Friday 23 May, Las Vegas

Las Vegas
(pronounced Los Vegas!)(via San Bernadino, storms, Palm Springs, Joshua Tree NP, and the Mojave Desert)

Joshua Tree NP
At the entrance to the park, we crossed an eastern remnant of the San Andrea’s Fault, a geological weakness in the Earth’s upper layers which has and will still, lay devastating waste to San Francisco.

Correction Note:
The Joshua Tree album cover (U2, ) was not in fact shot in the Joshua Tree National Park but in a less accessible area within Death Valley (where we are now headed tomorrow!)
The tree which leans at an acute angle on the album cover died a few years ago - and just fell over!

Mojave Desert
Much better value than Joshua Tree – not in terms of entrance fee (we have an annual NPS pass giving us access to all US National Parks), but in terms of what it had to offer including my first encounter with a live and venomous rattlesnake called colloquially ‘a sidewinder’ (after its mode of movement, switch-backing on itself whilst moving sideways.
I nearly stepped on this sleeping deadly coil, until, realising what it was, withdrew carefully and took a couple of snaps, as it hissed (rattling – it is one of the rattlesnake family), and recoiled at my untimely approach. Thing is, after a long winter hibernation, these creatures are still quite dopey and often sleep above round whilst the temperatures are still quite mild. This leaves them somewhat prone – not least to errant hikers! However, following their winter sojourn, they are extremely venomous – having built up their reserves, and they are equally irritable!

Journey Notes and Details
SW on US-101 to I-10
Continue past San Bernadino Valley, Palm Springs and 184 miles later, take the Cottonwood Springs Rd exit to Joshua Tree NP.
NW across the park to Joshua Tree, then E onto CA-62 to Twentynine Palms.
17 miles later, turn left (N) onto Godwin Rd, then right (E) onto Amboy Rd, then l (N) onto Kelbaker Rd, continuing north past Kelso on the now Kelso Cima Rd.
Head NE along the Morning Star Mine Rd to Ivanpah, then a 4 mile west turn, joining the I-15 towards Las Vegas

Joshua Tree NP was first established as a national monument in 1936 and comprises 792,726 acres, of which almost 600,000 is classed as 'wilderness'. Elevations rage between 536-5814 feet. The park is criss-crossed by hundreds of geological fault-lines, most famously, the San Andreas fault as mentioned above.
Mojave Desert has more and better arrays of Joshua trees, hugely impressive cinder cones and lava flows, and even has sand dunes - the third tallest in the US - the Kelso Dunes! When the sand rolls down the leeward side, the dunes gradually move in that direction and actually make a low booming noise - eerie or what??!!


Distance: 414 Miles
Duration: 10 hrs
Weather: Storms early (Burbank), Overcast, brightening later