Jumbo Rocks and Pebbles

Saturday, November 5, 2011

After a good night of sleep in Black Rock campground in Joshua Tree National Park in southern California, we went back into the main section of the park to look around. After a kind of stormy day yesterday, today was clear and bright. Many of the campers in the campground were in tents, and it was a little cool. Glad we had more protection than just a tent. There was some thin ice on the puddles left from showers yesterday, but the sun felt good as we got underway.

This is our campsite in the park

In the morning before exploring the park

Our first stop was the Oasis VC on the northeast edge of the park. We got our stamps there, and talked to the ranger a little about the highlights of the park, then went out to see for ourselves, planning to do the park loop road. We stopped at many of the exhibit signs along the road, and checked out some of the jumbo rocks. One is designated skull rock, another elephant rock, and we could easily see why.

This is skull rock

This is split rock.

Lots of huge rocks in parts of the park

None in other parts.

Then we drove out to Keys Overlook where you can look out to San Jacinto Mountain, and can see Palm Springs, and several other towns down in the valley. Also quite evident there is the San Andreas Fault which is the major quake line running up through central California. There is a split in the fault line, and the town of Desert Hot Springs is right in the middle.

Continuing on, we stopped in the Hidden Valley picnic area for some brunch. The picnic tables were fairly busy, and it was still just a little cool, so we ate in. The area is a hub for rock climbers and hikers, and was really busy. We went to check out Barker Dam, but decided we didn’t want to take the trail in. Our final stop for the park was the Joshua Tree VC to get more stamps, then we got on our way to Victorville to see Pebbles.

Bear Valley Road was mostly a huge parking strip, and it took a long time to work our way through town. Christmas rush must have already started here. Even Mesa and Oklahoma City weren’t that bad.

Pebbles and her furry pets, Rocco, Rosie, and Daisy were here to meet us, with Christopher and Anne Shirley joining us for dinner. Good to see everyone.

We will spend another day here before continuing on to Death Valley and then home.

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