Starting location: North LTVA, Quartzite Arizona – 64 degrees
Ending location: Jumbo Rock Campground and Cottonwood Campground, Joshua Tree National Park
Miles: 220 miles (60 of them due to a wrong turn)
Major Stops: Twentynine Palms Oasis, Joshua Tree National Park Visitor Center
Weather: Sunny, Highs in the 60’s, lows in the mid 40’s.
Rising early I showered, filled all water bottles, dumped (black and gray tanks), pumped (water fill) and filled the propane tank to get on the road. We had a big day of travel and needed to stop for groceries and gas before crossing over into California. Gas is about $1/gallon more in California than it is in Arizona, so we wanted to take advantage of that difference. Heading north up 95 we stopped at the Safeway and 76 gas station in Parker. Then we crossed into California.
About 18 miles into California we came to a junction called Vidal Junction where there was an “Agricultural Inspection” station. Fortunately, we had purchased our produce at the Safeway, so we were able to continue on with it. Unfortunately, the way the inspection station was positioned, and the fact that my GPS missed a beat, we turned the wrong way and did not catch it until we got to a crossover to Lake Havasu. The desert looks all the same and there were no towns. So we added about 60 miles to our trip and eroded all savings on the gas! LOL!
Desert Driving
This is the most desolate stretch of road we have driven. We drove 110 miles across from Parker to Twentynine Palms, not counting the extra 60 miles towards/back from Las Vegas we did. It was ALL desert like below with no gas, restaurants or services along the way other than the Agricultural stop. Interestingly, there are lots of places to boondock, but who would want to? Not me.
Twentynine Palms
Twentynine Palms is the first real town we came to after Parker. It is also where you find one of the Joshua Tree National Park Visitor Centers. There are signs as you enter the area telling you about the oasis that Twentynine Palms is. It indeed, has one! You can hike to it at the Visitors Center. Ironically, you do not see any water, just plants that have grown over it. It turns out that at least in this area, an oasis is a crack in the ground where the water surfaces. They are not the pond type watering hole I envisioned whenever I read about them.
Joshua Tree
President Franklin Roosevelt proclaimed Joshua Tree a National Monument in 1936 and it was made a National Park in 1994, as part of the California Desert Protection Act. The park protects 792,510 acres of space. This park is where the Mojave and Colorado Deserts converge. Joshua Trees only grow in the Mojave Desert, where the Colorado Desert is akin to the Sonoran Desert. The Sonoran was where we spent our Arizona time. It is much drier than the Mojave.
Our first night in Joshua Tree we stayed at the Jumbo Rocks Campground. We were only able to get one night here but I’m glad we did. It was like the City of Rocks. This is the more popular campground as the young people like to rock climb.
Exploring the Park
Next day, we left Jumbo Rocks and decided to take a tour around the north side of the park before we headed down to the campground on the south side. So, we took a dirt road called Queen Valley Road to get off the main track.
Then, since Dottie could not hike on the trails, and really I’m not a huge fan of desert hiking, we drove up the mountain! I will say it’s much faster, if not as good for me.
Cottonwood Campground in Joshua Tree
We popped backup to Twentynine Palms to fill with gas and do some more planning. Having seen the boondocking spots and the amount of loose sand at Joshua Tree, I decided I did not want to boondock in the area and risk getting stuck. We had planned on two nights of boondocking. I was able to get another night in Joshua Tree at Cottonwood and then we booked the second night at the Salton Sea.
Our first morning at Cottonwood, we “hiked” along the park roads to the Cottonwood Spring trailhead where we could see the spring. We were not able to go down due to dog restrictions. We did this early in the day, as we were expecting another wind storm this afternoon.
Fortunately, about 7 miles down the road, we picked up a solid cell signal and Dottie and I spent a half day in a pull off posting the last post, and I did bills and more trip planning. Victoria’s birthday was during this time, so we made sure to call her that morning and wish her a happy day before departing the area!
A New Type of Rodent
We had the holes around us at the campground, and so I assumed they were the nasty little pack rats that ruin my sleep. However, we discovered they were not pack rats, but were actually Antelope Ground Squirrels! There were a pair of them running after each other and having a blast around us. They are a little bigger than our chipmunks. I rested much better once I learned what they were. They are not known for wire munching!
I love Joshua Tree. Went camping there as a teen with a group and woke up to several inches of snow. It made for a cold trek back to the car. Also flew sailplanes at the 29 Palms airport. Great memories. Keep up the interesting travelogue!
Thanks, Shawn! Sounds like really wonderful times!
The pictures of Keys View are beautiful! The Joshua Tree cactus is pretty interesting. Loving your trip blog 😀
I’m really enjoying your blog Karen. What a great adventure!
What a journey! Can’t wait to hear more about your favorite places. It looks so dry there. Be safe and have fun!
Thanks for the photo Karen! Glad your trip is going so well!