Happy Monday! Well, we’ve crossed two more national parks off our bucket list: Joshua Tree National Park and Death Valley National Park. Death Valley was the biggest surprise because the temporary lake is still there! In August 2023, Hurricane Hilary hit California and dumped 2 inches (about a year’s worth of rain) in Death Valley, in just one day. The park rangers are amazed that the temporary lake is still there! People can walk out on the salt flats and into the water.

Just as surprising were these amazing large fields of wildflowers. They are just outside the park. The name Death Valley just doesn’t quite fit with the lake and wildflower vibes. But I’m sure the region will be back to “normal” eventually.

In Joshua Tree National Park, we did a couple of hikes but mostly drove around and saw all the Joshua Trees.

I learned something NEW about how the Joshua Tree got its name (according to legend). In the mid-19th century, pioneers named the tree after the biblical figure, Joshua, seeing the limbs of the trees as outstretched in supplication, guiding the travelers westward. My sister, who lives near Las Vegas, Nevada always wondered why her husband would put his arms above his head when he’d say anything about Joshua Trees (which are plentiful in the Las Vegas area, but not so concentrated as in Joshua Tree National Park). My brother-in-law just thought the connection between Joshua Trees and the biblical Joshua was common knowledge. Apparently not! Haha!

Here is Skull Rock. It’s conveniently located right off the road. No hiking is required.

There’s not a lot of bright colors in Joshua Tree National Park, so I’m blaming this little guy for getting us lost! We were hiking to Arch Rock and somehow got a bit lost. After we backtracked and eventually found the arch, we realized we should’ve turned left instead of right, and it was right around where this little pop of color was that we lost our way. Lesson learned: photographing color in the desert is distracting and possibly life-threatening! :o)

Here’s Arch Rock:

Here’s the updated National Parks bucket list. 24 out of 63. Have a great day! I hope you do or learn something NEW!

LIST OF US NATIONAL PARKS IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER (63 total)

• Acadia National Park {done}
• Arches National Park {done}
• Badlands National Park
• Big Bend National Park
• Biscayne National Park {done}
• Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park {done}
• Bryce Canyon National Park {done}
• Canyonlands National Park {done}
• Capitol Reef National Park {done}
• Carlsbad Caverns National Park
• Channel Islands National Park
• Congaree National Park
• Crater Lake National Park
• Cuyahoga Valley National Park
• Death Valley National Park {done}
• Denali National Park and Preserve
• Dry Tortugas National Park
• Everglades National Park {done}
• Gates of the Arctic National Park
• Gateway Arch National Park 
• Glacier National Park
• Glacier Bay National Park
• Grand Canyon National Park {done}
• Grand Teton National Park {done}
• Great Basin National Park
• Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve
• Great Smoky Mountains National Park {done}
• Guadalupe Mountains National Park
• Haleakala National Park
• Hawaii Volcanoes National Park {done}
• Hot Springs National Park
• Indiana Dunes National Park
• Isle Royale National Park
• Joshua Tree National Park {done}
• Katmai National Park and Preserve
• Kenai Fjords National Park
• Kings Canyon National Park {done}
• Kobuk Valley National Park
• Lake Clark National Park
• Lassen Volcanic National Park {done}
• Mammoth Cave National Park
• Mesa Verde National Park {done}
• Mount Rainier National Park
• National Park of American Samoa
• New River Gorge National Park 
• North Cascades National Park
• Olympic National Park
• Petrified Forest National Park
• Pinnacles National Park
• Redwood National Park {done}
• Rocky Mountain National Park {done}
• Saguaro National Park {done}
• Sequoia National Park {done}
• Shenandoah National Park
• Theodore Roosevelt National Park
• Virgin Islands National Park
• Voyageurs National Park
• White Sands National Park 
• Wind Cave National Park
• Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve
• Yellowstone National Park {done}
• Yosemite National Park {done}
• Zion National Park {done}