After experiencing the crowds yesterday we decided to get up early to avoid the crowds and take sunrise photos. Sharon made breakfast of eggs and bacon and we headed out before sunrise. Cholla Cactus Garden was our spot of choice. As the sun rose the needles of the cacti glowed in the sun’s rays. I was clicking on my phone non stop. My phone has a tendency to make better photos than my DSLR camera. I guess it uses smart technology. After we got all of the photos we wanted of the sunrise, we went on a mile hike to arch rock. We had some good photo opportunities along the way with Joshua Trees, rocks and other desert plants. The actual arch rock was in a precarious position, difficult to get right next to. We stopped at skull rock next, a popular unusually shape rock right next to the main park road. Typically there is a waiting line to get a photo. There were a few people there and I did have to wait a bit to get a photo. Next was on to a hike to Barker dam. Sharon decided o sit this one out while I hiked and took photos with her camera along the way. She has just about every type of lense which fits her camera. Zoom out, regular, wide angle and macro. I used just about all of them along the way. The dams was built by early settlers as a way to ensure water was available in the desert. We decided to go back to 29 Palms to get lunch and rest. Rocky’s New York Style Pizza was our restaurant of choice. On the outside of the restaurant there was a sign which said “Absolutely No Alcohol Sales – Don’t even ask.” However inside the restart was setup to serve beer, which makes me think they lost their liquor license. We got a large sausage pizza. We stopped by Stater Bros grocery to get a 2 liter Mt. Dew and then back to the pizza place. We ate the pizza at the hotel. We were still a bit hungry afterwards so we had some chips and cookie After a nap we headed out to the national park again for some sunset and night shots. Sharon remarked that the stars were brighter than she’d seen before, even at church camp. Tomorrow we drive to San Diego for our final full day before flying back.