Joshua Tree NP for 3 days last week

“http://community.webshots.com/user/

mountainmaster2003The bride and I just got back from three nights and three days in Joshua Tree. Nothing against the desert...the weather was superb, seventies during the day and 40's at night, but I sure wish the skies would open and dump some rain on the mountains so they would reopen the forests.

Our first hike was from Black Rock Campground along the California Hiking and Horse trail to Eureka Peak...about 5500 ft. and 10 miles RT. The trek was tedious, and the deep sand in the washes was grueling. The view from the peak was spectacular. It was clear from the Santa Rosa Mountains all the way to Gorgonio, and the eastern and southern desert views were lovely. The real pisser is when we got to the peak, we saw a jeep...there is a freaking road that leads right to the top.

The second day we hiked about 16 miles RT along the Boy Scout Trail from Indian Cove to the Wonderland of Rocks. To do this hike from the other direction, if you are pulling a round tripper, wouldn't be wise. Although the elevation gain is only about 1345, it comes at once, and the sandy washes at the Indian Cove end of the hike are a pain. We went uphill first, so the return trip was much easier.Desert hiking is unique, but I certainly do prefer the mountains.

Day three put us into the Monument, and we drove to Keys View. The Coachella was almost invisible because of the thick smog, dust, fog, smoke, or whatever else collects in that area. The peaks of San Jacinto and San Gorgonio were barely visible. This part of Joshua Tree is reserved for the civilized folk. Paved roads, short loop hikes, very pretty walks...we ended up at Barker Dam, and then we hit the bars. Tourists amaze me in the wilderness. It's amusing to watch them jump out of their cars and SUV's, no hats, sandals, and reeking of perfume. Several #&%!$ed about the heat at Barker Dam, but the air temp was barely 70.

We did find this interesting watering hole at the intersection of the west entrance to the park and HWY 62 in Joshua Tree. It's called the Saloon, and if you aren't ready for a rootin' tootin' hang on to yer hat wild west barroom, this place ain't for you. All kinds of bras hanging from the ceiling, and they smoke tons of cigarettes in there. We watched the fourth game of the World Series, and the bride and I had 10, that's TEN, vodka on the rocks, and the tab, with tip, came to $12. That's right, a buck a shot, and surface tension held the booz in the glass, and the glasses were clean. Happy hour prices, and free tacos.

There's also a great place for steaks and prime rib in Yucca Valley called Jerry's...the bride is a vegetarian, and I haven't eaten meat for a long, long time, but everybody raved about the $10.95 prime rib, so we decided to watch game five at Jerry's. I had the HUGE slab of prime rib, Susan had a large plate of steamed veggies and a baked potatoe, and we went through four drinks and coffee, and the tab was under $30. The prime rib was excellent, but not having eaten a whole lot of fatty food or red meat for a very long time left my system fricked. But, if you want cheap eats and drinks the strip along HWY 62 from Yucca Valley to 29 Palms is the place to go.This morning we drove to Palm Springs and planned to do some hiking in the area, but the atmosphere was so thick with stuff, we drove home to Orange County.We had a great time, but I don't think we will be going back real soon. Next long trip will be going back to Bryce and Zion. I will have my Joshua Tree album up by tomorrow. Pray for rain from the Gods and runs from the Angels. Ya'all have a great weekend.”

“Maybe this one will link itself:

http://community.webshots.com/user/mountainmaster2003”

“How in hell do you make a URL a clickable link?”

“Actualy it was the bride and me, not three people...too late at night...to many glasses of red”

“Cool trip report,...Thanks for sharing it!”

“check out the html test thread for all the html stuff. Or if you email me your addy I will email the html stuff to you.”

“Nice report and pictures.

To make your link clickable type this:

<a href="http://community.webshots.com/user/mountainmaster2003">Joshua Tree Pics</a>

and it should come out like this:

Joshua Tree Pics

Hopefully, I didn't screw it up.”

“Nice trip report and pics.”

“Pennsy How did you do that without it making a link?”

“Tango - to have the < symbol show up, type &lt; and for the > symbol type &gt;

Another trick which doesn't always work is to start with <xmp>
That tag is supposed to disable any html written after it. Just don't forget to close it afterwords. </xmp>”

“Great report and pics! I was at Joshua Tree NP last year, GREAT place! Beautiful, sureal place. Glad you guys had fun!”

“Thanks! Pennsy
I love to learn new things!”

“The pics are great. Once again I am enamoured of that blue blue sky! The canyon looked very cool!
Looks like another place I must add to my list!!”

“The high desert is beautiful, although hiking for miles in deep sand washes gets tedious. The temps were in the 70's-low 80's.

The shady areas were substantially cooler than the sunny areas.”