Another school assignment turns into a National Park visit! I guess school's pretty cool in that way...

The day started out with Krystie, Jo-el [aka "Joe-el"] and I heading out towards the Baker area for a vist to the Mojave National Preserve.  We met early at the Ontario Mills mall and then we were off.  Joel's backseat was kinda small, so I was "comfortable" to say the least...we drove for about 15 minutes and whatd'ya know..I'm ready for a snack!  All I wanted was a McDonald's coke..is that too much to ask for??  Apparently, that McDonalds doesn't serve soda at 7:30...lame...so I got one at the nearby gas station and then, we were off.  After a quick stop at the California Welcome Center in Barstow for some info, we headed toward the preserve.  We arrived and went for a walk through at the Kelso Depot.  There was some really interesting local history about the I-15 [which was maybe more interesting cause we needed research?] and we got to see an intro movie about the site.  We took a look around the gift shop and I, of course, got another stamp!

One of the employees suggested we go take a look at the Kelso Sand Dunes, one of the many awesome natural places at the preserve.  We drove about 8 miles down the road and pulled up to the dunes.  At first glance, they didn't seem that big...I mean, we could use a little exercise, right?  I convinced the other two to hike up to the top and we began.  The weather was freezing again and Krystie and Joel started lagging behind...slackers!!  The dunes looked like Tatooine from Star Wars...an endless sea of sand that stretched for what seemed like miles ahead.  I have to admit that I got pretty tired too so we headed back...It's definitely for you advanced hikers, though I probably would have gone farther if it weren't for the lazies.  One last look at the dunes and we were back in the car.  If we would've had more time, I think we would have explored the preserve even more...over a million acres of natural landscape with acres of joshua trees, sand dunes, craters, volcanoes and all sorts of wildlife.  A worthy place to swing by when passing through the area...just don't forget your passports!