On our way out of San Diego early Monday morning, we made a stop at the Palomar Observatory. It was a long, winding road up to the top of Palomar Mountain and the views were a treat. Housed at the Palomar Observatory is the Hale telescope, which at one point was the largest telescope in the world! We enjoyed our visit and had the whole place to ourselves on an early, quiet Monday morning.
We got back on the road and continued heading northeastward toward Joshua Tree National Park, passing through Palm Springs. A seemingly endless desert landscape consumed our view as we reached Twentynine Palms and the north entrance to Joshua Tree by mid-afternoon.
The landscape of Joshua Tree National Park is fascinating. The whole park is really a huge transition zone from where the Mojave desert collides with the Colorado desert. We stopped and explored the Cholla cactus garden and many other viewpoints on our way to Indian Cove Campground. As dusk set in, we set up camp and made chicken quesadillas for dinner. After a really hot day (temperatures reached 100F at one point!) it was quickly cooling off and the first stars were visible. Our cozy tent and the cool desert air made it easy to fall asleep.
The next morning, we made coffee and went for a walk around the campground. We noticed several vans of military personnel arriving at various places in the campground to begin their morning training regimen, including rock climbing and bouldering across the challenging terrain. It was already getting hot when we made our way back to pack up camp.
We exited the park and returned to the road. Today’s drive took us north through Las Vegas, a stark contrast to much of the vast desert landscapes we had grown accustomed to. We clipped the far northwestern corner of Arizona and were in awe of the incredible canyon views as the highway wove back and forth and up and down through several canyon passes.
Our destination for the night was Oak Grove Campground just outside of St. George, UT. As we climbed higher in elevation, we could see the expanse of St. George unfolding below. This time of year has really been a treat with amazing foliage views, and Utah was no exception!
Vibrant yellow leaves stood out against the clear blue sky as we approached the campground. We found a spot and started a fire to take off the light chill in the air. Tomorrow we plan to drive through Zion National Park and make our way to Bryce Canyon National Park where we’ll stay for a few nights. Excited to continue our western U.S. National Park tour!