Dear Reader, this is the second part of a two-part series called First Impressions. I have been thinking about how your first experience in a new place shapes your further adventures there and I wanted to write about two different experiences upon entering National Parks. For me both where dramatic entrances which left a lasting impression. This second part is upon entering Joshua Tree National Park.

Azalea campground in Kings Canyon National Park was one of my favorite campgrounds on this trip so it was understandable that I might be dragging my feet a bit when it was time to leave. I also had mixed emotions about visiting the desert – I have always been such a water person, what would the desert be like for me? It was a combination of these two reasons that gave me such a late start when traveling to Joshua Tree National Park which is located in the Mojave desert in California.

I drove all afternoon through the San Joaquin Valley and reached the Mojave Desert just before sunset.  Although the incredible color of the sunset began in the west there was also brilliant color in the east. The Mojave is a high desert and at sunset I felt as if there was a large bowl over my head swirling with color that was so bright I wanted to take a bite out of it. Then I noticed on the eastern horizon a band of deep ultramarine blue just after the color. As dusk progressed this band of blue began to cover the sky like an evening shawl, tucking the earth in for another peaceful sleep.

In the east you can see the blue mantel of evening beginning to appear on the horizon.

I continued on to Joshua Tree in the dark. The last of this year’s super moons was almost full so it lit up the landscape for me. As I entered the park I checked which campgrounds had space and continued on. Joshua Trees have been described as Dr. Seuss trees and in the moonlight this was certainly true. I passed through forests of them, their silhouettes showing branches akimbo with a sharp bouquet at the end of each branch. There were jagged mountains in the distance, a lone coyote passed in front of my car and everything was so quiet.

Every Joshua tree has a strange and unique shape. Some are up to forty feet tall.

Around a corner the landscape suddenly changed from flat desert and trees to large rounded rocks. A sign for Jumbo Rocks Campground came into view. I liked the name of the place so I pulled in and was amazed! This landscape was dominated by huge piles of boulders piled up everywhere – the campsites were nestled into corners and crags of the piles. It was Friday night and everyone was up and had a fire going. The fires cast strange shadows onto the boulders. My car windows were down and I heard a cacophony of different languages and music coming from many of the campsites. I felt as if I had landed on Luke Skywalker’s home planet, Tatooine. There was a feeling of energy in the air as the day’s heat evaporated with the dark.

My own private rock garden.

I found a beautiful campsite which had it’s own private rock garden in the yard, the moon was so luminous I didn’t need much additional light to set up the camper. I went to bed very excited to explore my new surroundings in the desert. I am left wondering if it was the positive first impression of Joshua Tree National Park which has made it one of my favorite parks or if my first experience was different would have felt the same anyway?

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