Jumbo Rocks campground (Joshua Cogan) [enlarge photo] NOVEMBER 2006 ISSUE • Table of Contents • Laos: A Tour That Even Loners Can Love • Buenos Aires . . . Then What? • Road Trip: Joshua Tree • Trip Coach: Switzerland • 40 Best Vacations

Activities

Day 3: 29 Palms to Indio

The Crossroads Cafe & Tavern is 15 miles in a direction we weren't planning on heading, but everyone we talk to says we have to go there. The cheery restaurant, which has local artists' paintings on the walls, is run by mother-daughter duo Bonnie and Stacee LaGassa. We grab a seat in the back and order challah French toast stuffed with raspberry cream cheese and a plate of Willy Boy Hash, with shredded beef, bell peppers, red onions, and cheesy scrambled eggs. We also buy two lunches to go and are soon making a beeline to the park.

We enter near the Oasis of Mara, then make our way through the transition zone to the southern end. The scenery morphs: Joshua trees become sparser, cacti and creosote appear, and the air gets hotter and drier. In the distance we see craggy mountain peaks (instead of smooth rock formations) and the sweeping vistas of the Colorado Desert.

Our first stop is a cholla cactus garden, home to hundreds of chest-high cacti with fine, light-green needles. From a distance the chollas appear soft and fluffy, and even though signs everywhere warn you not to touch, I can't help myself. My second mistake is wearing a sweater that somehow attracts the chollas' needles. As annoying as the barrage of pinpricks is, it still beats smelling like manure.

Less than a mile down the road is an ocotillo patch. The tall, spindly shrubs resemble bright green shuttlecocks facing nose down. In spring, like plants all over the park, they sprout vibrant flowers; it's still winter, however, and there hasn't been enough rain for wildflowers to appear. Once back in the car, we continue south and eventually reach the Cottonwood Visitor Center. In the bookstore, we read up on the nearby Mastodon Peak trail.

Like most hikes, this three-mile loop has a payoff at the summit. The Eagle Mountains are visible in the distance, and when we yell, our voices echo on and on. Proud of our accomplishment, Josh and I head back down, drive 35 miles to Indio, and crash at a Travelodge.

Lodging