a fun photo. Jumbo Rock is a large campsite and we had been warned not to stray too far because once you start climbing and exploring these rocks, there are no trails so you have to have a strong point of reference. It was easy to navigate though and wow, these rocks were dynamic. They are rocks that originated underground as a result of volcanic magma which was pushed upward and interacted with the overlying rock. These two elements became granite and eventually cooled forming horizontal and vertical cracks which eventually interacted with soil and ground water expanding the angular cracks and forming larger cracks. The soil finally washes away and leaves what we see now, large piles of rock which look like toys left behind from a family of giants. The rocks at Jumbo rock are round along the edges – the curve in their shape leaves me feeling confident as I scale up and down. There are so many opportunities to jump from one rock to the next, or use your hand to pull and prop yourself up to reach a new lookout point. I was rearing to go all day and Obi seemed to find his inner climber and joined me on most of the climbs taking the opportunity to look past what he could see from the ground level. We had some wonderful photo opportunities. He took one of me which I’ll post here out in the Jumbo Rock playground. After a few hours – we ended at Split rock which truly evokes an imaginative story. I couldn’t help but think about the Greek Gods on Olympus. Maybe it was Aries or Athena playing catch and someone dropped the ball – down it feel from high heavens and landed with a thud on earth – the impact was so strong that it cracked the rock perfectly along the edge. The crack was balanced by other smaller rocks on the ground so the two parts never fully separated. I tried to push the enormously large boulder back together but, alas, my Franimal strength was not suited for games with the Gods.
By the end of the road – our bodies and mouths were so dried out and water was becoming our focus. While we had plenty of water at the start of the day, running, climbing, jumping and exploring this playground left us with little to no resources left. It was time to leave and find something to drink. We stopped at a 7-eleven and bought five drinks – guzzling three of them pretty quickly. When we got back to the hotel I went for a drip in the pool while Obi stuck his feet in and caught up on F1 racing news. We ended out night with a delicious dinner from downtown Palm Springs and a splendid scoop of my favorite ice-cream flavor, hazelnut, yum. This flavor brings me directly to my youthful summers in Germany.
This will be my final post for the trip – tomorrow morning we leave in the morning to LA to catch our plane home.
In total Obi will have driven us a little of 1,000 miles from Arizona, to Utah, then Nevada and finally California. Obi is a wonderful partner, for me and the Franimal. He knows when I get that look in my eye and my body lurches forward. He supports me and loves me with all his heart. We both end the day writing down our thoughts, which feels so comforting sitting side by side writing together. As always I hope you enjoyed “joining me” on these adventures – and enduring what the Franimal has to offer. With love, till next time.
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