Joshua Tree National Park

One of the things I love about America is visiting different National Parks.  This week, I am going to take you on the Travel Tuesday post, that actually started it all for me, and made Travel Tuesday's a thing on my blog for the past several years.  After this post, others asked me to share more about where I have been, and so I decided to start taking all my readers along on my trips, well virtually of course:)


I love the heat, I lived in St. George, Utah for a while and days in the 100+ and nights that sometimes if your lucky in the summer cool down to around 90 degree's is fine for me.  I still enjoy running, hiking and playing no matter the climate.  But the key to being able to stay active and enjoy the heat is making sure you are always fully hydrated!

I will say, if my foot wasn't injured I would have been standing on top of that
little boulder mountain for a picture:)  
Joshua Tree National Park, is located in Southern California and although I know most probably hit up this little gem in the spring, fall and winter.  I decided to hit it up in the hotter than hot month of July.  On the particular day I snapped these shots, it was only about 100 degrees out, so I was lucky because it could have been hotter.

This is Skull Rock
Not only a great place for adults, but kids will love this place.  So many fun rock formations for their little imaginations to run wild.



Maybe because I am from Utah and I have lived and hiked around deserts my entire life, but I find there is so much beauty in the desert if you look for it.  This National Park has beautiful large cactus and large bouldering rock formations and beautiful vista views.

The beginning of one of the trails, hiked around for a beautiful view on the other side

I am a little bit of a nerd in my mind, when I am out hiking I like to think about the geology and the reason that things formed the way they did, when they did to look the way they do now.



There are actually several hiking trails in this park, some are even short enough for the kids and the whole family.  But you will definitely want to bring PLENTY of water!


I love cactus too, I don't know why I always have.  Odd fact about me, when I was younger I raised cactus terrariums instead of regular ones like other kids did, LOL


This is the view from Key's View - You can look out and see the Mountains of Mexico
in the far distance, as well as Palm Springs in the valley below.

Don't you love how big these cactus tree's grow.
The tallest in the park is about 40 feet tall.  These are what gave the park it's name.

Again if the foot wasn't injured I'd of been on top of this one too for a picture:)



Okay, so if you look really really hard, you can see me up on top of one of the boulders.
The picture doesn't make them look very big, but take my 5 foot size and compare it to the rock
next to me and you get the idea, they are bigger than they look:)
I am like a kid and I can't resist climbing a big rock:)



You can call me weird, for liking the desert, but I loved this photo for some reason!


There is camping in this National Park, or nearby.  This is a park, you can easily see and do a lot in one day, and it's not too far of a drive from San Diego, we drove there after for the night.

One of the hikes to an old mill and dried up lake:)



I had a great time on this trip.  We had driven from Utah, so headed down through Las Vegas (hitting 122 degree's at the hottest), we stayed near Las Vegas for 1 night.
Then the next morning drove through the Mojave Desert in California and into Joshua Tree National Park for a day.


Have you visited Joshua Tree National Park before?
Tell me about some of your National Park adventures.

20 comments :

  1. Kristy this is stunning and unlike anything we have here in the Midwest! I love that you have a Travel Tuesday feature! We spent 3 weeks in Europe over the summer and I've been chipping away at posts about all our stops but have so much more to share. I adore national parks and have been entertaining running Avenue of the Giants in Humboldt Redwoods State Park.

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  2. I am obsessed with your Travel Tuesdays! I am definitely living vicariously through you in this post! I've never seen anything like Joshua Tree National Park, but it's now on my "want to visit" list! I can just see my toddler having a blast in those rock formation - I think I'd want to take her in March rather than July though ;)

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  3. Thank you! This is a fun place to visit!
    Oh how awesome, I have never been to Europe I bet you trip was amazing, there is so much to do and see, and 3 weeks you probably got to see far more than most ever do!
    Avenue of the Giants is one my my list I would love to do. When I did my California marathon I ran Big Sur, also great and beautiful. But I would love to get up north into the Redwoods around humbolt and run through those big beautiful trees! Hope you get there someday!

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  4. Oh thank you Rachel! I love travel, and when I can combine a race and travel at the same time it's just a total bonus, I enjoy what the world has to offer.
    Joshua Tree is great, if you are ever down near Disneyland or San Diego, if you have an extra day it's totally worth seeing, kids would love playing around on all those fun shaped boulders:) But ya, March or fall, likely a better time for young kids so you don't have to worry about them getting burned when they are climbing around on them:)

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  5. Wow- what a cool looking place. I loved getting to "take a tour" of the park today :)

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  6. This sounds like a wonderful trip and your pics are beautiful, as always. I am sadly lacking in National Park adventures. My second son is graduating high school this year and we said we would go on a trip of his choosing to commemorate the event. I'm trying to gently persuade him to pick some of the National Parks out to our west. A family RV road trip. Oh, my! Of course, I'd be looking for races along the way.

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  7. Such an iconic place to visit! Can't believe I've never been. On the list!

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  8. Thanks! Ya, it was a fun place to visit and see!

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  9. This place looks absolutely gorgeous, Kristy! Thanks for sharing so many wonderful pictures. Seeing them makes me want to add Joshua Tree to my travel bucket list.

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  10. Oh we have some amazing National Parks out west, if you have the time you definitely have to come out here and see a few they will simply amaze you, no matter which ones you pick to see! Most national parks even have races in or around them at different times of the year too:)

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  11. Oh it's a fun one, and not one a lot of people get to because of its location, but worth it for those who visit!

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  12. Oh it's a fun one, when that baby "to be" of yours comes and a few years down the road when they get into the fun hiking and climbing age, this is one they would have a blast in!

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  13. Wow.... that looks so amazingly beautiful! Thanks for sharing!

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  14. There's so many beautiful places here in the US to visit without having to leave the country. I love your pictures from Joshua Tree. I've only been to Yellowstone National Park. Make a Wish Foundation sent our family there the summer before my brother passed. It was an unforgettable trip!

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  15. Yay for national parks! <3! I've never been to that one either, but it looks like a fun place to visit! (I'd love to go on a cross-country food/park/fitness class tour someday! *-*) Thank you for sharing!

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  16. lisarunsforcupcakesMarch 8, 2017 at 5:58 PM

    Every time you post photos of your area on FB, I am instantly reminded that I need to visit Utah!

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  17. Your welcome, ya it's a pretty and unique National Park!

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  18. There really is, isn't there!
    Yellowstone is a beautiful park too, so diverse and so much to do and see, I bet it was an unforgettable trip for you guys and what great memories you can keep with you always being there with your brother!

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  19. That would be awesome, that is something I would love to do too. When I was working on my marathon states goal, and when I get back into it. I generally pick races near National Parks or cool places of interest so I can do more than just go for a run, there is just so much to see in this world:)

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  20. Oh that is sweet, yes Utah is a beautiful state:) But so is any state, you just have to know where to look:) (at least that is what I say.)

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