From Sedona we headed to Joshua Tree National Park. Located
where the Sonora and Mojave Deserts converge the landscape here is pretty
amazing; giant granite boulders and Dr Suess-esque trees (a Joshua Tree is
actually a giant Yucca plant). It is a brilliant place for rock climbing and
day hiking. With the temperature over 40 degrees Celcius and ridiculously humid
due to expected thunderstorms it wasn’t a great day for hiking but we made the
most of it. Ryan Mountain was a great trail because it gets you to the highest
part of the park for amazing 360 degree views of the desert below. The hike
itself is only about 3 miles round trip but the elevation gain is 1200 feet taking
you up to a summit of 5400 feet, so it gets quite steep quite quickly!
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| Panorama from the top of Ryan Mountain |
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| At the top of Ryan Mountain |
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| Stunning scenery below |
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| Dr Seuss Joshua Trees |
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| Giant Boulders |
We also
did a small hike to Barker Dam which is an unexpected oasis in the middle of
the national park. In a nearby cave there are also Indian Petroglyphs which
were really cool. We then climbed up to arch rock which is a natural 30 foot
granite arch resting on a pile of rocks. There is also a really beautiful
cactus garden in the park made up of Cholla Cacti also known as the Jumping
Cactus because of the ease the stems detach when brushed.
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| Arch Rock |
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| Petroglyphs |
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| More Joshua Trees |
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| Cholla Cacti |
Leaving Joshua Tree we drove down Interstate-10 and through
the San Gorgonio Pass which is home to a huge wind farm. It was pretty surreal
driving past so many wind turbines, and interesting to see the variety, as some
were fairly modern whilst others had been there for a few decades.
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| Wind Farm |
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| Turbines |
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| Turbines along the I-10 |
The following morning we hiked up to the Hollywood Hills
sign. It was actually a pretty steep and tough climb, especially in the heat,
but the views were so worth it. You can get right up to the top and stand
behind the sign (although climbing on the letters is strictly forbidden and
they are fenced off.) We managed to get tickets for a LA Dodger’s baseball game
for the same evening. They were playing the San Diego Padres so we were
expecting a good atmosphere due to the rivalry between the teams. It was a
great game, the Dodgers were absolutely smashing it and we had field side seats
so were very much in the action. Tim even nearly caught a ball! (a guy 2 seats
next to us got it).
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| Hollywood Hills |
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| Hollywood |
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| At the Baseball |
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| LA Dodgers Stadium |
Our last day in LA we spent wandering around downtown before
catching our flight. We visited Union Station, the last of America’s grand rail
stations built in 1939. It has a lovely art deco interior which has been used
as a backdrop for many films. From the station we walked to Cathedral of Our
Lady of the Angels; a modern church which uses only obtuse and acute angles in
its design – no right angles. I really liked the interior, the walls are
polished concrete with a ceiling of cedar wood with numerous brass lights which
resemble trumpets. Continuing the architectural theme, we couldn’t visit downtown
LA without stopping off at Frank Gehry’s Walt Disney Concert Hall. This is
gravity defying structure of curving and billowing stainless steel walls that
is home to the LA Philharmonic. We climbed to the top of the exterior stairs
and walked around the maze-like roof and external gardens. Our final stop in
downtown was LA City Hall. Built in 1928, this building has featured in many
films including Superman. We caught the lift up to the 27th floor
where we went out onto an external walkway and walked around the building for
great views of LA.
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| Union Station |
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| Union Station |
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| Interior of Cathedral Our Lady of the Angels |
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| Walt Disney Concert Hall |
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| Stainless Steel Walls |
Our final American meal involved a trip to the infamous In-N-Out Burger.
Wilderness Jon from canyoneering in Zion told us there was a secret menu that
we could order from so Tim got a double-double burger “animal style” and I got
mine “protein style” and we ate them watching the planes landing at nearby LAX.
It was a fitting end to our all-American trip.
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| Final Meal |
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| In-N-Out Burger |
Total (and final) distance: 4841 miles
NEXT STOP: SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA
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