Today was due to be a long driving day but we also wanted to fit in the national park so we were up fairly early. As neither of us felt hungry enough after last nights dinner to cope with an America breakfast we got going in good time. It was about a two hour drive to the edge of the park and it was interesting to see what landscape we had driven into last night. We had left the city at dusk and had been in the dark to the motel.
We were heading deeper and deeper into the desert, it was very sparse and hot! We ended up on a two way highway with nothing and no one to see, it was so empty! There were signs that said 'turn AC off to stop engine over heating'. 
I have to admit I found it quite unnerving to think we could break down in the middle of nowhere and in this heat we all know I wouldn't last long at all!! Apparently Palm Springs has 354 days of sunshine and over 100 golf courses! We drove passed so many houses that we just couldn't believe were inhabited, who would live in a desert!!
We had filled up with petrol before we left Palm Springs luckily as we had a big drive ahead of us and petrol stations aren't too common in the desert. The scenery is like nothing I've seen before it was very weird. Very dry and dead with huge boulders everywhere. It made for stunning landscape, not pretty but striking.
Yet again I was shocked, I had pictures Joshua tree national park full of trees, Edd had given me a heads up the night before that it was a desert but I had just assumed there would be a wood/oasis, I was extremely wrong. The cactus 'garden' was a little loop through dry desert with lots of half dead looking cacti. 
We walked around and I made Edd go first to scare off any rattle snakes with his walking boots before I came through in my flip flops! I can't believe we got the weather so wrong, we thought it would be getting colder as its their Autumn but it's really very warm!
We then stopped off to see a skull rock. The boulders are really cool, they are formed from magma coming up through the rocks and splitting them up years ago. Then over time the magma and earth covering the new boulders has warn away and the earth movement has push these granite rocks up higher. 
The skull rock itself wasn't that exciting but the landscape was cool. The national park is massive so we drove 30miles or so between each 'attraction'. We made it to the highest drivable point and got some amazing views over the whole dry valley.
We stopped off quickly and rush round the walking loop of the hidden valley, a very bizarre place full of boulder rocks that you have to wiggle through to get to a valley of more boulders surrounded by bigger boulder rocks. I have to say I found it quite disorientating and wasn't sure when we were heading back to the car park. A mile walk in the heat was enough, we couldn't imagine how unfit people managed we were both very hot and thirsty when we got back.
We then had to jump back in the car and keep going as we were slightly against the clock all day with a 7.30 hour drive to get through in total. We ate pizza that I had been given in a doggy bag from the night before for lunch. How crazy one pizza was enough for my dinner and both our lunches!! We think we'll aim for one meal out a day as the food is very filling and so far not great, hopefully we can save a little cash that way to spend it NYC instead, unless we win big in Vegas!!
Having left Joshua tree national park it was just a hard slog of a drive to get to the Grand Canyon. I drove a bit to give Edd a rest but he drove the bulk. I did however bet to drive on Route 66 which we were excited about because recognised it but realised we had no idea what was so special about it! Google tells us it was on of the first roads that was used to head west. 
We were saying this would be really hard work if one of you didn't drive, evening though I don't do as much it's nice for me to be able to give Edd a break or drive him for dinner etc. In the states I don't know how you would see it without a car, everything is so spread out, even the towns are very spread and you need to drive to have dinner etc.
The scenery the whole way was spectacular! We have taken far too many photos today and the stunning colours of the sunset didn't help me keep the snaps to a minimum.
We stopped off again to get more petrol and the tank cost us $20. We thought we had done something wrong and couldn't work out why it wouldn't fill any more but turns out its just that cheap here!
We made it to our 'inn' at 7.30pm poor Edd was exhausted but did amazing with all the driving today. We checked in and we have a great big room with twin double beds, this is home for the next 3 nights, it's always lovely to check in somewhere that is going to be a base for more than one night. 
We rushed to dinner worried that they wouldn't serve us too late. The hotel is very American and we sat in a dining room full of American tourist surrounded by Halloween paraphernalia. Im so pleased we're here now, I love Halloween and can't wait to see it celebrated properly!
We were both doubtful of what we would be served for dinner but Edd was very surprised and impressed with his chicken wings, just as he likes them apparently! His burger was good too and my quesadilla was fine, I think we're going to have to choose wisely on menus. Americans seem to know how to do a burger well, Italian last night may have been our mistake.
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