JOSHUA TREE NATIONAL PARK (Friday Flashback)

  

We've visited Joshua Tree several times over the years.  It isn't one of those National Parks that is universally loved.  To some, the rocky soil and twisty trees seem bleak and lonely.   One friend, from the Northwest, said "you know those Joshua Trees aren't even real trees at all."  Well, they definitely aren't the same as, say, a Redwood or a Douglas Fir.  But the trees are real survivors.  Each one is unique, bending in the wind and growing in the scant soil.  We admire them.

These pictures were taken on a November 2005 visit; even in this desert terrain you could get a glimpse of Fall color. 

Barker Lake is one of the few places in the Park where there is water.  It is unexpected and so it is even more appreciated.

 

 

The Park preserves the Keys Ranch, where pioneer settlers lived before the area was made a National Park.  It must have been hard to make a living here, but they stayed for years. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We stayed at Twenty-Nine Palms CA the first time we visited this Park and on other visits we have driven there from the Desert Hot Springs or the Salton Sea area. 

The picture below is from the top of Key's View.  It illustrates the one major problem with Joshua Tree NP -- it is too close to Los Angeles.  The rangers said that there used to be a clear view from this viewpoint every day.  Now it is very rare to be able to see at all.    There is actually some danger that the smog will destroy parts of the park. 

None of the pictures on this post are color-adjusted.  When we go back next time, I hope the colors are more like the first pictures and not like this one.   Even more, I hope that our grandchildren will be able to enjoy the beauty of this Park when they're our age. 

Here's what the National Park Service says about the Park. 

Comments

[Chatty Crone]

Very interesting. It's amazing how the trees do survive there in the desert. What makes one type flourish and another type die? The same is true for life as well. Sometimes the hardness of life teaches us to be strong and bend too. To others it's devestating. Loved the pictures. Thanks.

[Krystal]

We personally loved this NP. Very unique and beautiful in its own way. We were told the same thing about the view by friends that live near there-that it used to be a clear view.