Day 74: Indian Cove in Joshua Tree

We've been really lucky with the weather so far in Joshua Tree because it's been something like 15 degrees centigrade below the June averages.  Today, it went up a notch.  We hit the desert at our usual time of about 4:30pm, and the desert hit back.  I guess another way we could tell is that the area is starting to suffer from 'brown-outs'.  Not enough electricity is being produced to run everyone's air conditioner, and the electricity is neither exactly on or off.  After a very short nature trail through a wash, we found we needed to hide in the shade of a boulder pile until we felt better.

 How to look at the baking desert without getting your eyes burned: gaze into Mike's sunglasses

We sat in the pleasant shade feeling like prehistoric Native Americans gazing out at the baking land until about 6pm, when we took a walk, or rather a scramble up Rattlesnake Canyon.  We were disappointed not to find a single rattlesnake, even though a couple we met up there had just seen one, but we had fun climbing around being nervous.  Tomorrow, we will head out a bit later.

I guess our lifestyle is a bit unusual for travelers but it fits the climate here.  Our sightseeing is reduced to about 4 hours in the evening, but since we are on a working trip, not a holiday, and since we are staying for three weeks, we have plenty of time.   When we get to Yosemite, in a couple of weeks, we will have no Internet, and then we expect to take a 'holiday' and hike all day.