Joshua Tree National Park

This past weekend(May 1st - 3rd) we were able to enjoy one of the most unique parks/places in the Southwest. We were also able to add to this experience by camping with our friends Joe and Nicholas. Joe lives out in Los Angeles and Nicholas back in MN(he flew to LA to visit Joe for his birthday weekend).

This weekend carried with it much anticipation. Lots of planning and preperation in order to have maximum enjoyment. Meals were planned, campgrounds chosen. Therein laid a problem. Joe and Nicholas left LA early in order to be able to find us a suitable campsite None of us anticipated 8 of the 9 campgrounds to be completely full by 3 pm on Friday, but they were. We were finally able to get a campsite around 630 pm, when Shannon and I arrived in the park. After all the extra driving on Joe/Nicholas, we were setup in the Cottonwood Springs campgroud by sundown. Our first night included great conversation, exceptional food(cooked by Chefs Stewart and Goodwin), and some refreshing beverages.

The chefs

The drinks, nothing but class!

The following day started with another tasty meal provided by Joe and Nicholas. It was two flavors of yogurt served with black berries, bananas, strawberries and home-made granola. Very nice. After breakfast it was off to discover what JT had to offer. While driving to our first destination, Ryan Mountain, we stopped off at the Cholla Cactus Garden. We discovered that the preferred method of reproduction for Cholla is detaching it's stems, once it's spines are lodged in the skin of a animal/human, of course. The stem then falls to the ground at some point and sends down it roots. This 'garden' was esentially started by a single Cholla stem.

more from the cholla garden:

Cholla Flower

some other type of flower

same here

After our stop at the Cholla Garden, it was off to our longest hike of the day: Ryan Mountain. This hike was about 3 miles and offered some lovely views of the surrounding landscape.

Atop Ryan Mountain, looking west

topping out at 5500 ft.

Disclaimer: this pose was requested by the photographer(Joe Stewart)

Here is a sample of pictures from a short hike we did to Hidden Valley. There were numerous sets of rock climbers that provided opportunities to admire their physical/mental strength.

Gabe: I am all that is man.
Nicholas: Wow, what a specimen.
Joe: Shucks.

On our drive back to camp we stopped off at a section of the park filled with giant Ocotillos. These are common here in the valley but not of this size. This particular one about a half dozen humming birds searching its flowers.

Shannon: "I mean just look at how big this sucker is!"

All in all it was a wonderful experience and well worth the drive. There was a lot of great food, conversation and ladder golf. We recommend checking out this weird little gem of a national park.