Retirement Road Trip 2011: Day 47, Tuesday 10/11

92 miles and camped at Black Rock Campground in Joshua Tree National Park.

Since I went to bed early last night, I woke early this morning. I looked out the window and it was bright out. It was only 3:00 AM, but the nearly full moon was casting wonderful shadows. I got up, made a cup of coffee, and went outside and just sat for 45 minutes. The 60 degree air felt warm. There was not a sound to be heard except for crickets, and the occasional owl. The light tan colored rocks reflected the moonlight. I watched the constellation Orion rise in the east, while the moon was easing its way west. It was one of those mystical experiences. I know my friends and family will all get a chuckle out of my early morning antics, but this experience is a treat that I will remember for a very long time.

By the way, I went back to bed at 5:00 and slept until 6:30. Does that count as a nap, or just an extension of the overnight sleep? :-))

At 6:30 Zoey and I took a long two mile walk.  The light of the early morning sun was gorgeous.

About 9:00 we started out road trip through the park.  Guess what?  There are Joshua Trees everywhere.  It is a member of the Yucca family and the center of life in desert because so many species of animals depend on it.  The largest one in the park is forty feet tall.

I drove to Keys View at 5,185 feet.  From there I could see west to the Coachella Valley.  This valley is a part of the lower Colorado Desert.  However, it has been heavily influence by human development.  Palm Springs is among the many cities that lie in the valley.  There is heavy agriculture development as well, and is supported by water diverted from the Colorado River.  The picture below shows Mount San Jacinto at over 10,000 feet.  Directly below the mountain is the city of Palm Springs.  If you look closely, you can see the San Andreas Fault running almost directly across the middle of the valley and photo.  In fact, if you were to come back next year, the mountains across the valley will have moved about two inches to the north, or right on the photo.

Joshua Tree National Park contains two desert zones.  The high desert above 3,000 feet called the Mojave Desert.  The lower Colorado Desert lies in the eastern part of the park below 3,000 feet.  The two deserts have slightly different plant and animal life.  My original plan was to traverse the park from northwest  to southeast and camp Tuesday night at the Cottonwood Campground at the southern end of the park. That way I could experience both desert environments.  However, the road to the southern part of the park was closed do to recent flooding, so I had no way to get there.

OK, plan B. I headed back north and decided to camp at the Black Rock Canyon Campground at the northern end of the park. That's how I ended up here. The scenery is completely different from the Indian Grove Campground. Last night I was camped among the rock formations. Tonight I'm camped among the Joshua Trees, junipers, and yucca plants.

I'll end with a collection of several other photos from Joshua Tree National Park.  The last one is a view from the camper at sunset.  This park is another one that I want to return to when the flowers are in bloom in the Spring.  Darn, as I check things off my bucket list, I keep adding to it.  :-))

Later........