Photo: Mel on trail JTNP

Today we hiked in the park. We started out in the town of Joshua Tree for breakfast at the fabulous Crossroads Café. Our town guide was a bit behind the times and had the wrong opening time, so we first got a cup of good coffee at Joshua Tree Coffee Company while we waited for the Café to open at 7:30am. Excellent breakfast – there was quite a crowd already waiting to get in.

Then, we drove into the park and first did a very nice hike of 2.5 miles, the Split Rock Trail. It meandered through Joshua Trees, desert oak, creosote bushes, cacti, and many wildflowers. We passed by climbing areas that Yeti had done years ago…so a walk down memory lane for him. It was a very pleasant hike and not too many people and it’s not too hot yet.

After finishing the Split Rock hike, we drove over to another nearby trailhead to do a shorter 1.7-mile trail called Skull Rock. Because this rock feature is right by the road there were scores of cars and most of the people just wandered over to Skull Rock and not much beyond. We did the loop and enjoyed this one too. All of the rock features here are so interesting. They have been formed by molten lava underground pushing up and leaving the rocks on the surface.

Meanwhile, we are trying to find a lab that might be able to do some bloodwork for Yeti. His cardiology team asked if he could do this and send a report from his pacemaker machine! So far, we stopped at the JT hospital, and they said they couldn’t accept an order from an out-of-state doctor, so this may prove an impediment. Anyway, Yeti did not have any dizzy spells today and his BP is at a good level. We plan another 7+ mile hike tomorrow in the park. Trying to have a phone call with our friend Jac, but so far, she has been on the run.