Saddleback Butte State Park

     We have arrived and settled in at Saddleback Butte State Park where we are campground hosting until the middle of February.  Saddleback Butte has a day use center, campground and many trails up and around the butte.  It is about 15 miles outside of Lancaster, CA and sits about 2600 feet above sea level.  The park is known for its Joshua trees, hiking trails and wildlife.

    

view from camp

 Joshua trees are not actually trees, but are a type of lily.  They have bark and very stiff, pokey leaves.  They flower in the spring, but not every year, depending on how much rain they have had that year.  This year will probably not produce a lot of flowers, unless it starts raining sometime soon.  Birds nest in the branches, Yucca Night Lizards and Kangaroo Rats live in the dead branches and leaves that have fallen down.  Woodpeckers dig holes in the trees and live in them, and also clean out many termites from the bark.  The night snake feeds on the lizards and a moth feeds on the seeds etc. etc. etc.    And they hurt when you bang your head into the leaves!  One hangs down in our camp to about head level and is very easy to forget about!

Camp

Joshua "lily"

Old flower stem.

When they do flower, it must be spectacular as the flower stems are a foot long!

Apartment living.

Very sharp leaves!

Baby tree.

The "lilies" were named by Mormon settlers who thought that the branches look like raised arms welcoming them to the promised land.  Scientists used to believe that the large ones were very old, estimating that they grew 1/2 inch per year.  More recently, they have determined that their growth varies from year to year and can be anywhere between 1/2 inch to ten inches. No one really knows how old they are.  Joshua trees only grow in the Mojave Desert and are becoming fewer and fewer as development encroaches on the desert.  New ones can either sprout from existing roots or seeds.

Creosote leaves.

More creosote leaves.

Creosote bushes are also very prevalent.  They are hardy desert creatures with tap roots 200 feet deep and many other roots which spread out in a wide pattern to get water while depriving other plants of water.  Very little lives within a few feet of the bushes.

Saddleback Butte

 There are actually four or five buttes in this area.  They are formed because the San Andreas fault lies 12 miles from here.  One earth plate is pushing under another and at times, when the pushing is intense, heat forms in the crust and pushes ground up, causing buttes.  Can you guess how the mountains on the other side of the fault formed?

San Gabriel Mountains.  The San Andreas fault is at the base of the  Mountains.

Tumbleweeds are prevalent!

 Louie is having the time of his life, and he will not be a white dog while we are here.  He digs one hole, and then digs another near it that fills up the first hole while he is digging!

Sideways digging.

Resting.

   

     The temperature at night has been between 20 and 30 degrees.  By 9 am, it is comfortable to sit in the sun with a sweater, and afternoon temperatures have been in the upper 60s and lower 70s, that is until 4 pm when it begins the downward slide into winter again.  Every morning and every evening we walk a mile to the visitor center, which is no longer open, and the day use area and open/close the park gates. We raise and lower 2 flags.  We pick up litter if anyone has been here.  The most campers we have had in one night is 3 groups.  Obviously litter isn't a big issue.  We will walk the trails to collect litter occasionally.  Often, we just sit in the sun.  I LOVE morning coffee in the sun!

     Lancaster is not known for its friendliness!  The east side (closer side) appears to be fairly low income.  We shopped at a Walmart there that has the crankiest staff ever! We also shopped at a Hispanic market that had a wonderful meat section.  Nothing was in styrofoam containers, but displayed in large hunks of whatever, and  cut to order.  All the normal meats were there and also large sections of all sorts of pig pieces, including ears, snouts, feet, legs and heads.  One large cow head was also available.  Lots of tripe and tongue were artfully arranged and they had mixes of fajita combinations already marinated which turned out to be delicious.  I will shop there again!  Unfortunately, to me, Lancaster appears to be a place where one grouchy person upset another person who upset another person, and it has gone on so long that everyone expects rudeness and anger all the time.