Joshua Tree Day 1

Joshua Tree Day 1, and January Day 1 aligned perfectly this year. Despite our very late night, we got up, ate Jonny's waffles and hit the road before 8:30. It's a three and a half hour drive to Joshua Tree National Park, so we got there about noon. We pulled up in the parking lot and Mom whipped together some sandwiches. We ate quickly, checked out the tiny Visitor Center, and headed into the park. We were determined to do a few hikes before the sunset at about 4:30.

Mom making lunch!

Our first stop in Joshua Tree was at Skull Rock. This park is full of rocks that reminded us of Pinnacles, as well as millions of twisted, tangled, Joshua trees. Legend has it that these trees represent the prophet, Joshua, reaching up to heaven. We didn't really notice that, but we did enjoy seeing the unusual poses that the trees struck. That part reminded us of Saguaro, which has oddly posed cactuses.

A new National Park! Hooray!

We loved this park a lot!

Skull Rock is right on the side of the road, and there were hundreds of visitors there. In fact, there was a line that took about 10 minutes to get to the front to even take a picture in front of Skull Rock. We were immediately annoyed, but then we started around the short loop that starts at Skull Rock. Soon the people fell away and we were strolling along through the interesting tree and rock formations. We were pointing out rocks that looked like things (mostly bums) and trees that were performing actions. The hike led right around through the campground.

Skull Rock really does look like a skull. 

We waited in line for this pic!

We were much happier out on the trail!

Visiting in December was the best!

Seth was in heaven here! So much time to climb!

Seriously, climbing all the time!

Mark loves visiting any national park.

There were a lot of cool rock formations.

Our second hike was the most interesting of the day. It was an explore hike, and we were looking for some very narrow slot canyons named the Hall of Horrors. It took us a few minutes of climbing and scrambling around, but we found both canyons. One was tall and narrow enough that two people had to turn sideways to pass. The second was thin enough that Dad almost didn't make it with the buttons on his shirt intact. The boys climbed around and explored in this area for over an hour. Now that they're big, we still worry about them jumping around and over massive boulders, but they always do fine. 

The slot canyons were our favorites.

This was a narrow one, but the second one is even more narrow.

This canyon was way skinnier!

Mom and Dad definitely had to squeeze through.

Mark and Dax came up later, so Mom went back with them.

Dax even turned back for a picture.

Just a quick rest on this rock bed!

Ryan Ranch was a short hike to an old ruin, but we finally started to spot a few animals. Mark noticed several small birds including a logger-head shrike, spotted towhees, cactus wrens, and ravens. Seth spotted a bunny, too. Mom added a small squirrel, which was the first we'd seen on this trip. 

We thought this rock looked just like Pride Rock in Lion King.

Cute little birdie.

It was getting late by the time we reached Hidden Valley. This is a loop hike around a small valley where cattle rustlers kept their stolen cattle. It was actually really cool because the trail followed along the massive rock walls, which seemed to form a natural, hidden valley. The sun was setting as we walked through this part of the park, and it was really pretty. We hustled this hike a little more than we'd have liked, but we just finished for sunset, and the park had already started to clear.

The Hidden Valley trail was nice, but we were losing daylight.

Seth's face is my favorite in this pic.

He cheered up once he could climb on something.

Sunset

Dad and Seth ran to the bathroom, but we caught the sunset.

We liked the pink sky on the drive back to our airbnb.

That night, we had plenty of time to rest and relax as it was still early when we checked into our house. First, Mom made ramen. The kids had specifically requested this and had been talking about it all week. Apparently, ramen on the road is a big deal for them. After dinner, we read scriptures and watched a movie. Mark and Dad had fun checking out the record player! The house was comfortable and roomy, and we got a great night's sleep.

Best dinner ever! Ha ha!

Learning all about records.