I speak for the trees for the trees have no tongues. – Dr. Seuss, The Lorax
Joshua Tree National Park – what a strange place! Rumor has it Dr. Seuss was inspired to write The Lorax by Joshua Tree, and that comes as no surprise after having visited. It is an arid park full of funky, twisty, spiky, lonely trees, interspersed with huge piles of cartoonish boulders.
It is also somewhat of a mecca for rock climbers and boulderers – who knew?! I hadn’t heard too much about the park before our visit, other than seeing some photos of the funky Joshua Trees, so I was glad that we could spend a few days exploring and learning about this unique part of the world.
The Black Rock Canyon campsite was the perfect place for us to park the camper and the RV that Ryan’s parents had rented – they came to join us for part of the trip! – and to explore the park.
Home is where you park it.
Of course we immediately set out to plan our couple of days there. The most highly recommended hike in the park is the Ryan Mountain hike, so we headed out on day one to check that out. We made a wrong turn for the hike and got a little lost. Which is pretty typical when I’m in the navigator’s seat, but I’m not taking the blame for this one! We accidentally did a short, flat hike out to the Ryan Ranch and were able to check out an old homestead that had been set up decades ago when people were mining in the area. Mining what? Not sure. I can’t keep all the details from those interpretive signs in my memory. But I do love to read the signs. EVERY.SINGLE.ONE. [Much to Ryan’s chagrin – I take too long reading the signs]. We’ll just call that a warm up hike.
Climbers
Ryan Ranch
We finally got it right and headed to Ryan Mountain for a beautiful hike up and around the mountain to the summit, which overlooked with 360° views a number of valleys and the rock formations that pepper the park. I can’t say whether it’s the best hike in the park, since we weren’t there long enough to cover every last one, but it is the hike that I liked best at Joshua Tree.
We also hiked to Hidden Valley, which used to serve as a hideaway for stolen cattle and horses [naughty outlaws], and now is one of the favorite spots for rock climbers in the Park.
One thing I love about the desert is the many beautiful, delicate details amongst the rough, hot, sandy, dry, sharp conditions. There is beauty in most things if you look closely enough.
More funky desert goodness to be continued in Part II!
BY Jackie
LOCATION Joshua Tree National Park, California
