I am a little behind in my updates. I will try to catch up the next couple days. Before you know it, we will be heading back to Minnesota.

John, Anna, Caden & Carter came to visit us for a weekend. Last Saturday, March 25, we went to Joshua Tree National Park. Our first stop was at the Cottonwood Visitors Center. We paid for entry an got maps. It was colder than I thought it would be. We drove through the park and made a few stops. The first stop was the Smoke Tree Wash. Not much to see but we got out and walked out a little. Next we stopped and the Cholla Cactus Garden Trail. There was a trail where we could see a lot of cacti. Very cool. Then we stopped at a place with some really big rocks that we could climb on. The boys were very happy. After that we went to Split Rock. There was a sign that the parking lot was full but John went in. There were some cars coming out and a couple available spots so we got a place to park. The boys started climbing rocks and everyone made a bathroom stop. We got out the food and found a picnic table and had lunch. From there we hiked the split rock trail to skull rock. On the way we saw climbers and face rock. We took some pictures at skull rock and climbed some more rocks. There were a lot of people there and not much parking. There were cars lined up down the road. We made a good choice parking at split rock. We took the same trail back to Split Rock, packed up and got on the road again. We made another stop at cap rock. There was a very short trail and Anna, Karla and I walked it. There was interest in seeing an oasis but the closest was over an hour away. It would have to wait for another time. We had enough for one day and went back to the rental. We hung out by the pool had some beer and snacks. We grilled up some supper and later everyone went in the hot tub. Caden & Carter, John & I jumped in the pool. It was cold so we got right back in the hot tub. That was about it. Very fun day.

On Sunday, after a fabulous frittata made by Karla for breakfast, we all walked to the College of the Desert Street Fair. Lots of interesting stuff, but the only things we bought was some dole whip and Italian ice. After lunch we went to Boomers! An amusement center with minigolf, bumper boast, go-carts and more. Here are the activities we participated in:

Carter – minigolf, bumper boats, climbing wall, batting cage, minigolf, bumper boats
Caden – minigolf, bumper boats, go-carts, climbing wall, bumper boats
Anna – minigolf, bumper boats, minigolf, bumper boats
John – minigolf, go-carts, climbing wall, bumper boats
Karla – minigolf, bumper boats, minigolf
Rob – minigolf, go-carts, minigolf

After a fun day at Boomers! we went to Luchador Brewing. Really good beer and really good tacos.
Went back to our place and didn’t do much. Everyone was tired and soon went to bed.