7/17/2021 Joshua Tree City and National Park

Well, another busy day here on the road with my Humans. I'm totally worn out, as you can see in the picture. My Humans didn't wake up so early today; it must have been the Wine Friday. I wonder about them sometimes. I usually have to get them motivated by barking at them when they are sleeping or looking at their small hand toys that seems to take up so much of their attention. So, I started barking around 7 to get them up and at it. It was a new day full of things to sniff and see. After breakfast, we took some time to explore Joshua Tree City. We visited the park entrance so Snack Guy could get his silly stamp. After that we checked out some stores to find their shot glass, then we went to a farmer's market. And I think I met there a long-lost sister, or maybe a cousin, not sure, but we met briefly and played for a second. You can check that out in the pictures. I guess they finally found what they were looking for because next thing, we entered Joshua Tree National Park. If you like rocks, this is the place for you. Also, if you like Joshua trees. I don't know who this Joshua fella was, but he certainly has a lot of trees. They're kind of strange trees, like if a palm tree and a cactus had babies. This park is full of them. They don't allow dogs on the trails here, so we didn't get to hike all that much, but there are a lot of places to stop and look around, and I could walk around in most of them. But it was so hot I didn't want to say out long. It's a pretty interesting place. Lots of great views, and for real, if you like rocks and boulders and sand and Joshua Trees, you'll love this place. After a few hours of exploring and walking around, it was about mid-day. We had to come back to the house and take a rest. I slept a few hours. But then I had to wake up my Humans again because we'd slept enough. It was still early afternoon, and still pretty hot, so while they figured out our plan, I played hide-and-seek with them. They took me to a pet store and got me a new harness. I may have chewed through my other one. Shouldn't take me too long to get thought this one next. But then I was surprised because they found another dog park! This was is in Yucca Valley. It was hot but cooling off quickly and the evening wind helped. The views were spectacular; so many mountains reaching far into the horizon, the desert sand and, of course, more Joshua trees. There was some actual green space in this park, and I looked, but there wasn't any mud to get into. Pity. But there were a lot of other dogs. I was running and making new friends in no time. I think my Humans met some new folks too. There was one dog, Patches, and we got along really well. We're about the same size and coloring too. After we smelled each other over, we started running and playing. Doesn't take long to get hot and tired here though. We kept it up for a while, and some other dogs came and joined us. It was a great time, and I was so excited I bit my tongue, and it started bleeding. Food Lady got a bit freaked and made us leave. But I'm fine, really. I think tomorrow we're headed out. I think they said something about the Mojave. Don't know what that is, but it's got to be more interesting than the desert we visited today.

I'll keep you posted,

Risa