It snowed on us in Joshua Tree National Park

Joshua Tree is made up of the  Colorado Desert which part of the Sonoran Desert and Mojave Desert. The vegetation is very different without Saguaros.

Grinding was done here. I could imagine the ladies working away.

.



 

The amazing geological formations were formed by molten liquid, heated by the continuous movement of Earth’s crust, oozed upward and cooled while still below the surface.

They grew some interesting rocks out here.

Skull Rock

A wealthy rancher from Montana, J.D. Ryan's ranch to supply food for the workers for his gold mine.

I had to put the coyote in after Mike followed him determined to get a picture.

Looks like it might fall if I kick the rock holding everything up.

There were so many short interesting  hikes. We would imagine being "back in the day" as we walked.

Cattle grazed throughout the park from the 1870s until 1945. The cattle companies located springs, dug wells, and developed rainwater impoundments called “tanks,” which can be seen today at places like Barker Dam.

The cattle's water troughs.

Petroglyphs

I have a hard time being the driver as we go through the wind farms. They were all moving and mesmerizing, I was watching them instead of the road. Good thing I was off driving duty.

Sonoran Preserve and Old Scottsdale

We had not been to this part of the Sonoran Preserve and decided to get out early since it was the weekend and the trails can get busy here.

The Gateway Trail was a nice new one for us with so many options and looks like we will be returning to check out Bell Pass in the future.

 

Heading down after reaching the saddle.

We had originally planned to visit old Scottsdale in the morning but put it off after the hike and found this mission from the early 1900s.

A Boy Scout had preserved the confessionals for his Eagle badge and were pretty small.

We had lunch at this restaurant that was built by the same family that built the mission. The prices reminded us that we were in Scottsdale of our time.

 The nights get chilly and make for good sleeping. Our neighbors like to put notes on our door and let us know that they are barbecuing and what time to be there. Several couples show up with side dishes and we all dig in and tell out stories for the evening. This is working out pretty well for us.

Lake of the Ozarks and Ha HA Tonka State Park in Misouri

It was a tough day of towing the trailer due to the cement roads that were so rippled that our heads were bouncing off the seat and a windy day with 35 mph wind gusts that made us look like bobble heads and it was only 200 miles. We made it to Madison, had a tornado warning and without improving weather in the near future, we decided to head onward to our next destination.

We did try some cheeses and liked the portabella and chives in white cheddar quite well.

 

Osage Beach at Lake of the Ozarks State Park is great with huge spaces. Now that the kids are all back in school and not many people around, our campground had the host and us this morning.

Hiking in the evening along Lake Ozark

Almost got hit in the head with all of the falling acorns. I wonder if the squirrels wager on how many people they can hit.

Ha Ha Tonka State Park

Beautiful natural springs

Castle on the hill overlooking the lake after it burned down.

View from the castle

Limestone formations throughout the area

Natural bridge.

Turtles all around catching some rays.

One of many caves in the limestone inhabited by bats.

 

It is a long drive to Arizona and any suggestions about places to see on the way are appreciated. We will be driving thru Oklahoma on the turnpike and then the panhandle of TX. I am trying to psych myself up for that.