Mileage: 60,295 Twentynine Palms RV Resort Twentynine Palms, California

It is moving day!! We took 95 south away from Las Vegas…away from the crowds and noise and traffic! We did have good time there and we got a lot done…it is just time to go!

We passed a large solar farm…miles long. They probably only produce enough electricity to power the Bellagio; its fountains and chandeliers, and neon lights and slot machines, bars and hotel rooms!

We passed through an area of “Critical Environmental Concern.” The desert tortoises are a protected species. They are able to get all the water they need from the food they ingest. They store this water and recycle it. If they are startled, it can cause them to urinate. They lose all their water, dehydrate, and die. Turtle nests are an easy buffet for all the animals higher on the food chain.

We started to see Joshua trees and we looked at the elevation app on Tim’s phone. We have made the observation that they thrive in desert elevations of 3,000 – 5,000 feet. They only live naturally in the Mojave Desert. They grow about 1 inch a year. The park has a tree that is 40 feet tall and 350 years old.

We stopped at the Cal-Nev-Ari rest stop and had our breakfast outside.

We stopped for diesel fuel right after breakfast and before the California border. We paid $3.19 a gallon. The next gas station was in California and diesel fuel was $5.49 a gallon. We bought 30 gallons of fuel. We saved $69.00 by buying our fuel in Nevada! California has a problem!

We took Route 95 to Route 66. It was our plan to take Route 66 all the way to Joshua Tree. All of a sudden, the road was closed. We had to turn around, luckily there was a place large enough for us to turn around, and we made a new plan.

There were so many beautiful wildflowers along the roadside today. It just doesn’t work to take pictures of them from a moving vehicle. This year there is a “superbloom” in the desert because of the very wet winter and spring. Pinks and purples and yellows and whites and then the prickly pear cactus are just starting to bloom so suddenly you see a bright splash of fuchsia on the desert floor. I love flowers!

Such a pretty ride!

The town of Amboy and Roy’s Motel and Cafe was a famous stopping spot when Route 66 was in its heyday! Now it has a population of 6 and there isn’t much left. Production companies and photographers do use this now defunct business for filming and there was a crew there today.

The Amboy Crater is the remnant of a cinder cone volcano. The black lava rock that spewed from the volcano goes on for miles.

Just outside Amboy there were salt fields/a dry lake that were being used to harvest calcium chloride.

After we got to the campground, we rested for a short time and then packed a picnic dinner; crostini, bruschetta, Havarti and cheddar, apples, hummus, and veggies.

As soon as we entered Joshua Tree National Park, Tim spotted this bighorn ram on the rocks. We watched him and took some pictures and as we drove past the rocks we saw the rest of his crew heading away from us.

The boulders and rock formations are otherworldly. It looks like wads of clay bunched together haphazardly. Something a child might construct.

There is a veritable forest of Joshua trees. These trees are growing more densely than others we have seen. They are also much larger.

There was stunning scenery from Keys View. This overlooks the Coachella Valley and the San Andreas Fault. It was 55 degrees and breezy!! Most people had on winter coats and cold weather clothes.

We took the Queen Valley Road, a dirt trail, through the valley, where we had our dinner.

We only did a short loop this evening and we plan to take a off-road trail, the Geology Tour Road, tomorrow.