Germar's Monthly Updater

Four-National-Parks-Tour Day 2 On the second day of our journey, we drove east through the Anza-Borrego desert (see the Updater from February 2001) until we reached the Salton Sea. The giant lake was created by accident when a dike broke during the construction of the All-American Canal in 1905. The lake is 80 meters below sea level. Before the lake existed, the lowest point of the western hemisphere was actually here and not in Death Valley. The lake is gradually getting smaller and will eventually disappear. The shores are already covered with a pinkish salty crust, which makes the lake look as if it were from another world. As the lake shrinks, it gets more and more dirty. Thanks to our poor technology that its rotten smell cannot be transferred yet via the Internet! We followed the west coast of the lake, past its northern end, and drove through a scenic box canyon to the southern entrance of Joshua Tree National Park. It was my second visit of the park (see also the Updater from April 2001 for pictures from my first visit). The main attraction is obviously the Joshua Tree. It belongs to the same family as the Yucca and has its name from the Mormons, who saw in its branches the outstretched arms of the praying prophet. Below, my mom is admiring the look of this archaic tree. Another attraction of the park is the Cholla Cactus garden. Chollas are quite common in the deserted regions of California, however, the abundance of cacti as seen in the garden is quite stunning. We stayed over night in "Jumbo Rocks" campground, located in the heart of the park. It was the most scenic place for the night of the whole journey. Campsites are segregated by giant boulders, which provided both privacy and an awesome scenery. The impression was intensified by the full moon, which casted mysterious shadows over the landscape. My mom woke up at four in the morning and forced herself not to fall asleep again so that she would not miss the sunrise. This was a wise decision; see Day 3!

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