Joshua Tree National Park

Road through Joshua Tree National Park, California

The first sight of them will have you mesmerized.

Explorer John Fremont called them repulsive.

Mormon settlers were reminded of their Prophet Joshua, pointing to the Promised Land.

Locals call them ‘J-Trees’.

A U2 album referenced them.

Some suggest that Dr. Seuss fashioned his Truffula trees after them in ‘The Lorax’.

They grow nowhere in the world except the 

high Mojave Desert.

They take up to 60 years to mature and live to be 

over 150 years old.

Only one species of moth is able to transfer pollen 

from one flower to another.

Their creamy, bell-shaped blooms stink.

“They” are Joshua Trees. 

Bluebird perched atop Joshua Tree

But that's not all that Joshua Tree has to offer. Not too far into the park, while still in the Colorado Desert section, is nearly 10 acres of teddybear cholla. Stop and wander along the .25 mile trail through these unique looking plants. Look, that is, but don't touch! They get the name teddybear because they look huggable. They aren't. Trust me.

Now, add rocks to the wacky looking cacti and twisted trees, and you've got an even more interesting place to visit! There is nothing ordinary about the rock formations that pop up erratically throughout Joshua Tree. See, they aren't just granite. They are monzogranite!

They are formed somehow through erosion and I don't pretend to understand it, but this link will give you all the fascinating information you need - https://www.nps.gov/jotr/learn/nature/geologicformations.htm - I just couldn't get enough of them!

The Arch

Skull Rock - for obvious reasons!

There are even campgrounds throughout the park. The one at Jumbo Rocks has 124 sites with pit toilets and trash pickup (nothing else). We didn't stay, but I can imagine how spectacular the stars must look at night in this remote wilderness miles away from city lights.

Jumbo Rocks Campground

Jumbo Rocks Campground

Jumbo Rocks Campground

Another spot checked off my bucket list, but hopefully I'll be back. This is a destination worth exploring more than once in a lifetime. All 792,510 acres of it.

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