Joshua Tree

I posted last night about our trip to Anza Borrego, so if you haven't read that yet, its below this one.

We were enjoying our stay at Anza Borrego so much that we almost didn't move on. But eventually we decided to head north to Joshua Tree National Park. We had not researched the park at all and had no idea what it was like, so we just thought that we'd stay if we liked it, and drive right through if we didn't. Well, we were pleasantly surprised. Every time we get into the RV and start moving on, the scenery changes so completely. This time we drove past miles and miles of vineyards, followed by miles of palm tree farms! The lower half of Joshua Tree park is set in the Colorado Desert, and the upper half in the Mojave Desert. The sign that you have crossed over into the Mojave Desert is the appearance of the Joshua Trees. We spent our time in the Mojave. This photo here shows a typical Joshua tree which was near our camp site. These trees only grow half to one inch a year, so the big ones must be pretty old.

Camping at Joshua Tree Park is first come first served. There are quite a few camp grounds but spaces for motorhomes is limited. RVs over 25ft in length can not camp here, so we were lucky as we are 25ft long. Right now the deserts here are blossoming. All the spring wildflowers are out in full bloom, and instead of looking like a barren waste land, it looks like a beautiful oasis of colour and tranquility. We drove past miles of the most lovely yellow wild flowers.

The first camp ground we came to was called 'White Tank'. It didn't sound very appealing from the name, but we drove into it and the whole family just said "Woooowwww", in unison. We were fortunate enough to find a free space big enough for the RV, with no neighbours near by, set between piles of Joshua Trees famous boulders. The kids couldn't wait to get out. The next day we drove around the other camp sites. They were all very similar but we decided we'd definitely been blessed with the best site of all and so we stayed there for 4 days. Once again we had no water, sewer or electric hookups.

This photo shows us having lunch in our camp site. The RV was parked to the left of this picture and where I was standing to take the shot was just miles of desert. Joshua tree park is just covered with the most amazing formations of boulders. It's a magical place where children and adults alike can spend hours exploring and climbing. I found it almost as magical as White Sands, although completely different. The kids couldn't wait to get out and start climbing the rocks. The small nature trail runs right through the camp site, but we often wandered off the trail and just went exploring.

In this photo you can just about see Dan and Jimmie attempting to climb these rocks (just left of the Joshua tree) This was at a nature trail called Cap Rock trail. They didn't make it to the top, and Dan got stuck about a third of the way up, which made Jimmie the bouldering champion. I had to laugh at little Barney though - anytime he was climbing a bolder and I'd tell him "be careful honey, don't fall", he'd reply "don't worry Mummy, I'm an extremely experienced climber". Apparently conquering the mountain with his Dad (see post below) had made him an expert climber.

Once again the kids completed Junior Ranger Programs which were educational. I learnt a lot about the area from them. We learnt that the yucca fan palms were used by Apache Indians to make baskets. And we learnt that one of the native birds in the area impales its dinner (eg lizards) on the sharp spikes of the yucca to kill it (nice!) We discovered that mistletoe grows as a parasitic plant on Juniper trees, the way Ivy grows at home. On our first afternoon there Annabelle, Barney, Dan and I took the white tank nature trail walk through the boulders. Barney just loved the area, and ran about the place like a wild thing. I took Jimmie on the same walk the next day and we started calling him Spider Man, as he literally scaled the rock formations like a spider!

We had a camp fire on our 2nd night at White Tank. The kids always love a camp fire in the evening, but we don't have one all that often. Firstly because we have to been in an area with a fire pit that allows camp fires, and secondly because we have to have our own wood. Gathering of wood is prohibited in the desert, and we cant afford to buy bags of it every day. But we had a small fire one night and all sat out in our duvets and woolly hats. Night in the desert can be very cold.

Since its spring time the lizards, snakes and tortoises are coming out of hibernation. We saw a lot of lizards, and plenty of locusts, but I am yet to see a snake despite my constant looking.

One of the days we were there I took myself off on a hike, with water, snacks and Dan's camera. I felt a bit guilty going on my own as the kids wanted to come too, but I was so filled with energy and inspiration from my surroundings, that I just wanted to hike out on my own, to be totally alone and just sit and meditate on the area around me. I went in three different directions, climbing over boulders, discovering areas that couldn't be seen from the camp ground. I found shaded spots and sat to watch the wildlife. Then hiked on further. I found one area with a large desert squirrel nest. The desert squirrels look more like chipmunks to me. They are the cutest little energy filled things. Once they got used to me being there they started going about their business, playing together, running over the rocks, busying themselves. I really enjoyed the hike on my own and its something I will remember forever.

Yesterday Dan and Annabelle took a hike together. A bit of father and daughter time. Dan saw a huge Iguana sunbathing on a rock, but it noticed him and ran off before he could get a photo. There are so many stories I could tell from this part of the trip but I'd be typing forever... like Annabelle, Barney and I climbing to the top of some rocks to watch the sunset together, or when Dan and I slept half the night outside under the stars and the kids kept peeking at us out of the window to see if we were snogging! The weather was just perfect until Sunday when it got over 90 degrees. We had no air conditioning so come 5pm we decided to head on to an RV park with hookups where we could all shower, do laundry and have electric. By this point (over a week in the wild) everything needed charging up. As we were packing up to leave Dan saw another RV looking for a camping spot, so he went over to tell the driver that we were leaving. He came back laughing and said he'd asked the woman inside if she needed a parking spot, and she had replied "Ive been staying in he desert, I'm just looking around and I'm totally senile" then she sped off into the distance!

Don't forget to check out the three California photo albums. Tomorrow we are heading to Bakersfield to meet some friends who we traded Flat Stanley's with when we were homeschooling. Today will be spent doing laundry, showering, swimming in the pool and tidying up.

Anza Borrego Desert

After a couple of days at Oceanside near San Diego, playing on the beach, we took to the road once again and headed to Anza Borrego Desert State Park, California. We programmed the sat nav and set off. Thankfully, Louise (our satelite navigation system) decided to take us the scenic route, through countryside, over mountains, into valleys. The views the whole way there were spectacular. We drove passed miles of Orange tree fields, all blossoming with both Oranges and spring time wild flowers. After an hour of driving we stopped at a scenic lakeside spot for breakfast. Whilst the big kids and I ate breakfast in the RV, Barney and his Dad went for a bit of a hike. Barney has had it in his head that he and Daddy would be conquering a mountain at some point. When they saw a decent sized hill (a mountain to Barney) with a sort of little fort on top of it, they set off and left us to breakfast. This is the photo of Barney at the top of his conquered mountain, in his Power Ranger Pyjamas.

The drive into the actual desert state park was scary! Cliff edge roads, often without barriers, with 200 ft falls on my side of the RV. I was way more bothered by it than Dan, because he was driving and I felt totally out of control. But the views from these mountain cliff edges of what seemed like hundreds of miles of desert, were worth the drive. In the middle of this desert park is a small town called Borrego Springs. The park has over 500 miles of road to explore, as well as hundreds of miles of hiking area. Once we arrived at the visitor centre we were pleased to discover that we could camp absolutely anywhere in the state park for free! Obviously, we had no water or electric hookups, but we were able to choose a spot to park, miles from anyone else. Most of the other parks we have visited are very strict about where to park, and where not to.

On the first night we chose a completely secluded patch of desert, with mountains in the distance, and hills to one side of us. No one could see our RV because it was parked in a depression. I think this is the most secluded I have ever been in my life. We never saw another person or vehicle for the 24 hours we were there. This photo shows our Thelma parked up in that spot. Jimmie enjoyed exploring the area so much that he didnt want to leave (until the next day when he found an even better place to explore, and then the next day when he found an even better one than that!) When Jimmie is somewhere that inspires him like that, we dont see him for most of the day. Every now and then we call out to see if he's still alive, and he calls back "yeah I'm just playing".

We sat outside the RV in the small bit of shade you can see in that photo and ate some Mexican food which Id tried my best to recreate. It was no where near as nice as the food Cha-cha had made us, but wasn't bad for a first attempt, and everyone eat it up and asked for seconds.

That night Dan and I sat out for an hour or so looking at the stars whilst the kids slept inside. There wasn't a single sound, no wind, no animals, no nothing. The stars were awesome again, and we both saw a huge bright shooting star which was a bonus.

As we had a whole massive area to explore, we set out on our second day and found another camping spot. This one was at Yacqui Wells camp site. It's a proper area for camping (still no hookups) that would be busy at the weekends, but there was no one else camping in it while we were there so we had the place almost completely to ourselves, apart from the odd hiker passing by. Jimmie loved this area more than the last. It was a completely different sort of setting, next to an oasis, with lots of wildlife and plant life. Because it is spring now the cactus are blooming and they look so bright and beautiful. All through the desert wild flowers are in blossom, and in some areas it hardly seems like a desert at all. We saw lots of lizards, jack rabbits, quail and exotic looking birds there.


Dan, Barney and I took a gentle walk along the nature trail here to the oasis. Barney just had the best time, discovering new cacti, spotting rabbits, and spending quality time on his own with his Mum and Dad. We stayed there two nights, and the following day I took all three kids on the same hike. Barney couldn't wait to show his big brother and sister everything he had discovered the day before. We barely saw Jimmie the whole time we were there. He was off exploring the nearby area with a large stick. He came back now and then to refuel and drink. The first night we stayed in this spot, there were the most terrible winds during the night. I almost thought the RV was going to blow right over at one point! At least the days were pleasant enough.


There are three new photo albums for you to look at. California Album 1 has photos from before our state and national park trips, and will have more added to it over the next few days. Also check out the Anza Borrego album for photos to go with this blog post, and the Joshua Tree album for photos to go with the post above. (If that post isnt here yet, it will be soon)