Because we were there on a weekend, the weather was terribly wonderful and because JT is in close proximity to the masses of people in socal, the park had no remaining campsites available by noon on Friday. Therefore, we had to rough it in the back country in a tent with the Joshua Trees. This was a great experience including the hurricane style winds that ripped the stakes of our tent out of the ground at around 2:30 in the morning. I made the adjustments in the dark & cold only to lay awake until dawn at 5:30 wondering if we would we swept up in a twister. The other interesting element is that I forgot our walking poles which were intended to serve as the front poles of the tent. With some improvisation, we were able to use the hammock that I brought along in conjunction with a generous hand from a Joshua to secure the tent in the upright position. Needless to say, this part of the tent structure had no issues dealing with the wind.
The next most interesting and terrifying for Lisa was the climbing of the boulder mountains. We crested the summit of each pile you see here and the pictures don't give justice to the mountain hights. Lisa conquered her fear better than most male friends of mine so I was very proud of her even though she had a bit of a breakdown at the top of one of our conquered mountains as we tried to figure out how to get down. Note - JT NP is one of the rock-climbing capitals of the world.
Ok, now this is a bit much for me. Not sure I'll be taking this route on my RVing tour. Stone Mountain and 1/2 of Kennesaw Mountain was about the extent of my rock climbing :-). Glad ya'll made it up (and back down) safely. You guys are so brave. ;)
ReplyDeleteGrowing up in SoCal, my friends and I used to go out to Joshua Tree, sleep under the stars and climb rocks. This makes me want to get back out there again!
ReplyDeleteCongrats on your marriage -- I pray God will bless you beyond your wildest dreams!