When there’s absolutely nothing else to do…(03-03-12)

….we plan.  After making the decision to extend our stay to do more hiking etc., the weather changed our minds.  We booked another 3 days, knowing that the weather for the first day was not going to be great- 30-40 mph winds and cool.  But that's ok, we needed to do laundry, clean house, and do some planning.  We don't like to do lots of planning, and we don't like to make lots of reservations, but sometimes it's better if we do.  As usual however, we got sidetracked while figuring out what we might like to do for the next week or so.  We got bogged down with details, like which hikes look good,  which museums will be within driving distance of where we might be staying, etc.  Hours later we gave up and went to the pool, having accomplished very little. 
   The following day we had intended to do more hiking in Joshua Tree but the weather was even worse- temperatures up in the mountains were in the 40s and the wind had kicked up even more.  So, we had ALL DAY to plan stuff.  Wow.  Did I mention we don't like to do much planning? 
Anyway, I have been bugging Paul to help me plan next winter. And if we don't like planning next week, we really don't like planning next winter!  Unfortunately we will be in Florida, preferably the Florida Keys, and that requires us to make reservations now, or take the chance of not having a place to stay.  RV Parks in the Keys are a ridiculous price- from $75-$145 per night. I'm not sure they realize we bring our own hotel room with us.  The Florida State Parks are a relative bargain at $38 a night.  Of course, we aren't the only ones who realize that, so they book up pretty fast.  Actually, the RV sites book within 1 second of becoming available. The way it works is that at 8 AM EST 11 months before a site is going to be empty, it becomes available to book online.  So Paul and I, along with thousands of other people, are ready to push the "book this site" button, first thing in the morning.  Unfortunately, we are in California, so first thing in the morning means us getting up at 4:45 AM to turn on the lap top, Ipad, and Iphone, so we can use all three to try and snag a site.  We don't do it every morning, only on mornings that have quite a few sites available.  Still.  Sure seems like it's every morning.  I think my body is trained to wake up early now. As hard as we are trying, we have only been successful once, using that strategy.  We have a full 2 weeks booked at John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park.  My other strategy is to check online for cancelations, and I do that at least twice a day.  I've snagged another 10 days using that method.  I have also already booked 10 days in Orlando at Christmas time.
    In order to finish up my "Keys" booking, I needed to know how long we want to wander around the Keys before heading further north.  So, we spent a good part of the day figuring out our Florida game plan, checking average temperatures in various locations, and getting a general idea of where we will want to go. I'll hold off booking anything except the Keys for now, because we are also thinking of taking a last minute cruise, if we can find a good place to board the kitty, so I need to research that.

Yesterday the weather finally improved enough to head to Joshua Tree.  We hiked about 6.5 miles along the Panorama Trail and the Black Rock Canyon Trail.  The trail was mostly sand, difficult to walk in, so we were ready for the hot tub by the time we got home.

A footnote:
Last week we hiked to Tahquitz Falls, located on local Indian land.  Its a two mile hike, and has the honor of being the most expensive hike we’ve ever done.  It cost us each $12.50 to do this hike.  Ouch.   We did see a lot of hummingbirds along the trail, and the view of Palm Springs was impressive.


Once we got to the waterfall, I must admit, it’s one of the most beautiful waterfalls I’ve seen, especially since it’s so unexpected to see one in the desert.

Joshua Tree Nat’l Park (02-28-12)

The Joshua Tree is to the Mohave Desert what the Saguaro Cactus is to the Sonoran Desert.  That’s what it said on the sign. The Joshua Tree is actually not a tree, its a Yucca plant.  They only grow about an inch a year, and can grow to be over 40 feet tall.  I have seen these trees before, but I never realized they were part of the Mohave Desert System.

Hidden Valley trail

What was most impressive to us, in Joshua Tree National Park, was not the Joshua Trees, although they were plentiful and interesting to see, but the boulder configurations.  Every where we turned there were huge rock formations.

 

We checked in at the Visitor’s Center to get a game plan together for the day. We decided to walk several trails- the first one was the short Hidden Valley Trail, where the boulders were so inviting, it was difficult to resist climbing. Somehow, it feels like a Disneyland for adults, although most of the boulders would require some serious rock climbing experience to climb.



The San Andreas Fault line from Joshua Tree



Driving to the top of one of the several mountain peaks within the park,  our view of Coachella Valley was impressive. The San Andreas Fault, which is over 500 miles long and reaches across the state of California, is clearly visible as a line of raised earth along the center of the picture.  It’s a little spooky to realize that the valley is growing by about two inches a year, due to the action of the Pacific Ocean Crust sliding past the North American Crust.  That action is what causes many of the earthquakes in this area.

Lost Horse Mine

Our second trail was longer, 4.5 miles, to the Lost Horse Mine.  It was named the Lost Horse Mine because a cowboy was looking for his horses that had disappeared overnight while he was camping in the area,  when he came across a sign post marking a gold claim.  He bought the claim and over the years, 10,000 ounces of gold were taken out of this area.  There are actually over 300 mines in Joshua Tree National Park, but very few produced any gold.  What we’ll remember about this trail is the fact that we froze our butts off.  At this elevation the temps were in the mid 40’s and the wind chill was probably in the 30’s because it was pretty windy!



time to turn this sucker around



For our next adventure we decided to stay in the truck.  We headed down a road called Geology Trail Rd., an 18 mile auto drive that shows off some of the unique geologic features of the area.  4 wheel drive is recommended, so off we went down the sandy, one way, unpaved road. Unfortunately, the box with the brochures that explain what we would be seeing, was empty, so we took the tour without the information.  Almost halfway through, we realized the sign should have also said “and if you are a dually, don’t bother!”  The road got so narrow, we definitely added some “Texas pin striping” to the truck.  That’s when the shrubbery intrudes so far into the “road” that it scratches down the side of the truck.  When we found a wide spot in the road, we turned around and carefully made our way back to civilization.

All in all we saw a lot in one day, and will try to extend our stay where we are so we can do some more hiking in Joshua Tree.  After doing a drive by one of the campgrounds and hearing Elaine’s opinion about the National Park campgrounds, we have decided that no matter what they say, we don’t fit in their sites.

Vacation mode (2-26-12)

                                                     

     As I type today’s date in the title,

it reminds me that 22 years ago today,

my daughter was born.

Happy Birthday Jess!

What makes this week more of a vacation mode is the RV park we are staying in.  Well, actually, first of all, we are staying in the Palm Springs area, so it just sounds like a ritzy vacation, right off the bat.  As we travel, we usually try to stay in State parks. Not to save money, because a lot of times, the state parks are actually more money than the commercial parks, but more to support the park systems, so they will be able to stay open, and also because we don’t really need all the amenities the other parks offer.  But this week we are staying in a park with 2 pools, 4 hot tubs, tennis courts etc etc. The water for the hot tubs is taken from a hot spring and continuously moves slowly from one spa to the next, as it cools, so each spa is a different temperature.  They do the same with the pools.  At one end of a pool the water enters and as it cools it is pushed to the other pool, so they are also two different temperatures, and the water is always fresh.

  The weather here has been hot for this time of year, so we took off for the San Jacinto mountains and the small town of Idyllwild. The temperature difference was awesome, making the day perfect for exploring and shopping. Even though there was a lot of snow on the ground, the weather was perfect for a picnic. It wasn’t great for hiking though, so we didn’t get to do any of that.

Idyllwild  seems like a typical mountain chalet town with a lot of places to stay, small shops and restaurants, and an active town center area.

The views from the top gave us a great overview of how the nearby Palm Springs area is nestled among all the surrounding mountain peaks.








Yesterday we headed for the hills again, but this time we took the Palm Springs aerial tram, and we were accompanied by Paul’s brother and sister-in-law, and their friend Chris.  Each tram holds up to 80 people and I was definitely jostling for a good position so I could get some pictures.


The floor of the tram actually rotates so by the time the 10 minute ride to the top was over, I was able to see a full 360 degrees around me.  Pretty cool.
There are two trams that run at the same time, one going up while the other is coming down, so they counter-balance each other.

 

Once we got to the top there was plenty to do.  There are several restaurant options, hiking trails, and sledding opportunities for the kids.  We walked for a bit on one of the trails but mostly they were snowy and icy, so we didn’t go too far.  It’s the first time I’ve ever seen people actually hike with snow shoes.

 

Of course a few snow balls were thrown, but mostly at the trees.

Before saying goodbye, we all went back to the trailer for Enchiladas (and possibly some Margaritas).