Thursday, January 6, 2011

Joshua Tree National Park

I still have photos I want to share from last week's byway adventures. Here are some scenes from my first visit to Joshua Tree National Park last Sunday. I really wish I could figure out how to show these photos larger here on Blogger. I feel the photos I post lose a lot by being so small. They do not look as good as when I am looking at them in a larger view on my screen. You lose a lot of the details and the full impact of the scene. If any of you know how to do this, please let me know!


The park has a beautiful, eerie landscape. It is a desolate place to begin with - big land, big sky and nothing but Joshua Trees and giant piles of boulders - but it felt even more desolate as there weren't many people in the park on a Sunday morning on January 2. It was cold - colder than usual, so I am sure that kept people away. We did see a few crazy campers braving the cold - the park campgrounds were full. Yes, camping would be fun there, but at this time of the year I think I would spend all my time sitting very close to a fire and drinking hot coffee.


We only drove through the park as we did not have a lot of time and it was cold. I look forward to returning when it is warmer and we have the time to hike the park. The park has a lot of hiking trails and it is also a big rock climbing destination. I did not realize that. Seeing all those boulders, and a few climbers braving the cold, reminded me of the desire I have always had to take up rock climbing. That is something I want to try soon. Being out West here is the perfect place, so I should look into this in the Spring.


The Joshua Trees are just so weird. Beautiful, but weird. They remind me of trees from a Dr. Seuss world. As the light fades into dusk they can look very menacing and scary - all those weird, dark shapes. I imagine walking out in this desert land at night, alone, seeing all of these shapes that look like people and monsters and all kinds of things - it would be freaky. Have you seen Joshua Trees? Have you been to Joshua Tree National Park? What did you think of them and the place?





1 comment:

  1. Hi! I just love this post! I dated a guy about 6 years ago whose family was from Joshua Tree (the town.) We spent a summer there once, and I am still 100% in love with it!

    Thanks for checking out our blog, by the way! We're super excited about our trip! Just curious, how did you come across our blog?

    -Emily (Wanderlusts Blog)
    http://wanderlustsblog.blogspot.com

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