Jan. 18-19 Indio, California

Indio, California
   We made a change in our RV park because we felt very confined.  Our new space at a different park is more spacious.  It is hard sometimes to tell how nice an RV park might be by looking at the web site.  The posted photos are usually beautiful with angles that make the spaces look huge.  We are now at Shadow Hills Resort and so far so good.  We are located close to Joshua Tree National Monument and Palm Springs.
   After an early morning coffee and breakfast we planned a day trip to Joshua Tree National Monument.   In the quiet of the early morning I noticed something that had been missing, the sound of song birds.  We have been in winter desert areas for the past month or so and were  impressed with all the visual beauty and silences of the canyons. However, this morning, I heard song birds singing.  What a pleasant surprise to hear that familiar cheerful sound.  The southern California desert area is a bit greener than southern Arizona so the birds have made their homes here.
  Joshua Tree National Monument was  designated a National Monument in 1936 by Franklin D Roosevelt.  The park protects 792,510 acres with 80% of it managed as wilderness.  It is located where the Mohave and Colorado desert converge.  This large desert area is a diverse biological home to many species of plants and animals.  The Joshua tree is evident everywhere.  This tall spiny plant can grow up to 40 feet with clusters of cream colored flowers that occur in winter months.   It is not actually a tree but a variety of the yucca plant.  It’s name was given to the plant by a group of Mormons who settled in the area and thought that the many “arms” of the plant reminded them of Joshua raising his hands toward God.
  Because this is a desert environment, the dry sandy soil gives life to spiny plants and slithery creatures who have adapted to little water, summer temperatures above 100 degrees and relentless sun. This seemingly harsh area is actually fragile. The threat to the survival of this delicate environment is due to human interference.
   The first impression of the park is how different it is from a geological perspective.  There are huge boulders and rock piles everywhere.  It looked as if giant dump trucks emptied loads of rocks at a construction site, a very large construction site. The geology of this area is the result of millions of years of magma crystallizing below the earth’s surface.  Earthquakes cracked the rock bringing it closer to the surface.  Groundwater and wind have shaped the rocks and boulders into their unusual forms.
   We hiked the Hidden Valley Trail.  It is a loop trail that wound up and around huge boulders.  Once we climbed over several boulders the trail opened up to a valley that was a cattle rustlers hideout.  The valley was filled with scrubby prickly plants and surrounded by huge rock formations with rock climbers testing their skills. The hour long trail walk was a great adventure.  We climbed over boulders, peeked through holes in the rocks and watched out for snakes.
   Following our hike we drove to Keys View.  At an elevation of 5,185 feet the views of the valley, mountains and desert we could got a peek of the San Andreas fault below.  There was a heavy haze over the valley so the view was not as clear as expected.
   The stark raw beauty of this desert area is a reminder that nature is a reflection of who we are as a human race,  Will we continue to preserve this environment for future generations?  What is the balance between conservation and development?  What is worth saving; what is worth fighting for?