The End of the Parks and Rec Trek

MOJAVE NATIONAL PRESERVE
After dropping Anil and Gemma off in Las Vegas, we drove back to California and into the Mojave Desert. We left the Colorado Plateau, and the landscape was definitely different. The Mojave Desert spans much of southeastern California, and although it is the hottest desert in North America, it hosts an astounding array of biodiversity. The Mojave National Preserve, at 1.6 million acres, is the third largest National Park in the continental US.

We started our visit at the Kelso Depot Visitor Center, a converted train depot dating back to when the train system was a necessity in getting around the country. Getting through the Mojave Desert allowed a more direct route to California from the East, and Kelso Depot opened in 1905.  

Teutonia Peak

We then went north to see Cima Dome, a plutonic mound (ie, a magma bubble that did not break the surface, but pushed the crust upwards to form a large hill.)

It's hard to distinguish Cima Dome in
this picture because it is a broad sloping
mound, but it is extremely symmetric
and more visible than most since it's
located on an open desert plain.

The Joshua Trees of the Mojave - a different subspecies
than those found at Joshua Tree National park

We hiked up Teutonia Peak for a good view of the surrounding area; the dome could be seen to the near west, but its too big to really see the whole thing. Along the way, we could also see a large plain of Joshua trees - the most and highest density in the world.

The Mojave fringe-toed lizard
is well adapted for the desert - it
can "swim" under the sand and pops
out when you get near!

We saved the best of Mojave for last - Kelso Dunes. These are Mojave's largest wind-blown sand dunes, which formed from the eroding San Bernardino Mountains in the southwest. They are mainly known for the phenomenon of singing sand, or "booming dunes", which happens when you step in the sand at the very top and it slowly slides down, generating a low boom. While it was difficult to hear because of the blowing wind, when we sat at the top to adjust the sand from our shoes, both Dave and I could actually feel it running through our whole bodies. A very interesting sensation, which made the really hard climb to the top of the sand dunes totally worth it!

JOSHUA TREE NATIONAL PARK
We stopped at the Joshua Tree Visitor Center before going into the park, and we're so glad we did! We spoke with the interpretive ranger on duty and she gave us great information about the park - plus, she was so excited about what we were doing that she gave us a park geology book for free!

The geology of the area is pretty interesting - 270 million years ago as the tectonic plate movements were still forming our current continents, there was another plate between the current Pacific and North American Plates (that now form the slip-fault that is the San Andreas Fault). Before that, the Farallon Plate pushed up against the North American Plate, but as it was made of a more dense material, it subducted under the North American. As it did so, it heated the rocks and formed magma which then began bubbling up towards the earth's surface. It eventually cooled and cracked in parallel horizonal and vertical planes, but never broke the surface (and are thus considered plutonic rather than volcanic.)

When the soil (called gneiss) that covered these plutons eroded away, it left the harder boulder piles, which now dot the landscape at Joshua Tree.

Cholla Cactus Garden

While Joshua Tree is known for the eponymous trees, it was actually founded because of its incredible biodiversity. Its location is at the transition line between two desert ecosystems, the higher (and thus moister and cooler) Mojave where Joshua Trees are found, and the lower Colorado Desert that features creosote bush, ocotillo, and cholla cactus.

CESAR CHAVEZ NATIONAL MONUMENT

Cesar Chavez's office

On the road to Sequoia, in the small town of Keene, California, is La Paz - Cesar Chavez's home, retreat, and headquarters. Here he helped establish the country's first agricultural union, the United Farm Workers. Because of the grape boycott between 1965-70,  Chavez helped farm workers earn higher wages and safer working conditions.

Huelga: Striking for farm workers

SEQUOIA NATIONAL PARK
As we drove into Sequoia, we could easily see the smoky effects of nearby forest fires. The vistas were muted, and visibility was poor even from the top of Moro Rock, a large 6,725 ft high granite dome that can normally give views of nearly the entire park. We nonetheless hiked to the top, taking the impressive carved stairs that were built by the CCC in 1931.





We then hiked around the Giant Forest to see the many sequoias - including the General Sherman Tree. General Sherman is the largest known single stem tree in the world. It is so big that every year, its growth adds enough mass to equal one regular large pine tree. We also took the Congress Trail, which was much quieter and less traveled, and saw several other huge trees.



KINGS CANYON NATIONAL PARK
The final park on the epic journey was Kings Canyon, home to the deepest canyon in the United States. Who knew?!

Kings Canyon is known for three main areas - Grant Grove, where another forest of giant sequoias can be found (including the Nation's Christmas Tree, the General Grant Tree), Cedar Grove (at the end of the road at the bottom of the canyon), and thousands of acres of high Sierra wilderness, where the only access is by foot. We drove down to the end of the Kings Canyon Road, stopping for a hike around Zumwalt Meadow.

Trees are already beginning to grow in the middle
of Zumwalt Meadow. Also note the straight cliff
faces along the canyon walls.

The meadow was formerly a pond that was created when river water got trapped by glacial moraines; eventually, the forest will take over (and already we could see several trees growing in the middle of the meadow). We actually got there just in time to join a ranger hike - we learned a little bit about the formation of the canyon (a glacially carved canyon, with distinctive 'U' shaped valley and steep cliff slopes).

We had a really interesting chat after the ranger talk - a mom and her two college-aged daughters stayed to listen to us talk to the ranger, then got into conversation with us about parks, behavior of visitors, and how to get people to care about the environment. Talking to the people we've met has been a great experience, and talking to this family was a nice way to end the trip. A major part of this project is to figure out how to expose future generations to our National Parks so that they will care, and so that they will want to help preserve and protect wild places. Listening to this family gave us great hope - that there are a lot of people who care and will advocate for nature, and who are passionate about the environment and love National parks as much as we do.