It got COLD and WINDY overnight. The temperature when we got up was around 35 degrees F, and the winds were gusting up to 50mph (from what we heard). It was brutal. The sunrise was nice.
We managed to get breakfast made and the tent down (only one night here), and we then headed to our main hike of the day which was Ryan Mountain. It was a 3 mile (round trip) hike up a mountain with 1100ft of elevation gain. It didn’t feel like a hard hike, but the wind was so bad that it made the hike a bit painful in that regard. We didn’t stay too long at the top since the wind was bad and it was even colder up there than at the bottom of the mountain (by now probably 40 at the top and mid 50’s at the bottom).
We got down did another short walk through some Joshua trees and then it was time to head home. We hit the ranger station on the way out so the girls could get their Jr. Ranger finished, and we ate some lunch. From there it was about 3.5 hours of driving to get home. We got home about 7pm, and were tired and hungry.
It was a good trip. I liked Death Valley a lot. It was very pretty, and not what I was expecting. I knew of the salt flats and the yellow colored hills, but the rest of the colors and varied terrains was unexpected and worth the time. I would gladly go back again. I really liked the campsite at Joshua Tree (expect that there was no water so you have to bring in your own), but the park was rather blah overall in my opinion. It was a great trip. With everything going on at home right now it was a needed diversion and relaxation time that my whole family needed. And national parks are generally a lot of fun for us.