Off Hwy-62, 2 miles East of Twenty Nine Palms; also off 1-10, 20 miles East of Indio. UFO-logist George Adamski claimed to have been carried above the Joshua Tree National Monument in a craft piloted by “long-haired Venusians” – just one of the numerous weird tales which have grown up around the Joshua Tree National Monument. Indeed, it was a persecuted religious group, the Mormon Battalion, on the journey that eventually led to the founding of Salt Lake City that helped give the place its name in the 1850s. They believed that the upturned branches of the strange trees (actually a species of giant yucca) matched a passage in their Book of Joshua – “thou shalt follow the way pointed for thee by the trees.”

Whatever you think of the stories, there’s no debating the fact the Joshua Tree National Monument is an extraordinary place. It is also incredibly big – covering 870 square miles – and there’s no way you’re going to see all of it unless you’re a seasoned desert adventurer armed with a tent and supplies to last several months. It is quite feasible, however, to spend a day driving across the monument between Hwy-62 and 1-10. Before entering, call at the Oasis Visitors’ Center (+1 760 367 5500), off Hwy-62 just outside Twentynine Palms (or the Joshua Tree Visitor Center off Hwy-62; +1 760 366 1855), and study the free map and brochures. Pick out the vantage points, the picnic spots and special sites of interest – which might be a prehistoric rock pictograph or a 19thC gold mine – that appeal most and make for them.

Try to avoid walking in the midday heat (especially in the lower, southerly part of the monument) and aim to be in the north-westerly section – where the wondrous trees are situated – at sunrise or sunset. At these times, the Joshua trees cast long, eerie shadows and the huge quartz boulders behind them are bathed in various shades of red, orange and gold – as mystical a landscape as you are ever likely to see.