Joshua Tree National Park
Bakersfield to Joshua Tree National Park is just under 4 hours. It’s kind of crazy how quickly the temperature can soar up to 100 degrees in this part of the country. We were already in triple digits by 10am!!
This was the sign at the visitor center! Yikes!
Our main goal for the day was to see as much of the park as possible…………….without dying!
We talked with a very nice park ranger who helped us come up with an itinerary that would work for our family in this crazy heat.
Our first stop of the day was at the Hidden Valley Nature Trail. This gave the boys a chance to climb some rocks and we were able to remain in the shade for the majority of the time.
We then turned off the main park road onto Keys View Road, which dead ends at the Keys View Overlook.
The ranger had mentioned, if the skies were clear, we would be able to see a portion of the San Andreas fault from this overlook. Here it is!
Oh, I almost forgot to mention the namesake of the park! The Joshua Trees were out in full force!!!
Our last stop in the park was the Cholla Cactus Garden. It was a short hike through an enormous amount of Cholla Cacti!! They were everywhere!
Saguaro National Park
During our drive to Saguaro, we hit a new record high temperature!
As we neared the entrance to the park, the Saguaro cacti were already trying to intimidate us! Haha!
Saguaro National Park is split into two regions (west and east). We were coming from the west, so it made since to visit the west region first.
With the temperature well over 100 degrees, we opted for the Bajada scenic loop. It’s an unpaved road but they keep it in pretty good shape. It was a unique drive that allowed us to get up close to the giant saguaros. They frequently reach heights of 30 feet!!
After a short rest at the hotel and some dinner, we drove over to the east side of the park. The most popular feature on the east side is the Cactus Forest Drive. Like the Bajada loop in the west, it is also an under 10-mile loop through the park. It is paved though!
With the sun beginning to set, we were afforded some neat views of the cacti! We also stumbled upon three javelinas!!
White Sands National Park
We continued heading back east across the country and our next stop was in central New Mexico at White Sands National Park!
This was our fourth straight day of over 100-degree temperatures. It really does limit what we can do in the parks.
White Sands is the newest National Park, as it was established in 2019. We all enjoyed our time there!
A very nice gentleman gave us three sleds as we were pulling into the visitor’s center parking lot. They sell them for $25, so that was very generous!! We found a couple spots in the park where we made good use of them!
There were amazing views to be found everywhere in the park!
We continue heading east tomorrow with a trip to Guadalupe Mountains National Park!
Ramsey Party of Five 