Big Family Steps: Joshua Tree National Park

Twentynine Palms isn't exactly a duty station many people want to come to. In fact, when we were still in Virginia and would tell friends where we were going, their first response would usually be something along the lines of, "Oh no! The stumps. I'm so sorry." After warning us of things to watch for, and telling us all the bad, we were usually told the good. The first "good" people would tell us about is Joshua Tree National Park. Just a quick google search will show you exactly why this is one of the best things about this area. There really isn't much else to see or do within a 30 minute drive, but this park almost makes up for that.

When D Step's brother came in on thursday, we decided to finally make the trek there and do a bit of exploring. Unfortunately it was around 1pm in the desert, but luckily we got a "cool" day- 101 degrees is actually pretty cool for an afternoon in this area!

Our first stop was the visitors center. The boys were both fast asleep already. The guys got out and asked about a suggested place to visit with two toddlers, who were both sleeping. They gave a few different ideas, and we were on our way. This park is absolutely huge, so 15 minutes of a drive later, we were at our first stop.

Our first stop was to "skull rock." I really don't think I have to explain this further. As you can see in the photos, it really does look just like a skull!

We walked a bit on some of the trail to explore a bit. It was absolutely stunning, everywhere you looked.

Our next stop was to see an old mine shaft. It was a quick walk and lots to see. We learned that this area held more gold than the San Francisco Gold Rush, and has hundreds of mines. These particular ones closed in the 80's.