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Joshua Tree National Park
There are several major deserts in southwest USA. These deserts tend to have very distinct scenery, and several national parks have been set up to protect these wildness area. Some of the most interesting locations are in southern California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas. For a week or two, one can tour these deserts and see a side of America that is very different from New York City or Los Angeles.
This Spring, I spent two weeks in Joshua Tree National Park, which is about 2-3 hours west of Los Angeles. It is a park officially named after Joshua Tree, a peculiar desert plant. Joshua Tree National Park (and the desert areas all around it) is very much under-celebrated. It have several distinct features that might appeal to a broad range of tourists.
Every few years, when the weather conditions lined up just right ( plenty of rainfalls in the winter, warm Spring temperature), miles and miles of desert flowers would suddenly sprung up in certain parts of the deserts. The contrast between the drab gravel of the desert and these brilliant and fragrant flowers are very striking. In many ways, it is more precious than the usual spring blossoms, since they come only once several years in very unpredictable times. Also, even in a good year, you need to search out the right locations to experience them, as most of the desert remains lifeless.
Occasionally, you do see other people in the park, hiking, biking, camping, etc. All the beautiful granite rock formation has also attracked many rock climbers. We spotted a group trying to walk tight rope between two particularly huge rock formation:
We waited for 45min to see them making a successful attempt. Unfortunately, they never did.
The night stars in the desert is dazzling. Most people grow up in cities never get a proper view of the stars because city lights obscure these wonders of the night. Joshua Tree National Park is ideal for star gazing as it is fairly far from any major cities, and it is rarely cloudy in the deserts. Just remember to avoid nights with strong moon light. Sorry, no pictures :-) Our little point-and-shoot camera cannot really do starry night time skies.
Joshua Tree National Park is huge. It covers about 789,745 acres (3,196 km2), and it can take hours to drive through the park. Be prepared before you enter the park: carry a second set of car keys in your pockets, fill up your gas tank, carry plenty of drinking water. This area is not densely populated, and if you lock your key inside your car or ran out of gas/water, it would be a long time for help to come.
Also, you would often be tempted to stop on the side of the roads to take pictures. Be careful that some of these road shoulders are just sand, and most cars and even some SUVs without high ground clearance can be easily trapped. Our car was trapped in the sand once, and if a helpful local farmer did not happen to drive by with his truck, we would have been waiting for half a day for AAA.
Finally, be aware of some of these cactus. They might look perfectly harmless , but some evolved to do serious damage to any animals that happen to brush past . My left hand still has about 2 dozen little holes from one such unfortunate encounter. If a nice guy did not come to our rescue with a handy plier, we would have had to drive a hospital to free my hand from these little monsters. I have never seen my hand bleeding so much. And the nearest hospital is hundreds of miles away. One of the needles of the cactus stuck under my friend's finger nail when he came to my rescue, and we did not get it out till 4 days later.
There are no hotels in the park. If you want to stay in the park, you will have to camp in the designated camp grounds. Near the park, you can stay in Yucca Valley or 29 Palms. The hotels in these areas are fairly basic. If you want fancy lodging, you will have to drive a bit longer from L.A. or Palm Spring. There are a few highly rated Bed and Breakfast nearby, too, but you will need to book them weeks in advance.
This Spring, I spent two weeks in Joshua Tree National Park, which is about 2-3 hours west of Los Angeles. It is a park officially named after Joshua Tree, a peculiar desert plant. Joshua Tree National Park (and the desert areas all around it) is very much under-celebrated. It have several distinct features that might appeal to a broad range of tourists.
Every few years, when the weather conditions lined up just right ( plenty of rainfalls in the winter, warm Spring temperature), miles and miles of desert flowers would suddenly sprung up in certain parts of the deserts. The contrast between the drab gravel of the desert and these brilliant and fragrant flowers are very striking. In many ways, it is more precious than the usual spring blossoms, since they come only once several years in very unpredictable times. Also, even in a good year, you need to search out the right locations to experience them, as most of the desert remains lifeless.
Occasionally, you do see other people in the park, hiking, biking, camping, etc. All the beautiful granite rock formation has also attracked many rock climbers. We spotted a group trying to walk tight rope between two particularly huge rock formation:
We waited for 45min to see them making a successful attempt. Unfortunately, they never did.
The night stars in the desert is dazzling. Most people grow up in cities never get a proper view of the stars because city lights obscure these wonders of the night. Joshua Tree National Park is ideal for star gazing as it is fairly far from any major cities, and it is rarely cloudy in the deserts. Just remember to avoid nights with strong moon light. Sorry, no pictures :-) Our little point-and-shoot camera cannot really do starry night time skies.
Joshua Tree National Park is huge. It covers about 789,745 acres (3,196 km2), and it can take hours to drive through the park. Be prepared before you enter the park: carry a second set of car keys in your pockets, fill up your gas tank, carry plenty of drinking water. This area is not densely populated, and if you lock your key inside your car or ran out of gas/water, it would be a long time for help to come.
Also, you would often be tempted to stop on the side of the roads to take pictures. Be careful that some of these road shoulders are just sand, and most cars and even some SUVs without high ground clearance can be easily trapped. Our car was trapped in the sand once, and if a helpful local farmer did not happen to drive by with his truck, we would have been waiting for half a day for AAA.
Finally, be aware of some of these cactus. They might look perfectly harmless , but some evolved to do serious damage to any animals that happen to brush past . My left hand still has about 2 dozen little holes from one such unfortunate encounter. If a nice guy did not come to our rescue with a handy plier, we would have had to drive a hospital to free my hand from these little monsters. I have never seen my hand bleeding so much. And the nearest hospital is hundreds of miles away. One of the needles of the cactus stuck under my friend's finger nail when he came to my rescue, and we did not get it out till 4 days later.
There are no hotels in the park. If you want to stay in the park, you will have to camp in the designated camp grounds. Near the park, you can stay in Yucca Valley or 29 Palms. The hotels in these areas are fairly basic. If you want fancy lodging, you will have to drive a bit longer from L.A. or Palm Spring. There are a few highly rated Bed and Breakfast nearby, too, but you will need to book them weeks in advance.
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