13 September 2016
I went to bed very early last night – 8:45 pm – and slept very well. I awoke at 4:30 am and made the dawn patrol at the rim, then decided to splurge with breakfast at the El Tovar. It was ok but nothing to blog about.
Interestingly, I was seated next to a couple from Meridian, Mississippi, my birthplace. They were nice but Mississippi State fans. We talked about Weidmann’s and a few other old landmarks in the city.
I was on the road by around 8:30 am and was surprised when I was routed off interstate 40 to old Route 66. Actually, I was very pleased. It was very poorly maintained and you wondered if the bridges over the washes would support you, but it lead me more or less into the park. I have to admit I was a little dubious of the GPS and the routing, but it got me to Joshua Tree National Park.
One interesting feature was on one side of the road where a bank was formed from construction of the road bed, people had written names, sayings, and provided memorials by spelling words with rocks. This went on for miles and miles and was quite fascinating. I passed several that looked like memorials to Vietnam vets and probably many were spelling out the name of some lost loved one. I was very tempted to stop and put Rocky in stones but decided to pass.
When I stopped at the Oasis Ranger Station, I asked about Black Rock (remember the movie with Spencer Tracy – Bad Day at Black Rock?) campground since I had read on their web site that was the only place for tent camping. It seems all of their sites accept tent camping and the ranger steered me to Jumbo Rocks campsite, a very good description, because the rocks are indeed jumbo. Apparently this was voted the number one place to see either sunrise or sunset by some magazine.
I found a space and since I get in the park free with my senior pass, the campsite only cost $7.50 instead of the $10 per night for tent camping. They have done an excellent job with the campsite. There are over 100 camping spots tucked away in the boulders with outdoor toilets every 50 yards or so. There is no water or electricity but plenty of RV space for those so inclined.
On the other hand, Dapoxetine backs amerikabulteni.com buy generic levitra off your discharge handle with the goal that you don’t get erections. We realize that finasteride is just a extremely levitra online india popular treatment option for cancer. It is thus recommended for people to viagra 50mg price result to the tradition fruit and vegetable supplements that contain the necessary yet eliminated ingredients that will enable the colon to function at its optimum. It free sample of cialis also dilates the blood vessels to get an erection. 
I noticed two Airstream trailers, one pulled by a jeep and one by a Range Rover. I’ve thought seriously about one of these once the house is paid off in two years.
There is a loop hike at Jumbo Rocks to Skull Rock, about 1.7 miles in length. With a few digressions, my walk was 2.6 miles in 1.4 hours. The total ascent on the hike was 307 feet at a maximum elevation of 4,487 feet. It was a neat trail, well maintained and marked and it did lead you to a massive rock that did indeed look like a skull.
After the sun set, I climbed to the top of one of the jumbo rocks to see if I could get some good star shots. Unfortunately the moon was out and pretty much over shown the stars.
However, I did get one shot of the Big Dipper and I later noticed a meteor streaking across the shot.
Tomorrow is another 7 plus hour drive to King’s Canyon/Sequoia National Park. Redwoods, here I come.
Can you still drive through the General Grant tree?
Not unless you can teleport. It’s solid – no opening.