Joshua Tree National Park

Entering California from the desert south was very interesting. We immediately noticed how hard life must be for the people who live there.

We decided to see as much as we could of the national park when we arrived before we checked into the campground. Good thing!

The campground we stayed at is in the Joshua Tree National Park. We were surrounded by so many Joshua trees!! Unfortunately, we spent a lot of time trying to get level and to have to do it all over the next day if we left would not be fun so we stayed and went for a hike on the campground the next day instead of leaving. That turned out to be an excellent decision.

Joshua trees are not actually trees but the world’s largest yucca succulent and native to the Mojave Desert. They can grow to be 40 feet and can live for hundreds of years. They are found at elevations of 2,000 to 7,000 feet. The most interesting part is they are only pollinated by the Yucca moth. And the Yucca moth larvae depends on the Joshua tree seeds. One cannot survive without the other! The legend is the tree got its name from the 19th century Mormon settlers who thought the branches looked like the biblical figure Joshua leading them westward. Another interesting fact is 15 Native American communities have called the area home and many still do! These people used many parts of the plant to make baskets and their flowers are edible.

The Joshua Tree succulent needs a cold period of time for it to flower and with rising temperatures from climate change there is concern for its survival.

We enjoyed our visit to Joshua Tree National Park! Now on to Death Valley National Park!

Happy Trails!

Tom and Deb