Joshua Tree Back Roads, Part III
[The full text, with photos, can be found
on my travel site, Travels
to Distant
[Strick]Lands.]
Besides the furry, Seussian tree
for which the park is named, Joshua Tree National
Park is known for its dramatic topography. The
central portion of the park contains vast fields of
boulders and massifs on which the experienced rock
climber and the neophyte hiker can play with equal
pleasure. Upon our arrival at Jumbo
Rocks, one of the larger of these outcroppings,
I eagerly bounded up the boulders. This was a part
of the park I had anticipated with some excitement.
I joined my
cohorts on the top of Jumbo Rock, perusing the
commanding view of the valley. We struck a pose for
the photographers below and descended, ready for
the next adventure (though I wanted to stay and
play on the rocks more).
DanaMite next led us along another back road to
the Desert Queen Mine, where we found the ruins
of the old ranch and mining residence. Here, I was
foiled again in my quest to actually see a mine
(having missed the one that Les and the others
discovered on Black Eagle Mine Road). Maybe next
visit.
We ended the day by driving through White Tank
campground, which was our originally-planned camp
site before Easter weekend crowds forced us into
the southern end of the park. Hopefully we'll stay
at this site on future visits. Fifteen sites sit
nestled within towering boulders, offering dramatic
vistas and fun climbing right in your "backyard."
Best of all, camping at the site is free with your
paid admission to the park ($10 per vehicle, good
for seven days).
Saturday night, we replenished our spent carbs
by cooking up enough food for a small army. As Dana
observed, 12 people brought fixings for 12 people,
so we could have fed 144. I don't think we had
quite that much food, but the potluck dinner was
aptly named the "All American Pigout." We had
Sirpa's salad, Strickland's sausages, Lory's corn
on the cob, Jason's Dutch oven stew and so much
more. Drew provided the soundtrack for the evening
on his acoustic guitar, and Lory's Book of
Questions stimulated fireside discussions about
religion, politics and everything in between. I
felt like I'd known these people I'd just met for
years.
Though I was in serious need of a shower, Sunday
came too quickly. Loading up the vehicles again, we
left the park by way of Pinkham
Canyon and Thermal Canyon Roads (again, rated
for four-wheel-drive vehicles only). This time,
Lory got her shot in the saddle of my Explorer and
loosened the reins on roads that were even more fun
than Black
Eagle Mine Road. Drew also joined the fun in
his pristine 1955 Land Rover, looking more like he
belonged in the African bush than the California
desert. And even a minor setback like Christian
nearly running out of gas provided opportunities to
see otherworldly caterpillars and blooming prickly
pear cacti out in the middle of nowhere.
The denouement of the trip took place on the
tram from Palm Springs to the top of Mount San
Jacinto, a trip involving a 6,000-foot rise in
elevation and a 40-degree drop in temperature. Lory
and I, however, skipped this final adventure in
favor of getting home at a decent hour. But
secondhand reports suggest that the group had a
blast avoiding Karen's snowballs.
I feel lucky to have found such a great group of
people, and look forward to many more travels "off
the beaten path" with Total
Escape. So much so, in fact, that I'm going to
Baja in two weeks!
Development note: I've
noticed that this site doesn't look like it should
in Netscape Navigator. Rather than waste time
jury-rigging it to look right in a
soon-to-be-obsolete browser, I'll just add the
cliché "This site best viewed with Internet
Explorer."
©2003 Michael
Strickland ALL RIGHTS
RESERVED
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What is "The Daily Strick"?
I have long called
myself a writer, but too often I don't do
what a writer must do daily: write. So
you, dear reader, are the beneficiary of
my resolution to make a positive change in
at least one area of my life. Every single
day of this new year, I will write
something, anything, and post it here. It
is my intention to use this daily exercise
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worthwhile material this year. Hopefully
you will find at least an occasional
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Today's
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Previously...
4/20:
Joshua
Tree, Part II
4/19:
Joshua
Tree, Part I
4/18:
Royal
Flush
4/17:
A
Long Strange Trip
4/16:
A
New Line to Back
4/15:
Still
Writing
4/14:
Conspiracy
Theory
4/13:
Los
Coronados
4/12:
Y2K
in Y2K3
4/11:
Slow
Glass
4/10:
Freedom
of Speech
4/9:
Why
We're Fighting
4/8:
Eucalyptus
Memories
4/7:
Sleep
4/6:
Writing,
Just Not Here
4/5:
Sci-Files
Trivia
4/4:
Sobering
Up
4/3:
Great
White Hope
4/2:
Entropy
4/1:
Peace
on Earth
Previous months in
The
Archive
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