Because the days are so lovely and warm, we decided to spend the day at Joshua Tree National Park. It is about a 40 minute drive from the RV park that we are in and an increase in elevation of more than 3000' through the Morongo Valley to the top of the plateau and hill that overlooks the Coachella Valley and Palm Springs.
It was about 10F cooler than in the valley and that made it perfect for hiking and exploring. After a stop at the Visitor Center to get an orientation and maps, we headed to the Hidden Valley and it's 2 mile trail. A local rancher blasted away some rocks to let his cattle into this secluded valley. Because it had been closed off, there are some different plants here, like pinyon pine, which are not in other parts of the park at this elevation.
The Joshua trees in the park form interesting shapes, as well as the rock formations. Many have rounded edges and piled and balanced on each other. The trees were named by the Mormons immigrating through the area who felt they looked like the arms of the Israelite leader, Joshua, as he held them up to stop the sun in the sky while they won the battle against their enemies.
Next we hiked a trail to the Barker Dam. Another rancher built a dam at the end of a natural collection pool for water in an attempt to increase the water for his free range cattle. The water level was low at this time of the year so there were not too many birds who usually gather there. We also saw some Indian rock paintings on the trail from some of the early travelers.
Because daylight savings time is over, the sun goes down very early now and the shadows become long by 4pm. We stopped at a rock formation named "The Skull" and climbed "The Arch" before we headed home after dark (5pm!)