We got up at 5 to have breakfast so we could get to the park for sunrise. Jeff was in love with the Cholla Cactus Garden, so that’s where we went. It was a good choice, because the rising sunlight on the plants makes them nearly glow!
From there, we decided to do the easy hike to Arch Rock. Joshua Tree in the early morning is so, so, so much better than during midday. The parking lot that had been closed and overflowing with illegally parked cars the day before was almost empty now. We encountered maybe six people total the entire mile. I felt like I could really enjoy this walk without feeling rushed to get out of people’s way. It took us longer than a straight mile hike should because we kept pausing to take pictures. When we actually got to the arch, Jeff attempted to get closer on it, but I dissuaded him from going farther. Climbing up on that thing is for younger, more reckless people.
Next, we stopped at Skull Rock, and there were already several people there, but not nearly like it had been the day before. Jeff was able to scramble up and get a picture of it. I suspect it looks more like a skull from a little more distance than right up on it. From there, we also stopped at Cap Rock and Split Rock, where I guess we will decide it gets its name from the mere split second we thought about doing the hike before deciding against scrambling for two miles.
The next stop was Barker Dam, another easy hike, but longer. I had pretty much done my walking for the day and was feeling it, so Jeff took my camera and lenses to do the hike alone. It sprinkled rain off and on, but he didn’t really get wet. It was interesting to see the remnants of early settlers’ attempts to tame the desert.
By this time, we had seen most of what we had set out to see as everything else required more strenuous hikes, so we decided to get lunch in town at Rocky’s New York Style Pizza. We took it back to the hotel to eat, tried eating up some more chips and cookies because the vacation was nearing its close, and took a nap.
The next time we went out was for sunset at the Hidden Valley Picnic Area. There were some excellent rock formations and plenty of vegetation for some interesting shots, although there was a particularly foul-mouthed twenty-something in the parking lot regaling his friends with stories of the weird stuff that had happened to him related to drug-use. The scene of that group talking seemed like one self-obsessed guy commandeering the conversation while the rest listened uncomfortably, looking for a way to slip out of it. In any case, I tried to ignore them as Jeff and I each searched for the views that seemed most interesting to us. We stayed until the stars started coming out and I could take some night pictures. Most of the cars in the parking lot started pulling out, and I got pretty annoyed every time a set of tail lights ruined a shot. Once it got too dark for anything to show up, we left this area, and once we were out of the rock formations and back on flat land, I could eke out a few more shots with enough of the dying sunlight left to make some silhouettes.
At a few points in the road out of the park, Jeff pulled off so I could look at the stars to my heart’s content. Heaven is supposed to be brighter than day, but, oh, I hope God lets us see starlight, too.