Dog in the Desert, Part 4

Hey, what's up, dogs?  I am back with the last part of my series on my Arizona/California trip.  

After escaping from Death Valley, my human and I made our way to Joshua Tree National Park.  This is a very popular destination for stuffies recently...Little Fox took a trip there earlier this year, and Ajdin just posted about Joshua Tree in his last blog entry.  I wonder if we'll run into anybody we know?...

 This formation is called Skull Rock.  Looks like we're following in Ajdin's footsteps...I think it looks more like a skull from far away.  What do you think?

The Joshua trees in the park remind me of cacti in some ways, especially because of the long spiny leaves.  According to the Internet, local native people used to use the spines to weave sandals and baskets!  I imagine they had to use extreme caution. 

Below is the biggest Joshua tree we could find on our drive through the park.  

Anyway, this has all been very interesting, but the big question I have is this:  Who is/was Joshua, and why did they name the trees after him?...  

All right, on to our last stop.  We're driving on to....drumroll please...the port of SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA!  

Our mission:  to visit the USS Midway Museum.  Near the ship, we saw a memorial to Bob Hope, the legendary entertainer who took his variety show on the road to lift the spirits of American soldiers overseas. 

Thanks for the memories, Bob.

Aha...here we are.  The USS Midway Museum!  It's huge.  Well, of course...it's a converted aircraft carrier.

Welcome aboard!

There are a lot of exhibits here showing how the crewmen lived from day to day.  

The living quarters are pretty tight on a ship!

Here are the giant chains that raise and lower the  Midway's anchor.  Apparently, taking care of them was one of the most dangerous jobs on board, and so the lowest crewmen on the totem pole would be found here.

Here's an interesting display.  Traditionally, sailors throughout history had to know how to tie all different kinds of knots.

There are also a lot of planes and helicopters on board.  Some of them are inside the ship, but some of them are up on deck.  

And some of them were flown by famous people!  

For example, we found this plane, once flown by the late John Glenn, who later became an astronaut.

And here's a plane once flown by the late former U.S. President, George H.W. Bush.  You can see he dedicated it to his wife, Barbara.

Well, I think we've seen the most interesting stuff.  I wonder what this guy is pointing to?...

Oh, he's pointing us in the direction of DINNER.  Yes.  A very important stop.  Can't skip that.

Thanks for coming with me on my whirlwind tour of Arizona and California!  Hope to have more adventures to share with you soon...