March 27, 2015
Desert Camping at its best – Joshua Tree National Park
We’d been to Joshua Tree National Park once before and really liked the area. That time we’d come in from the north side, down from Twenty Nine Palms (can’t get that song out of my head now!) and down the road that runs through the middle of the park and out again at the south end. This time we did the opposite and came in the south. The first sign we saw, even before coming to the visitor centre , was that the campgrounds were full. Oh My! I keep forgetting that it’s spring break right now! It’ll only get worse over the next week with Easter coming next weekend!
Joshua Tree Campsite – Cottonwood Campground
After paying for our entrance fee*, Bruce convinced me to go and have a look at the Cottonwood Campground which is adjacent to the visitor centre. It was pretty packed but there were still a few sites left so we grabbed one.
Lots of lizards around!
Joshua Tree National Park
Cooling off in shade with Margeritas!
The site was good … we were parallel to the sand and looking out over desert. Unfortunately, since the facility was packed and being a National Park as opposed to an RV park, there were a large number of ‘party-goers’ who were there to play radios and carry on into the wee hours. Not a good night’s sleep. We opted to leave the following morning.
March 28, 2015
Joshua Tree National Park
Stopping for some hiking
Joshua Tree National Park
But where to go next? The heat was getting to be a problem as even walking around in 35C – 37C heat is just too much for me. And what’s the point of even being there if all I can do is sit in the shade? So that morning we poured over the map and finally decided to head east into Arizona to the Sedona area which was at a higher altitude and therefore (theoretically) cooler. Two routes were open to us … one involving interstates and one on little back roads the entire way. We opted for the back roads even though it meant an extra 100 miles to the trip. Back roads are usually more interesting and fun to be on.
So we took Hwy #62 which had us cross into Arizona at Earp/Parker. Then #72 – #60 – #71 – #89 into Prescot, AZ.
HIghway 62
Well … this route wasn’t so much ‘interesting and fun’ as ‘tedious and boring’! Great long stretches of flat desert, straight as an arrow roads, and nothing to look at except the ever present creosote bushes.
Until … The #89 Hwy from Yarnell** to Prescott***. Going from almost sea-level to almost 6,000 ft it was one of the most windy, twisty, crazy roads I’ve ever been on. Bruce said it was ‘fun’. (Men! Go figure!)
Along Highway 89
View from Highway 89
Yarnell, AZ on Hwy 89
Twisty, turny Highway 89 to Prescott
We pulled into Prescott at around 5-ish and headed for an RV park I found in one of my books and got one of the only 2 that were left.
*It’s a good idea to buy a yearly pass to the National Parks if you’re planning on going to a few. It covers National Monuments as well, so for $80 you have full access for 2 people for a year.
**Yarnell looks like a very cool little town that I wish we would have had time to explore. A lot of old, funky buildings, lots of ‘antique’ shops and other colourful shops lined the main street!
***Prescott so far looks very neat. It’s up over 5,000 ft so it looks a lot like Victoria right now as all the trees are in bloom and leaves just beginning to appear. The temperature is much more to my liking and the town itself looks intriguing. LOTS of old buildings, funky shops and many, many cool restaurants. I’m not sure if there’s some kind of event going on but there are a zillion motorcycles around!
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