Looking ahead: Joshua Tree National Park

I can barely contain my excitement!  I feel like a kid the night before Xmas, except I have a month to wait until we head out on our amazing family vacation.  So...in preparation I have been reading about the parks we will visit and I thought I would do a series about our destinations.  This will be helpful for me as I will summarize what I know, highlight some must-see places, consider what I don't know, as well as share my hopes and fears....

So here is my first edition about Joshua Tree National Park, the first park we will visit when we leave AZ. 

The drive is approximately 315 miles.  It's one of our longer drives for a day, but because we will be just starting our trip I thought we would be excited to get to our first destination and be willing to travel a bit longer.  I am really not sure how fast we will be able to travel, certainly not over 55-60 MPH for safety, but it is questionable how often we will have to stop for gas/breaks/food.  The good thing is that when we stop for gas we can use our own facilities to prepare food and take a break!  I can't imagine how convenient that will be, especially when traveling with kids. 

The Black Rock Canyon Campground is located at 4000 feet.  One of my concerns is whether we will be too hot.  We don't have a generator and will be relying on solar power and propane when in the National Parks.  Our solar power is insufficient for the air conditioner.  Because there is a range of elevations in Joshua Tree the weather varies.  From what I have read May is still a decent time to visit (highs in the 80s and lows in the 50s).  If it is too hot during the heat of the day, we can use that time to explore the indoor areas, museums, etc.

There are a number of short hikes/nature walks to take.  Hi-View is 1.3 miles and close to the Black Rock Campground.  The Oasis of Mara looks interesting and is only .5 miles.  Skull rock is 1.7 miles and might provide a fun outing, but if that one seems to long we could do the Discovery Trail which will also give us some of the same views. 

There are four visitor centers, three of them are in the north part of the park where we will be staying.  The Black Rock Nature Center is right by our campground, the Joshua Tree Visitor Center is slightly East of where we are staying and the Oasis Visitor Center is a bit further to the East.  Our stay at Joshua Tree is only three days (2 nights), which translates to one full day and two partial days.  From the research I have done I hope this is adequate to get a good view of the park. 

Of course the nature is the reason for the visit.  There are some stunning pictures on the National Park website.  Here are a couple of the campground we will be at.

One of the things I have to do is to make a list of our favorite snacks and lunches so that we can be prepared by having good food available while we are exploring.  Dried fruit, fresh fruit with peanut butter, nuts, trail mix, crackers, and hummus are some of the things that come to mind.  I'll have to be sure we are well stocked!