I’m interrupting the Pasture and Irrigation Renovation posts (#9 of that series) of the last few weeks because we had an adventure before the project was completed.

Chris was to compete in the Tempe (AZ) Ironman on Sunday. Dan had gone to Idaho for a visit and to pick up Chris’ bicycle so he wouldn’t have to ship it. We left November 14 (Thursday) with the plan to camp part way and get to Tempe mid-day on Friday.

I took this photo when leaving the park on Friday, because by the time we got to Joshua Tree NP it was dark and I did not take a photo at the west entrance. I did not take any photos that evening. We set up the tent and ate bagels and cheese for dinner. This trip was not intended to be a real camping trip. We just needed a place to stay on the way to Arizona and it seemed that it would be fun to have short National Park experience. When we got there we realized that we hadn’t even brought any water, other than the water bottles we’d already emptied. I have learned that I am not a winter camper. The last (and maybe only other) time I have camped in the winter was at Big Bend National Park in 2017. I know that because I just looked for the blog post and found it. I have the same sentiment now that I did then–you get to a campsite in the dark and it’s not bedtime but you have to get in a sleeping bag to be warm.

I think we got in sleeping bags about 6 p.m. I read awhile and eventually fell asleep. I woke up at midnight and the wind was howling and the rain fly was slapping the tent. Dan told me the next day that he wondered if he left the tent in the middle of the night if it would blow away with me in it! I read until I finished a book about 3 a.m. and then slept. I woke up early and thought I’d be better off moving than lying in the sleeping bag for longer. I thought I might find some sun since it was starting to come up.

I found a marked trail not too far from the campground.

I didn’t see any bighorns, but I liked the sign.

Dawn in the desert.

This seems like a prickly place for a bird nest, but maybe it’s protected that way.

We were staying at the Ryan campground, named for the Ryan family who settled this area in 1896. It’s hard to imagine that 60 people lived here and worked in at the ranch and mine until 1908. This is one of the buildings built of adobe bricks. There are other remnants of the ranch as well.

You can see this structure centered the right of this photo. Those two large rock features are part of the campground and our tent was behind the one on the right.

Part of a toppled windmill. At this time the sun had reached the hills across the valley but there was not sun where I was.

I continued my walk until sun appeared over the hill and from behind clouds and I could stand in a sunny spot for awhile.

The tent was still in the shade when I got back. Dan had emerged, but maybe you can tell that he was cold. We didn’t linger there, but packed up and headed for Arizona. We did spend some time in the park, stopping to read signs and take in the sights.

This is a view over the Coachella Valley with Santa Rosa Mountains in the background and the San Andreas fault at the eastern edge of the valley.

We stopped at the “Cholla Garden”, a location along the road filled with cholla cactus.

This is a fascinating landscape, and I’m glad it’s preserved by the National Park system.

Another sign tells that Joshua Trees live only in the Mojave Desert and that is in the northern section of the Park. The Mojave and Colorado Deserts overlap in the park and the vegetation in each is different.