Waking up in the scrub land outside of Joshua Tree we had to decide where to go next. Before we’d left the UK we’d plotted out a rough route around the States hitting up pretty much all the major cities and National Parks we’d heard about (take a look at our Roadtrippers route here). The next stop on this route was San Antonio, but this was 3 States, 1300 miles, and a 19 hour drive away so we needed to find some interesting stops along the way to break the journey up. We decided to head for Phoenix which is only about 300 miles from Joshua Tree and set off along the I-10 for a day of driving.
Interstate 10 runs all the way along the southern edge of the States and connects the West coast to the East and it’s well worth driving if you ever get the chance. As we drove out of Joshua Tree we found ourselves speeding along long, straight stretches of highway running through a stunning desert landscape with mountains on either side of us. The best part was that for the majority of the drive we had the road almost entirely to ourselves so we could set the cruise control and take in the scenery.
We pulled in at a truck stop for a break and I couldn’t resist buying a pack of Twinkies to see what the iconic treat tasted like. Surprisingly good it turns out. I was expecting something incredibly sweet and artificial tasting (given both Zombieland and Family Guy’s claims they are edible indefinitely) and whilst they are pretty sweet they kind of taste like a treacle pudding with cream inside.
Our aim was to visit the Desert Botanical Gardens in Phoenix but when we got there it turned out to be closed early for some event, so we decided to see what else there was in the surrounding parkland. Nearby, we found “Hole in The Rock” which, unsurprisingly, is a huge natural rock formation with a large hole bored through it. There were a lot of people gathered in the hole waiting to watch the sunset, so we decided we’d join them.
On the way to the rock we walked around some small ponds surrounded by palm trees, funny looking ducks and what I assume were ASU fashion students taking arty photos of one another in the light of the setting sun. America managed to put the UK’s obsession with health and safety into perspective with a sign here saying “WARNING: Active bees in this area”. When we did get up the rock and into the hole I could see why everyone else was there, we were just in time to see the sun set over Phoenix and it was spectacular.
It turned out that the rock sits quite high in the landscape surrounding Phoenix so we had a view over the whole city all the way out to the mountains that surrounded it. If you’re visiting Phoenix, I’d highly recommend going to the rock for sunset. The best part is it was free!
Sunset over, we headed back to the car to find somewhere to camp for the night and Campendium directed us to McDowell Mountain State Park just to the North-East of Phoenix.
It was dark and late when we arrived, so we cracked open a can of beef stew for dinner as we couldn’t be bothered to cook anything more complicated and hit the hay ready to see what the park looked like in the light of day.
The Big Adventure 
Love the photos. Looks like you are having a great time. I was in Phoenix in 1982 going to the Cray User Group meeting in Santa Fe. The colour of the clear blue sky was something I remember as we travelled from Phoenix to Santa Fe.
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