We drove in the south entrance of Joshua Tree National Park in California, around a campground, to some possible hike locations, down a dirt road to a nice place for a walk, then out the west entrance. Enjoy this timelapse of the drive; the first half is less interesting, but wait for the interesting rocks and joshua trees.
exploring
Attractions and other places we visit.
A hike in Joshua Tree National Park
We visited Joshua Tree National Park when last in the Palm Springs area back in December, but decided to visit it a second time in early February, specifically to go for a short hike.
We went in the south entrance (where we exited last time), and stopped at the visitor center there. There was a singing park ranger:
After exploring a campground (too small for our coach), a picnic lunch, and considering a hike near the visitor center, we continued on towards the joshua tree part of the park. Passing some interesting rocks on the way:
Some joshua trees:
The parking areas were too full to do more popular hikes, so on a whim we turned down a dirt road:
Some interesting rocks by the road:
We stopped at an access point for rock climbers, and explored that area as an informal hike:
If you look closely, you may spot several rock climbers:
A selfie:
I’m valiantly holding up a rock:
A wave-shaped rock:
Young joshua tree:
Rocks:
Me taking a photo:
Of this:
Jenn and me:
Another rock climber:
More rocks:
A small cactus:
Joshua tree:
Rocks and joshua trees:
A bird:
I like the glowing effect of the sun behind the tip of the rock:
More lens flare with the sun touching the tip of the rock:
Joshua trees:
We’re liken the lichen:
Three colors:
Rocks and joshua trees:
Jenn on a rock:
Me joining her:
Jenn posing:
Me:
Shadows:
More interesting rocks:
Video: bumpy Dillon Road, CA
In yesterday’s video I included a short clip of driving along the bumpy Dillon Road near the desert cities in California… but felt it deserved a longer video. So enjoy… if you aren’t inclined to seasickness.
Video: exploring some things around Salton Sea, CA
Some timelapse clips of a bumpy road on the way to Salton Sea, California, plus heading to Salvation Mountain, driving around Slab City, visiting the Niland Mud Volcanos, passing through the border control station, and exploring some campgrounds by Salton Sea.
Exploring some things around Salton Sea, CA
Back in December we took a drive around the Salton Sea in California, stopping at Bombay Beach. While back in the Palm Springs area, we did another day trip to the Salton Sea, visiting other areas, including Salvation Mountain, Slab City, the Niland Mud Volcanos, and some campgrounds.
On the way towards the Salton Sea, we went over a rather bumpy road, that made Jenn feel a bit seasick (check out a clip of this tomorrow):
Our first stop, Salvation Mountain — a religious monument started in 1984, and created by one person over 30 years:
Selfie:
Info:
Just up the road is Slab City, an alternative art community:
Next stop, the Niland Mud Volcanos, some bubbling mud mounds:
Heading back north, we passed through the border patrol station:
A rocket?
We explored some of the campgrounds next to the Salton Sea, with the idea that we might want to camp there someday, though many of them wouldn’t fit our coach. The first was the most basic, just dry camping, but the one we liked the most:
Others:
Visitor center:
Tomorrow I’ll have a video with some highlights from these places.
Palm Springs Aerial Tramway
We took a ride on the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway — the largest rotating aerial tramway in the world.
Approaching Mount Jacinto in our truck:
The road up the foothills of Mount Jacinto:
The valley station, the base of the tramway:
The boarding area, where we wait for our tram. We had booked tickets for that afternoon, but decided to go earlier. Being mid-week, they weren’t too busy, so we didn’t have to wait long:
A tram arriving:
In the tram:
Jenn taking photos:
A feature of the tram is rotation, so everyone can get good views. The whole tram doesn’t rotate, just the floor, like a revolving restaurant like the Space Needle in Seattle or the Sky Tower in Auckland:
Looking downhill on our way up:
There are a few support towers; as the car passes each tower, it rocks a bit:
The second tram on its way down; they are always offset, so when one is at the top, the other is at the bottom:
View:
There’s about a 30°F temperature difference between the valley floor and mountain top. We reached the snow level:
Inside the tram; masks required:
Arriving at the mountain station:
A nifty feature is water delivery; all the water for the mountain station is delivered via tanks under the tram cars, and dumped at the top on each trip:
The mountain arrival area:
Before boarding, they had everyone stop to take a couple of pictures in front of a green-screen. Something I’ve resisted in the past, but we’ve been embracing recently. So we stopped at the photos kiosk to check out our pics:
We bought digital copies of our green-screen photos; cheesy, but kinda fun:
We had a reservation at the Peaks Restaurant for lunch:
Jenn:
A tasty lunch:
After lunch, we went out onto the viewing balcony, and took some pictures of the mountain and valley views:
The viewing deck outside the restaurant:
Snow:
Valley views of Palm Springs:
I was amused by the wet floor sign that had fallen onto the snow below the deck; yep, it was indeed a very wet floor:
Selfie:
More views:
Jenn taking photos:
The interesting architecture of the building exterior:
A glimpse of a tram arriving:
Another selfie:
We were also amused by the Mount San Jacinto sign — “California State Parks, Mount San Jacinto State Park, a California State Park”. Obviously written by the Department of Redundancy Department:
Trees and snow in the park behind the mountain station:
They have a window into the counterweight mechanism; a large steel and concrete counterweight that goes up and down as the trams travel across towers (read the sign for more info):
Back into the tram for the return journey:
Views on the way down:
The center of the tram; on the way up was an informational recording, but on the way down the operator played loud music from his iPhone hooked into the PA system:
A nice view of one of the towers (with a small helipad on top for maintenance):
Another tower:
Approaching the valley station:
A small museum in the valley station:
Watching a tram depart:
That was a fun experience, and enjoyable lunch. Highly recommended for people visiting Palm Springs.
Downtown Palm Springs, CA
Some pictures from a quick drive through downtown Palm Springs, California. (We had planned to stop for lunch and a wander around, but didn’t feel like dealing with crowds; it doesn’t look very crowded in these pics, but the restaurants were all packed.)
Tomorrow, a brief video of driving through here.
Hike in Coachella Valley Preserve
While staying at Catalina Spa & RV Resort (look for a post about that later), we took a hike in the nearby Coachella Valley Preserve. We wanted to explore the Thousand Palms Oasis Preserve within the Coachella Valley Preserve, but were misled by their map, and ended up doing a longer hike than planned.
The Coachella Valley Preserve sign:
Entrance to the Thousand Palms Oasis Preserve:
The very inaccurate map; we thought the Hidden Palms Loop hike looked interesting, and allegedly fairly easy for us novice hikers at 1.75 miles roundtrip, according to the table in the map:
But it was full of lies; the Hidden Palms Loop was in fact more like five or six miles, and very badly marked. We went about halfway (mostly on loose sand) before we lost the trail, and turned back; a total of about three hours. Not a long hike for most people, but we’re not really in shape for such a journey, especially not in the heat of the desert. (Yes, we did have hiking boots, hats, suitable clothing, water, and snacks; we weren’t totally unprepared. But there’s definitely improvements we could make.)
We better know our limits now, that’s for sure:
Palm trees in the oasis at the start:
Following the trail; a nice path to start:
More palm trees:
The path crossed the road:
The trail continues:
Inside of a cactus:
Birds circling; we’re not dead yet:
The trail became soft sand, and less clearly defined:
A stream:
A wash from heavy rains:
Interesting texture:
Me with a trail marker, but not much of a trail:
So much desert:
The less-clearly-defined trail:
We saw several of the lizards that are a focus of the preserve:
More desert:
Not the most interesting hike, and the hidden palms were so well hidden that we didn’t find them. We looked at a better map when we got home (there wasn’t enough cell signal to see much while out there), and found where it went. But it definitely wasn’t what we were expecting.
We turned around once we lost the path, and got some tasty breakfast for dinner on the way home (i.e. back to our coach), then headed to the thermal pool for a couple hours soak for our tired muscles.
We also bought the AllTrails app, so will have better access to maps for our next hike.
Video: timelapse of driving up Palm Canyon Road
A quick timelapse video of driving our truck up Palm Canyon Road into the Kofa National Wildlife Refuge, Yuma, AZ. The first half of the seven mile road is public BLM land, with boondocker camping, and the second half is in the refuge, with designated dispersed campsites.
Palm Canyon in the Kofa National Wildlife Refuge, Yuma, AZ
While staying at Black Rock RV Village over the holidays, we didn’t do a lot of exploring (there isn’t much in the area, and we wanted some quiet time before the excitement of the Xscapers Annual Bash), but one day we did take a drive past Quartzsite to Palm Canyon in the Kofa National Wildlife Refuge, established in 1939 for the protection of desert bighorn sheep and other native wildlife.
One reason for this destination was to scout a possible boondocking site for the future. In March we will be in this area again, and may want to try some boondocking or dispersed camping, instead of our usual RV parks. Quartzsite is famous for boondocking, and there are a lot of people doing so.
The first half of the seven mile Palm Canyon Road is through public BLM land, available for boondocking or dispersed camping: camping pretty much anywhere, without any hookups or designated sites. The second half is in the refuge, and only allows camping in designated spots within 100 feet of the road, marked by a sign and fire pit. We liked the look of the latter more, being closer to the mountains, though of course they are more limited.
Driving our 40-foot rig along a long unpaved road could be a challenge, but the road seemed passable enough, and there were several sites that should be easy enough to get in and out of. So it could be something fun to try.
Here’s driving our truck through the BLM portion of the road:
A gathering of vanlifers:
The entrance of Kofa National Wildlife Refuge:
Info signs:
Kofa mountains:
Dispersed camping:
Parking area at the end of the road:
Info signs:
Looking downhill:
