Joshua Tree National Park

Lori has been marking the calendar to chart the weather since we arrived at Sky Valley.
W - Wind; C - Cloudy; R- Rain.  We have been here 11 days and so far there are 3 days with no notations.  Those would be the Sunny days.  We're thinking it would be easier to mark just the sunny days.  Friday it rained all day so for the most part we were cooped up in the trailer.  We started getting a little shack wacky and decided to get out the umbrella and headed over to the gym, which was deserted as usual, and then I sat in the hot tub in the rain.  I was nice and warm but the walk from the change rooms and back were a might chilly.  After that we took a drive into town and picked up a few items at Home Depot and Walmart.  If it rains again on Saturday I think its time to go to the theatre and see a movie.

Saturday we awoke to, wait for it, sunny skies and no wind.  We had bought tickets to a Pancake breakfast put on by the RV Park and following that headed out to Joshua Tree National Park.  The drive to Joshua is about an hour and entails leaving the valley and heading up to the High Desert.  As soon as we turned north and left the shelter of the mountains we found we were driving straight into a biting north wind.  The temperature soon dropped from 69 to 43 with snow on the sides of the road.  Good thing we dressed in layers anticipating a temperature drop.  Today we were going to drive around the Joshua Tree Park, get to know the area  and plan for future trips.  We brought Charli along so hiking was out of the questions as most hiking trails are off limits to dogs.

Sunny California, not so much

Couple of days ago I took a picture of the mountains to the North (above) and South (below).
While it rained down in the valley take a look what it did in the mountains   

The Tram ride we are planning for next week goes close to the top of this mountain.  
Where did I put those winter boots and my touque.

Loi & Charli in front of Split Rock. 

California Junipers covered in blue berries

The parking lot at the Split Rock picnic area.  Just managed to squeeze my truck in.
Its MLK long-weekend and the place is crazy busy. 

The rock formations are very different.  
Its all granite, although a different colour than ours back home.  

The campgrounds are packed.  Mostly with students.  No services and pit toilets.
40 years ago, sure.  But not today.  

Very ingenious.  
Off the ground and safe from snakes, spiders and other poisonous creepy crawlers. 

We drove up to Keys View where we got the full brunt of the wind.  
It was tough to stand upright and not get blown off the mountain top.  

A great view though. They say you could see all the way to the Salton Sea on a clear day.
 The clouds and haze, courtesy of Los Angeles, prevented us from seeing that far. 

Cap Rock.  Its perched precariously on top.  Looks ready to slide off.

Joshua Trees were everywhere.  This one was perfectly formed

On Sunday we will head back to the Park for some hiking so will no doubt have some more pics.  Internet is a bit sketchy in the RV Park in the mornings and evenings so not sure when these blogs will actually get posted.