Circling the Wagons

March 14, 2010 (Sunday)

Rolled out of Spotlight 29 at 8:00 AM, found the closest Starbucks, parked and took our 20-min. morning stroll before enjoying the Bold Yukon brew.  Then headed back to the west entrance of Joshua Tree. At this point our “circle tour” lived up to its billing since we were making a complete circle from having arrived at the same location in Joshua Tree yesterday.  When we got to the Park west entrance, the ranger said “things are opening up.”  Sure enough, when we arrived at Jumbo Rocks around noon (a place we had checked out yesterday), even though the sign at the entrance said “Campground Full,” we drove through and found many openings.  We picked site #60 (see photo) and settled in to enjoy the natural wonders.  Thanks to Minerva Hoyt in the 1930’s who persuaded FDR to establish the area as a national treasure, we can enjoy the 550,000 incredible acres with no ATV’s or motocross bikes. The contrast between the smoky confines of Spotlight 29 (where we had dinner) and the breathtaking beauty of Joshua Tree is fairly striking. We spent the day hiking Skull Rock trail and other areas around the campground then set up chairs and relaxed with a tall, cool beverage before our chicken and avocado wraps. After setting our clocks ahead, we settled in early as did most of our neighbors. The only sound we could hear was the wind which tends to gust between 10 to 20 mph in this high desert. Peeking out the windows, we enjoyed the stars which we can seldom see in Eureka.