Joshua Tree: Where Two Deserts Meet

45 minutes east on Route 62. Higher, cooler Mojave (Joshua trees) meets lower, hotter Colorado Desert (ocotillo, cholla). Drive through the transition in fifteen minutes — one of the most dramatic ecological shifts by car in the US.

The rocks are the thing. Monzogranite boulders formed underground 100 million years ago, piled in formations that look like a giant played with them and forgot. Hidden Valley: one-mile loop through a natural amphitheater where cattle rustlers hid stolen herds. Keys View at 5,185 feet: Coachella Valley, Salton Sea, Mexico, Mount San Jacinto — the whole inland Southern California desert as a relief map.

$30 per vehicle. West entrance (Joshua Tree town) for Mojave scenery and boulders. Bring more water than you think. Nearly 800,000 acres. Designated International Dark Sky Park — the Milky Way on a moonless night is worth camping for.