#18 Time for a Road Trip

We’re back. The madman decided that it was time for a Road Trip! And, Mother Nature outdid herself to put on a rather exotic welcome for him. We landed in Las Vegas, grabbed a car and headed west to California for an adventure. Our adventure first took us through the Mojave National Preserve.

Mojave National Preserve

We have been to the high desert before but have never experienced the array of colors on display. Hike one took us up a trail toward the Cima Dome, an old volcano in the Mojave National Preserve. The trail led through the greatest concentration of Joshua trees in the world.

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 Interestingly, the Joshua tree starts its shoots in the midst of Cholla cactus and other nasty plants to keep animals away. The madman drooled, but knew that the plants were suited to the climate of the Mojave, not the climate of Connecticut. The Joshua trees were just beginning to attract pollinators with their large fragrant booms. Fortunately, there were no rattlesnakes underfoot.

The Joshua Tree

The Joshua tree (Yucca brevifolia), along with its cousin the Mojave Yucca (Y. schidigera), is an indicator species of the Mojave Desert. It can grow up to 40’ in height and, unlike other desert succulents has a deep root system to support this. The plant has a growth spurt during the first three years of its life, then settles into a steady growth of about 1” per year. The madman did the math-the trees we saw were REALLY old.

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The Kelso Dunes

The Mojave National Preserve encompasses 1,600,000 acres. From the jacket weather at the Joshua trees, we visited one of the largest sand dunes in the United States where it was beach weather. A hike through the dunes revealed a number of wild flowers just beginning to bloom. It is said that from the ridge on the dunes the sands will sing for you. There was so much more we wanted to explore in the Preserve, but time was an issue. Isn’t it always? Sounds like a return visit is in the future.

Joshua Tree National Park

The second day of our road trip brought us to the Joshua Tree National Park. The first reaction was WOW! The Joshua Tree National Park is a unique park in that it encompasses a high desert and a low desert. To most people the desert means vast expanses of sand thanks to Hollywood. Actually desert means a place with little rainfall, less than 10” per year. In the United States, deserts are determined by elevation, latitude and total rainfall. The Colorado Desert is considered low because it only extends up to 3,000’ in elevation. The Mojave, a high desert, starts at 3,000’ and heads up. Thanks to the summer monsoon season, the Colorado Desert also gets more rain than the Mojave.

The madman was concerned about a road trip to Joshua Tree NP because he had heard of vandalism at the park during the government shutdown. Although major damage and irreparable loss occurred due to illegal campsites and the cutting down of large Joshua trees and Pinyon pines, we did not come across any visible signs of the damage. Looking at these impressive trees, we found it hard to imagine how anyone could enjoy cutting them down-it will take hundreds of years for the park to recover from the loss of these trees. And, the damage to the ecosystem caused by illegal off-roading and camping may never be repaired.

Colorado Desert

We entered the Park on the South side-starting in the low desert. Immediately we noticed the lack of Joshua trees-there was not one to be seen because the altitude in the Colorado Desert is too low for the trees to grow. Still, the madman’s eyes popped open. He had heard that the desert was in bloom because of the winter rains in the region. But, he wasn’t prepared for what he saw. Yellows, pinks and blues intermingled with white flowers of all sizes. Unfortunately, his favorite – the Claret cup cactus was just thinking of blooming.

Paths have been created through the wildflower carpet, so the madman was able to get close to the blooms. The desert is a very fragile ecosystem that is in a constant state of regrowth, so when walking around visitors must take care to stay on the paths created by the park service.

Ocotillo

 As impressed as he was with the wildflower blooms, the madman found an Ocotillo grove that melted his heart. It is an interesting plant that has frustrated the madman for years. No matter the source, his seeds just don’t germinate. Fortunately the Ocotillo were blooming so there were no seeds yet and no temptation to risk a felony charge for taking seeds from a national park. I think he did make a mental note to look again for some seeds.

 As our altitude increased, we left the Ocotillo and wildflowers behind in favor of the Joshua trees and Cholla cactus. This meant we were crossing from the Colorado to the Mojave Desert.

Desert Mistletoe

Somewhere in the transition zone, the madman noticed a reddish growth on some of the desert scrub bushes. This growth, a type of witches broom called desert mistletoe is fairly common. Often referred to as “tree thieves”, desert mistletoe (Porodendron californicum) usually does not kill the tree by itself. It is a hemiparasitic plant which means it carries out its own photosynthesis while obtaining additional nutrients and water from its host.

Birds love its berries and its sticky seeds are carried on the beaks and feet of the birds to new hosts. When seeds germinate on the branch of a host plant, the root-like structures called haustoria will penetrate young bark. Growth is slow, taking 3-4 years for the plant to produce berries. This parasitic relationship has been going on for millennia, so the madman didn’t have to worry that the desert was in danger. As we went up in elevation, we found ourselves among the Joshua trees again, indicating we were back in the Mojave Desert.

Riverside, California

Next stop on our road trip was Riverside, California where we spent three wonderful evenings as AIRBNB guests of Carine and Jose at Paradiso Suite with View. Five stars for the experience near Mount Roubidoux. We strolled through the neighborhood where residents are beginning to plant cactus and succulent species more suited than grass to their environment. Some yards were further along than others, but collectively they drove the madman nuts. Never expected to see huge agaves in front yards. Carine had a giant Euphorbia tirucalli that had been planted in the side yard before she moved in. WOW!

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UCR Botanic Gardens

While in Riverside we stopped at the UC Riverside Botanic Gardens. As usual, the madman got lost in the cactus/succulent exhibit. I caught him just staring at a giant Euphorbia repeating, “If I only had a climate like this.” I had to remind him that Connecticut has a beauty of its own. He agreed but he is somewhat like a chameleon, takes on the character of his surroundings. Besides I think he would rather not deal with the desert creatures like rattlesnakes.

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California Citrus State Historical Park

 To contrast the desert areas, we had to add a road trip to the California Citrus State Historical Park which chronicled the development of the citrus industry in the west. The growth of the industry required water, ice, transportation and a lot of effort and ingenuity to get those things to southern California. Interesting, before refrigerated box cars, ice was cut and shipped from Canada to cool the box cars.

 As much as the madman enjoyed the green of Riverside, he was anxious to get to Death Valley. A quick trip through the still snow covered San Bernadino Mountains and we were back in the desert. Once again, the desert was in bloom, although not quite as spectacular as at Joshua tree National Preserve.

Racetrack Playa

We have been on a road trip to Death Valley before, but the highlight of this was an excursion to the Racetrack Playa thanks to Paul Fretheim of Death Valley Back Country Tours. If you’re ever in the Death Valley area and need a super guide for visits to almost inaccessible natural wonders, Paul is the guy to call. The magic rocks on the playa have been calling the madman for years. These rocks travel through a dry lake bed, leaving behind a trail in the hard sand. While their movement baffled people for years the advent of go-pros recently has shed some light on how they move. Paul was impressed that the madman knew how they moved.

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 The trip to the Playa was about 30 miles over roads only a high clearance vehicle could manage. Paul, a retired teacher has lived in the area for 20+ years – exploring these back roads for much of the time. He has an encyclopedic knowledge of the area and loves to share it with his guests. He, the madman and I really hit it off.

Death Valley Wildflowers

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 Paul told us that during this time of year, the slopes up to the Grapevine Mountains are normally solid yellow in color, thanks to the blooming wildflowers. This year the color was rather sparse, with the yellows mostly along the roadside. It seems that the seeds of these plants have a very hard coat that is softened by heavy rains in October. A dry 2018 caused the majority of seeds to remain dormant, despite frequent rains this spring. But we still saw more color than we expected, including the green of Creosote bushes and Mesquite trees.

Fall Canyon

 Speaking of the Grapevine Mountains, our favorite day hike was through Fall Canyon. The madman has always loved hiking Death Valley canyons to see the vivid colors caused by the minerals in the rocks. Our hike in Fall Canyon gave us new delights. The yellow and violet blooms were attracting visitors of their own. Painted Lady butterflies accompanied us up the canyon, becoming scarce only when the elevation was too high to support blooming wildflowers. Buds on the upper plants suggested to the madman that the climate had changed enough to create different blooms for the next generation of butterflies.

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On the trip up Fall Canyon we were accompanied by Sphinx moths and Painted Lady butterflies.

Badwater

 No road trip to Death Valley is complete without a visit to the Park’s lowest spot – the salt flats at Badwater Basin. This is the harshest desert environment in the part – no plant survives here. The madman was blown away – literally, wind gusts of 50-60 miles an hour kicked up a few sand storms in the valley. It also made a hike around Ubehebe Crater uncomfortable enough to abort.

Death Valley…Not Really

The madman has never liked the name Death Valley – this area is much too lively and bright for that name. A drive through the Valley is an ever changing kaleidoscope of colors as the angle of the sun changes. This is the first time he has seen the greens of the trees and the purple and yellow of the desert blooms.

 As usual, the madman took me on a wonderful road trip, but we are back in Connecticut, a place we very much love. Again, Mother Nature welcomed us back with the spring blooms of daffodils, crocuses, reticulated irises and the swelling buds of trees. Thanks to Bridget and Greg, our plants survived for the most part. The soil temperature is now 50˚, and that means the madman can finally plant his peas. And, he has a week to prep his entries for the Connecticut Cactus and Succulent Society’s 36th Annual Show and Sale April 13-14 in Bristol.

                But, first there’s cocoa.