Even though we didn't cross the border into Mexico, we were close enough, I guess, to warrant 2 mandatory checkpoints with tons of cameras, armed guards & nasty looking canines. We were waved through both times, thankfully. We hit a new high temperature for us: 123 degrees with 6% humidity, I don't care if its not humid, it's still too darn hot- many things were melting in our RV.
Who would have thought, we would be dodging tropical storms (Louisiana & Texas), flooding (Louisiana), major dust storms (Texas & NM), Tornadoes (Texas) and forest fires (California) but we sure were not able to dodge this heatwave. I guess I would choose the heatwave over all those other natural disasters anyway.
We stayed 3 nights @ Emerald Desert RV Park in Palm Desert, adjacent to Palm Springs. The RV Park was for a change, like a resort with 2 pools, hot tubs and a lounge area. The laundry room was the best yet & expensive to go along with the amenities. It was so hot (how hot was it?) that the pool water felt like it would boil at any minute, needless to say we didn't hop in.
Joshua Tree National Park is located where the Mojave & Colorado Deserts converge (yes, more deserts). A Joshua Tree is the largest species of Yucca plant & only survives in the the higher elevations (above 3,000 ft) of the park. There was a 10 degree difference in temperature from one end of the park to the other. This NP is also popular for its rock climbing-many free standing high boulder stacks. The band U2 has also brought the park some notoriety with their current concert tour named after the Joshua Tree. We did some hiking while in the park, but not as much as we would have liked due to the extreme heat & yes, we brought along plenty of water.
We took one of the scenic byways out of Palm Desert and traveled through pine trees, valleys and mountains. We reached 6,000 feet elevation & it did finally get cooler, down into the 90's and yes, we could tell the difference. We drove to a quaint small town called Idyllwild and enjoyed a delicious dinner on their patio. On our drive there, we smelled then saw smoke from an ongoing forest fire 10 miles away, which had recently started as a result of a car accident.
It has been very windy along with the heat & normally you would think the wind would help keep things cooler but this wind was like a blast furnace, not refreshing at all. The wind was so strong in the evening while we were sitting in our RV with the AC blasting that it blew our shoes into the next campsite! While driving, the gusts would actually move the RV.
We rode the famous Palm Springs Skyway Tram which is 2,600 feet @ the base and 8,500 feet @ the top. The Jacinto Mountains which surround the tram are a National Monument and there is a State Park up @ the top. The Tram originally opened in 1963 using small blue & red tramcars. Doug was here for business (wonder what business took him on the tram?) in 1983 and rode one of the original cars. In 2000 they restructured the whole Tram system and installed bigger revolving trams which we rode today. The Palm Springs Aerial Tramway is the largest rotating aerial tramway in the world. It is a great way to see 360 degrees of impressive scenery. We traveled 2.5 miles to reach the top of the mountain. We hiked some of the trails and could see the Salton Sea, it was nice to hike in the cooler temperatures.
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| inside the tram |
So we escaped the danger of tarantulas, scorpions, rattlesnakes and all those other scary things in the desert and then I get bit at the RV resort on pavement next to our RV by a killer ant. It hurt like hell, blistered and I even developed a bulls eye rash around the blister. It took weeks to heal!
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| driftwood elephant head |
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| Stellar Jay |
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| The Valley & smoke |
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Since we are hiking so much, we need all of these
10 Essential hiking items |
Even though we didn't cross the border into Mexico, we were close enough, I guess, to warrant 2 mandatory checkpoints with tons of cameras, armed guards & nasty looking canines. We were waved through both times, thankfully. We hit a new high temperature for us: 123 degrees with 6% humidity, I don't care if its not humid, it's still too darn hot- many things were melting in our RV.
We stayed 3 nights @ Emerald Desert RV Park in Palm Desert, adjacent to Palm Springs. The RV Park was for a change, like a resort with 2 pools, hot tubs and a lounge area. The laundry room was the best yet & expensive to go along with the amenities. It was so hot (how hot was it?) that the pool water felt like it would boil at any minute, needless to say we didn't hop in.
Joshua Tree National Park is located where the Mojave & Colorado Deserts converge (yes, more deserts). A Joshua Tree is the largest species of Yucca plant & only survives in the the higher elevations (above 3,000 ft) of the park. There was a 10 degree difference in temperature from one end of the park to the other. This NP is also popular for its rock climbing-many free standing high boulder stacks. The band U2 has also brought the park some notoriety with their current concert tour named after the Joshua Tree. We did some hiking while in the park, but not as much as we would have liked due to the extreme heat & yes, we brought along plenty of water.
We took one of the scenic byways out of Palm Desert and traveled through pine trees, valleys and mountains. We reached 6,000 feet elevation & it did finally get cooler, down into the 90's and yes, we could tell the difference. We drove to a quaint small town called Idyllwild and enjoyed a delicious dinner on their patio. On our drive there, we smelled then saw smoke from an ongoing forest fire 10 miles away, which had recently started as a result of a car accident.
