Age Restrictions & Joshua Tree’s Swarm Warnings

After leaving the Williams, AZ area, we had a brief stay near Vegas to check out Hoover Dam, then continued onward toward Palm Springs. Nevada had much more for us to explore, but that would have to wait for another trip. It was in this area though, that we began to notice that not all RV parks were “all ages”. Many were 55+, which meant we didn’t make the cut (loud sigh of relief from Mike). While we did ultimately find a nice park near the Salton Sea, the age parameter added another dimension to our searches for overnight stays.

En route to our park near the Salton Sea, it really hit me just how different city highway driving was compared to the country highways and byways I’d enjoyed driving so far. Mike is less rattled when towing in more congested areas, but I’d take 3 hours behind the wheel on country highways to 30 minutes of city driving any day of the week!

We were only in the Palm Springs vicinity a few days, primarily to visit Joshua Tree National Park, do our laundry and restock the pantry (in that order). Joshua Tree was really different from all the other NPs we’d visited so far…it was our first true desert experience. There were few other visitors and even fewer animal sightings, but it was definitely a unique take and worth stopping for anyone passing through the area. Native animals we saw included a roadrunner and several kangaroo rats as well as a rabbit. Native plants included the park’s namesake Joshua Tree, as well as Ocotillo, Prickly Pear Cactus and Cholla.

We entered Joshua Tree at the south entrance, and originally planned to drive through and exit at the north end near Twentynine Palms. Instead, we ended up driving through and doubling back the way we’d came in order to catch sunset in the park. This also let us stop at a few turnouts that we’d missed on our initial pass.

• At one such turnout, Mike noticed a sign warning visitors of the possibility for bees to swarm the vehicle in search of water. I can only imagine how differently our day would have gone had I seen that warning much earlier in the day! Mike and I have an ongoing difference of opinion regarding the duration of his promise to “protect me from bees” as stated in his wedding vows. He claims it was only good for a 5 year term and I keep reminding him that if the rest of our vows were meant for a lifetime, so was that statement 🙂 Feel free to weigh in here readers…

• The other turnout was for a Cholla Cactus Garden, which we caught just before sunset. This garden had another sign warning visitors about the potential for high volume presence of bees, but at the time we stopped, they were all safely tucked into their little bee beds.