Been here before?  Well, yes.  Worth another visit?  Most definitely!!!

We always look back fondly on our first visit to Joshua Tree National Park, so we took advantage of a day off on the way to LA for a follow-up.  The Joshua Tree, like something straight out of Dr. Seuss, dominates the landscape.  In some ways, the desert is unchanging, but on closer inspection, there’s plenty to see.  The last time we were here was June, just at the beginning of the season when it’s too hot to be out for too long in the heat.  The temperatures on this visit were quite pleasant, downright chilly by the time we drive out of the park after dark.

What better way to begin the day than a date shake from Windmill Market, not far from the northeast entrance to the park.  They use fresh, local dates, and the shake was delicious!  We made the additional purchase of some desert flower raw local honey from the Yucca Valley, which came highly recommended from the local in line behind us.  It too has turned out to be amazing, with a powerful aroma of desert blooms, thick texture and addictive flavor.

After a quick stop at the Visitor’s Center for a reorientation, we headed for some of the big rock formations and boulders, formed long ago as a result of volcanic activity .  We wandered, stopped at a number of pull-outs to enjoy the exhibits and read the details of what we were seeing, then took a detour up to Keys View.  It was a clear day, and we were able to see the San Andreas Fault and surrounding mountain ranges, the Salton Sea and on into Mexico.

Our afternoon hike was a four-mile walk to the Lost Horse Mine, one of about 300 mine sites established in what is now Joshua Tree!  Lost Horse has been well-preserved after stabilization and reinforcement, and it’s very cool to be able to see the wooden structure, water storage areas, pipes, pieces of original machines and the mine shaft itself leading down into the earth.  The story goes that Johnny Lang had moved west after his brother and some other cowboys had been gunned down in New Mexico.  Somewhere near the Keys Ranch, a gang of cattle-thieves had intimidated “Dutch” Frank from developing his claim.  Johnny bought the claim for $1000, and took three partners (since there’s safety in numbers!).  The mine ended up producing $5 million-worth in gold and silver from 1894 to 1931.

On the drive out toward the southern entrance to the park, near the Cottonwood Oasis, we stopped at the Cholla Gardens.  Sunset was the perfect time to stop, and the colors of the sky, combined with the silvery, fuzzy-looking cacti created a great photo op.  A giant jackrabbit lumbered by, unafraid of the Cholla (aka Jumping, or Teddy Bear cactus), but the  Opuntia bigelovii is no joke.  Their ability to drop a ball, or joint at the slightest brush or bump is great for the cactus, which can regenerate from the fallen piece, but the spikes have tiny hooks that will latch onto almost anything, and are quite painful to extract.

Here is a link to our first visit to Joshua Tree National Park: http://tortuguita15.blogspot.com/2007/06/strolling-on-it-seems-to-me-that.html and photos from the original visit.

Click HERE for more photos of our most recent trip.