Joshua Tree National Park - a hike and lots of photographs

Warning:  I love boulders, little boulders, big boulders, stacked boulders and gigantic boulders.  Seriously I took over 200 pictures of boulders while visiting the Joshua Tree National Park in California.  Just an hours drive from Palm Springs.

When we set out yesterday morning we weren't sure if we would even make it there, we had severe wind warnings, sand storms and cold temperatures coming in.  But we packed up our long pants and some jackets and Jim was game to drive into whatever the desert through at him and off we went.  Two hands on the wheel, tighten the seat belts off to OZ we went.  It was crazy as we crossed over the mountains but on Yucca Valley side it wasn't so bad other than it was freezing.

The bonus was you couldn't have asked for a better picture day, the colours were so crisp and the sky so blue.  I did throw in some of the growth just to break up the boulder pictures.  :)

Honestly, who piled all these little boulders together in a hump in the middle of the desert.  It's like one big boulder just split apart.

There were rock climbers everywhere.  I was having a hard time just walking.  Our 1st hike was down into Hidden Valley where the rustlers used to hide their cattle.  I have no idea what they all ate, other than a little bit of shrub and the boulders there wasn't much.  It is amazing that the cows and horses were able to traverse over the land.  Not to mention the tarantulas and rattlers (thank goodness we didn't see any).

Like again seriously who put these rocks up there, they are like seats for the gods.  

Our kind of Rock Climbing :)

 There were a few wild animals amongst the rocks.

There were great roads and great facilities within the park.  It definitely reminded me of Fred Flintstones country.

Our second hike was at the Barker Dam.  California has been experiencing a drought for the last few years so there wasn't much water there.

 The cowboys built this for the cows and horses to drink from.

At the end of the walk (depending on which loop you follow) were petroglyphs.  Unfortunately vandals had painted over top of them, but they were still pretty neat.

8000 steps through crevasses, up and down rocks and hills and trudging sand, what a great day.  Looking forward to my glass of wine and 2 advil.  :).  

 A great home cooked Italian dinner with a lovely bottle of wine.  I had the homemade ravioli, delish.