Scenic Roads

The wind was blowing strong today so we decided to take a driving tour of cities in the area and travel two scenic roads. The wind was blowing strong last night so we put in one of our slides before we went to bed as the awning over that slide was bucking like a bronco, the wind didn’t let up and we were awakened at 3:30AM when our bedroom slide awning was bucking and rattling; we then put the third slide in for good measure but the mothership was still rocking in the wind this morning.

Today we took a quick tour through Palm Springs, Cathedral City, Rancho Mirage and Palm Desert. We didn’t spend much time in any one place and drove only primary streets that were congested, it was the first time John ever uttered the phrase “I can’t move over a lane, there’s a Rolls Royce next to us”.

We took the Palms to Pines Highway (Hwy 74), out of Palm Desert and up into the San Bernardino National Forest and the Santa Rosa Mountains. Hwy 74 twisted and turned it’s way up out of the desert and into the forest; the road was busy and we pulled aside for a few people who were in a hurry. After 38 miles on 74 we turned onto Hwy 243 at Mountain Center; 243 was narrower, curvier and more scenic than 74.

 

Looking down on Palm Desert from Hwy 74.

 

 

Palm Desert and Rancho Mirage.

 

Hwy 74 snaking up the canyon.

 

Hwy 74.

 

Hwy 243 took us through the small city of Idyllwild which seems to be another enclave for craftsman and artists. After Idyllwild we continued on to Pine Cove and after 25 miles of scenic driving 243 took us down out of the mountains into Banning  where we turned onto I-10 and drove back to North Palm Springs.

 

After Mountain  Center the tall pines where plentiful.

 

The trees were frosted in Pine Cove.

 

Hwy 243 was the more scenic drive.

 

Heading down towards Banning.

 

The wind farm near us here in North Palm Springs.

We are still rocking in the wind tonight, it’s predicted to let up by about 9:00PM; we will see.

Three walks and a hike.

Sunday was a day of rest for us, rain was predicted and although it didn’t rain during the daylight hours it was cloudy enough that we stuck close to home. We got a few odd jobs done and we did our weekly cleaning.

Today we drove back to Twentynine Palms and into Joshua Tree through the north entrance. Our plan was to drive a portion of the Pinto Basin Road stopping for a few quick walks and if we had time take a longer hike somewhere in the park. We had several choices for the hike but wouldn’t decide until we knew how much time we would have.

Our first stop was the Arch Rock nature trail; the trail is accessed at the White Tank campground and is only 3 tenths of a  mile long. White Tank is the type of granite rock that this formation is composed of, the rock has been eroded into interesting shapes.

 

Rock formations along the Arch Rock Nature Trail.

 

The Arch.

 

The Pinto Basin Road began a slow decent to our next stop at the Cholla Cactus Garden. The cactus garden is located at a point where the environmental conditions suit the Cholla and they grow in a large community. The nature trail through the garden is a quarter mile in length.

 

Sandy disappears into the Cholla Garden.

 

These Cholla were not burned, the brown color is normal.

 

Our last walk was at the Ocotillo Patch that is located a short drive from the Cholla garden. There was no marked trail that we noticed so we walked to several of the flowering plants to take a look. As with the Cholla garden there was a lot of moisture in the ground here.

 

When there is sufficient moisture the Ocotillo has green leaves.

 

These were also blooming.

 

The Pinto mountains may have been named for their color scheme which is similar to the Pinto horse. 

 

We turned around at the Ocotillo Patch and returned to Park Boulevard and then drove to the Sheep Pass Campground where we parked and ate lunch. We chose to hike the 3 mile Ryan Mountain trail which ascends to the summit at an elevation of 5461 feet. The trail can be accessed from the Sheep Pass Campground but it added another mile to our round trip.

 

Ryan Mountain.

 

The trail was steep and rugged in places.

 

The trail was steep and strenuous in places with muddy stretches near the summit. We maintained a good pace (for us), and hoofed it to the summit where the wind was blowing hard. We had a great view of several surrounding valleys from the top but we didn’t spend a lot of time there due to the wind; we walked down to the car and returned to the mothership which was also rocking in the wind.

 

This part of the trail reminded us of spring in Wisconsin, melting snow and mud.

 

John was happy to make it to the top.

 

Nice view.

Of these three rock peaks, the one to the left was where we saw the rock climbers on top of on Saturday; looks small from up here.

 

On the way down there were other hikers on the trail ahead of us, the trail cuts across the center of this image, one of the hikers is wearing red.

Joshua Tree National Park

We got up early today and as soon as John realized how early he went back to bed. When we did get going we headed to the west entrance of Joshua Tree, our plan was to drive Park Blvd through a portion of the park and scout for a trail to hike tomorrow or Monday. We drove up into the mountains on California Hwy 62 and turned onto Park Blvd and into the park.

California Hwy 62.

This park is huge and we will visit only a small portion; we were surprised that the park features a lot of weathered rock formations along with the flatter desert. Today the park was busy and there seemed to be a rock climber on every piece of rock higher that 10 feet.

The view from Park Boulevard.

 

 

Look close, there are climbers at the top of this peak to the right of center.

 

Same climbers.

 

Climbers at the top.

 

Climbers on their way to the top.

 

The rock formations were a pleasant surprise, we decided to hike the Hidden Valley nature trail which is a one mile loop. At one time the valley was used by rustlers to hide stolen livestock, the valley only had one access point and had an environment that included grasses, pinion pine and scrub oaks which was quit different from the surrounding dessert; we enjoyed the rock formations.

 

Hidden Valley.

 

Sandy on the Hidden Valley Nature Trail.

 

The Joshua Tree is part of the Yucca family.

 

Who is lagging behind today?

 

Another climber inside Hidden Valley, not for me thanks!

 

A native critter.

 

Rock formations inside Hidden Valley.

 

 

Sandy gave John a hug and kiss for getting her to California, John was happy!

 

What kind of hat is that?

 

We turned off Park Blvd and drove out to Keys View; on a clear day you can see Mexico and based on what we saw, today was pretty clear as we could see at least 93 miles.

 

The Joshua Trees along the road to Keys View.

 

As seen from Keys View, the dark ridge across the center of the image is part of the San Andreas Fault.

 

The Salton Sea from Keys View.

 

The view from Keys View.

After the overlook we decided to head back to the mothership and check on KoKo who has had an upset stomach for the past few days so we drove out of the north entrance and down into Twentynine Palms and Hwy 62.

 

Driving out of the north entrance toward Twentynine Palms.