Turtle Tales: Day 8 - Joshua Tree National Park & Twenty-Nine Palms

Today started with play time for the dogs at the dog park! Both dogs met new friends who wanted to share their toys with Lacy and Penny. Penny didn't mind, but Lacy wasn't too sure about the "sharing" thing.....

After lunch we headed to the Joshua Tree National Park - about thirty miles from our RV setup. What a treat that was! The Joshua Tree stands out as an oddity in this part of the Mojave Desert since it is not really a tree, but is closesly related to the century plant. It is the short-pointed sharp leaves that give it the botanical name Yucca Brevfolia. The flowering season is just ending so there weren't that many trees in bloom, but we did see some. What was really amazing about the park were the geological formations of rock! Unbelievable! They are a testimony to the tremendous earth forces that has shaped and formed this land.

On the way to the park, we observed thousands of wind turbines at the base of the mountains. Thousands! Some with three blades and some with two blades. Some that were tall, and some that were short. We have never seen so many wind turbines in one area! We are guessing that these particular wind turbines provide energy to Palm Springs and Desert Hot Springs, and perhaps beyond!.

After visiting the Joshua Tree National Park, we headed to Twenty-Nine Palms. There is a Marine Base there that Jim had been stationed for six weeks while working in radio communictions while in the Air Force. He simply wanted me to see how desolate and out in the middle of nowhere it was! Obviously since it has been years since Jim was there, a lot has changed and the area is not as desolate as it once was - but it is still in the middle of nowhere! Living in the middle of the desert is not my lifestyle choice!

We ended the day the same way we started it - a trip to the dog park for the dogs to get some more exercise before we hit the road again tomorrow! Should be on the coast by this time tomorrow! Enjoy the pictures!