It was an easy drive from Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument to Joshua Tree National Park via lightly traveled state highways and I-10. We arrived at Joshua Tree’s south entrance by early afternoon and were shocked at what we discovered: wildflowers! I had assumed that if OPCNM was experiencing a poor wildflower bloom, the rest of the desert Southwest would be too. As it turns out, one cannot generalize about this.

Once we had been stopped for awhile, The Boy awoke and demanded his freedom. We decided to take the short Bajaha Nature Trail near the south entrance. It wasn’t nearly as warm as it had been in Organ Pipe so The Boy was happy to be out enjoying the afternoon on The Mom’s shoulders.

The Boy was still rehydrating from our brief foray into the desert when I was forced to pull over yet again. Just a few minutes past the Bajaha trail we encountered an expanse of wildflowers so thick I could hardly believe what I was seeing.

I’ve been privileged to experience three wildflower blooms that were so prolific it was hard to believe they were naturally occurring. The first was in the blast zone at Mt. St. Helens; the second was high in the Swiss Alps; and the third, here in Joshua Tree.

In a sense, this bloom at Joshua Tree was the most dramatic of all. This was no lush alpine environment. We were in the middle of the Sonoran Desert.

Our next stop was Cottonwood Spring and the south visitor center. Cottonwood Spring created a vital desert oasis in the time before automobiles and air conditioning. A century ago, the spring generated 3,000 gallons of water per day. Now it’s closer to 500. The rate of flow changes each time there is an earthquake in the area. The spring can be easily located by looking for the huge California fan palms that surround it.

We decided to walk part of the trail leading from Cottonwood Spring to the Lost Palms Oasis. The oasis was too far but we wanted an opportunity to enjoy the Sonoran Desert for awhile. We figured we would walk until a certain boy fell asleep.

We’d walked less than a mile when we encountered a group of blooming yuccas, nicely lit by the afternoon sun.

…and he’s out! Time to head back to the car.

This is Joshua Tree’s Ocotillo Patch, silhouetted against the Pinto Mountains to the north.

I’ve already discussed my love of the ocotillo in my notes on Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument. Here’s something that I was surprised to learn: Ocotillo plants may be fleshy and covered with thorns but they are not cactus. They are a member of an unusual family of trees located farther south in Mexico. The ocotillo is the only member of this family that can be found in the United States.

The Cholla Cactus Garden, not far from the Ocotillo Patch, contains a large concentration of Teddybear cholla. Whether you find them beautiful or vicious is often dependent on how successful you are at navigating your way past them without impaling yourself. On a previous visit, Darla made the mistake of trying to kick a cholla fragment that had fallen onto the trail out of her way. Let’s just say that I look back on this episode with a great deal more amusement than does she...

I’ve always enjoyed the way cholla cactus catch the light when they’re backlit so it seemed like a good idea to watch the sunset from the Cholla Garden. Of course, it was only a good idea if I assumed that I could get back to the car in the dark without stumbling into one of the cactus. Darla was not willing to make that assumption. She and The Boy enjoyed the sunset from the safety of the Subaru.

Joshua Tree National Park is located along the transitional zone between the Sonoran Desert to the south and the Mojave Desert to the north. The two deserts are differentiated by both altitude and rainfall resulting in two distinctly different eco-systems. It is in the Mojave Desert to the north that one finds the park’s namesake, the Joshua Tree.

We began the day with a scramble up one of Joshua Tree’s many rock formations. The textured surface of the rocks made them easy to climb without fear of slipping.

In the early days of the automobile, before the area was protected, residents of Los Angeles often drove out to this area in the evening to explore the desert. Joshua trees were often lit on fire as a way of guiding other motorists through the area. In 1930, the largest known Joshua Tree was set on fire and destroyed.

This was the point at which The Mom had to remind The Boy that she was not his horse.

The Boy liked climbing up the rock pile and wanted to do more. At 19 months old, he was already a natural!

By the 1930’s, there was considerable support for protecting this unique environment. It wasn’t just that Joshua trees were getting burned; in the 1920’s, a landscaping fad developed in Los Angeles favoring exotic desert plants. Landscapers stripped entire areas of plant life – areas that to this day have not yet recovered. In 1936, President Franklin Roosevelt proclaimed the area “Joshua Tree National Monument” insuring its long term preservation. Later it would become a national park.

We spent the rest of the morning exploring Hidden Canyon, although one of us seemed more interested in napping that sightseeing. (Yes, Little Man, I’m talking about you.)

There is a certain group of individuals among whom the phrase “Joshua Tree” is more likely to conjure up images of rocks than of trees. This group would be rock climbers. The rounded granite monoliths in the park attract climbers from all over the world.

The Boy was awake and thirsty by the time we returned to the car. The Dad created some shade for him while he enjoyed a swig of juice. We decided it was time for a picnic lunch.

One might think that a wagon would provide more than enough cargo space for two adults and a toddler on a one week vacation. Not for us. We’d actually left quite a bit of cargo back in our 29 Palms motel room. The baby gear took up a lot of room – but so did the cases of Snapple, Coke, juice, Gatorade, and water that we’d brought with us. Of course, I brought some camera gear along too…

The Boy was pleased to discover a stick near our picnic table. It provided some quality entertainment while The Mom prepared lunch. Until now, I had never paused to consider how captivating a stick could be. It has a funny shape and an interesting texture. You can throw it, kick it, chase it, and step on it. If you step on it just right you can turn it into two sticks!

After a relaxing lunch, we headed over to the nearby Barker Dam trail. It led to a water tank (think pond) created by early cattle ranchers in the area. Although cattle ranching no longer exists in the park, this water tank survives, creating a rather incongruous scene in the middle of the desert.

After lunch and our walk to Barker Dam, we drove over to Jumbo Rocks, an area featuring a campground and a short trail through some interesting rock formations. It was the perfect setting for an afternoon nap.

It wasn’t long before The Dad realized that The Boy was onto something and joined him.

Our final stop of the day was at Keys View, a viewpoint in the Little San Bernadino Mountains that looks west across the Coachella Valley toward Palm Springs and the San Bernadino Range. On a clear day, the view can be dramatic. Unfortunately, a clear day is the rare exception rather than the rule. Polluted air from the L.A. basin tends to move through the valley, at best adding a tobacco-colored tint to distant views. At worst, it obscures them entirely. Today seemed like it might be a little better than average.

Sunset marked the end of our short time in Joshua Tree National Park. We returned to our motel room in 29 Palms for the evening. Tomorrow we would head off to what has become my winter happy place, Death Valley.