Travels in a Tin Can

rich in artistic license; but it proved to be incredibly accurate.
We spent an hour or so driving and walking in the park, visiting sights
like skull rock - where I had my photo taken standing in a huge nostril. We
were very impressed. The park is mainly a large rocky plain, out of which stick
sporadic outcrops of rocks, which are easy to climb, and are indeed surreal -
melting into each other. And then there are the trees. Hundreds of them
stretch away towards the horizon, like a mad orchard. Combined with the
rocks the park is very Flintstones and well worth a visit. Sadly we did not have
much time for hiking, as we wanted to avoid driving into LA during rush hour.
Of course with experience we realized that Los Angeles on the day before
Christmas Eve is always rush hour.
From Joshua Tree we drove through increasingly inclement weather to
the outskirts of the city. We were both very preoccupied with our thoughts - of
driving, for Emma having read that LA is a nightmare to travel into, and of
navigating, for me having seen the map! Our scenery tried to divert us with
comedic signs announcing 'Kickapoo trail' and 'Giraffic Park - a living desert'
(zoo); sadly we could not be distracted and pushed on to the city of angels. As
we neared our destination - Anaheim - the clouds kept rolling in and it began
to rain, suiting our brooding moods. The roads were packed - except when we
could go in 'car pool' lanes for vehicles with two or more occupants. American
cars, big as they are, generally only seem to fit one passenger, so we had the
lane to ourselves much of the time. In a bid to lighten the mood we played our
Christmas compilation tape and soon found Chris Rea 'driving home for
Christmas' - how appropriate. Sadly it also included David Essex, The
Jackson Five, and panpipes!