First up - Joshua Tree National Park in the spring

Our first stop this trip was Joshua Tree National Park. We had visited a few times thoughout the winter, tent camping recently at White Tank Campground. This time, we stayed 2 nights at Cottonwood campground, the first campground upon entering the park from the south (I10 freeway).  It was still cool but warming up, covered in beautiful spring blooms, and the best hiking we've done in quite a while. This is a fantastic place to visit in spring. We did the Mastadon Peak trail and enjoyed a view all the way to Salton Sea (had no idea you could see it from up here). At night, it was so quiet it was surreal. Unlike at White Tank, we did not hear any coyotes, and the wind was calm. We did find a Horny Toad (aka, Desert Horned Lizard). Fortunately, he was friendly and did not squirt blood from his eyeballs as legend would have it.

Lori and Sami came up to visit in the afternoon. First thing Sami says is, "let's go swimming!" She must have thought we'd packed up the Sky Valley pools and brought them along, of course! If we could find a way to bring along a hot tub, we would. 



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