We visited the Japanese Friendship Garden in San Diego, California.
Jenn and a friendly feral feline:
Bonsai:
Model:
Tea and Eats:
park
Cabrillo National Monument
We visited Cabrillo National Monument at the coast in California.
The visitor center:
“What am I looking at?” Fog:
Exhibits:
Was Cabrillo Spanish or Portuguese?
Fog lifting:
Lighthouse:
Whale viewpoint:
Other lighthouse:
View:
The big gun:
Gun placements:
Coast:
Pelicans:
GIF:
Video:
Lighthouse:
Joshua Tree National Park day 3
Another afternoon visit to Joshua Tree National Park.
Jenn gave me an Insta360 X3 camera as an early birthday present, so I tried it out on this visit:
My first video, holding the invisible selfie stick out the truck window:
Barker Dam Nature Trail hike:
Video:
Videos:
Video:
Joshua tree bloom:
Video:
Petroglyphs:
Video:
Videos:
We had a picnic dinner at Hidden Valley:
Joshua Tree National Park day 2
Another visit to Joshua Tree National Park, this time in the evening, going in the south entrance. Like most of the popular parks, this one is very busy during the day, but much less so in the evening.
Cholla Cactus Garden:
Arch Rock Nature Trail:
Picnic dinner:
We have some bamboo cutlery in our picnic bag, which was useful:
Skull Rock; this is one of the most popular areas of the park, impossible to get parking during the day, but easy in the evening:
Split Rock:
Sunset:
Joshua Tree National Park day 1
We visited Joshua Tree National Park several times while staying in Palm Desert.
On the first day, we visited all five of the visitor centers, drove though the park, and did a shortish hike.
First up, Black Rock Nature Center in Black Rock Canyon Campground:
Do Not Die Today:
Welcome to Joshua Tree (the city, not the park):
The main Visitor Center outside the park:
Passport stamp:
The Joshua Tree Cultural Center:
The Oasis Visitor Center, which is permanently closed, but still has the Oasis of Mara trail available:
Kinetic artwork:
Picnic:
Oasis of Mara trail:
Entrance sign:
Joshua trees:
We did a hike to a mine, past some ruins:
A nice pic of me:
Jenn:
Mines (look for the metal covers):
Old winch:
Old bucket:
Flowers:
Me:
Selfie:
A fun dirt road, with Joshua trees and mountains in the distance:
Ocotillo:
At the southern entrance, Cottonwood Visitor Center:
Recent rains brought out a profusion of wildflowers:
Video: Death Valley to Yermo, California motorhome travel timelapse
A timelapse of driving our RV, a Tiffin Allegro Bus motorhome, 169 miles from Death Valley, California to Yermo, California.
Travel from Death Valley to Yermo, California
We drove our coach 169 miles, about three hours of driving, from Death Valley, California to Yermo, California.
Here’s the map route, heading south:
Interactive map, showing our stops:
Leaving the campground:
Leaving Death Valley:
Paladin sleeping:
Paladin in an unapproved place; he was freaking out a bit; sometimes he forgets about travel days:
“Thanks for Experiencing Your National Park”:
Bumpy road:
Motorcycles:
The sign could use a refresh:
A roadside stop for a break:
Interesting hills:
A straight road; using a high zoom really emphasizes the bumps:
Lunch stop in Baker, with a nice big truck/RV parking area; always appreciated:
The World’s Tallest Thermometer:
We had lunch at the Mad Greek Cafe:
The Thermometer again:
EddieWorld, apparently California’s largest gas station (looks pretty small compared to Buc-ees in Texas, but we haven’t actually visited either):
Ghost Town Road:
Our destination:
Death Valley Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes and Stovepipe Wells
We took a short hike in the Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes in Death Valley.
On the road:
Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes, another Star Wars filming location, where R2-D2 and C-3PO were lost in the Tatooine desert in A New Hope:
Heading to the Father Crowley overlook:
Stovepipe Wells:
Interesting lighting:
Death Valley Badwater Basin hike
Badwater Basin is a salt flat in the lowest point in North America, at 282 feet (86 m) below sea level.
A sign high on the cliff indicating sea level:
An info sign listing the lowest places on Earth:
But it’s a dry heat…:
Boardwalk and path:
282 feet below sea level:
Path to the salt flat:
Selfie:
Beard attack:
Death Valley Star Wars locations driving tour
Death Valley contains several filming locations for the Star Wars movies (episodes IV and VI).
Death Valley is the driest national park… so of course it was rainy:
Twenty-mule Team Canyon, where R2-D2 and C-3PO traveled to rescue Han Solo from Jabba the Hutt in Return of the Jedi:
Dantes View, where Ben Kenobi and Luke Skywalker looked down on Mos Eisley, the Tatooine spaceport, in A New Hope:
A little foggy:
Very hidden:
A break in the clouds:
Artists Palette, the backdrop for R2-D2’s journey through the desert canyon right before Jawas captured him:
Desolation Canyon, where the Tuscan Raiders attacked in A New Hope:
