Easy
We entered on the north-west side, stopping at Hidden Valley and heading down to Keys View. As the name suggests, it was a great view of the valley from above. On the road, both there and back, we passed a coyote picking at something in the road (dinner served up by the SUV du jour). From there, we made our way through the park and out the north-east entrance in Twentine Palms where we stayed for the night (much too cold to camp, for us). That night offered a spectacular sunset.
On the second day, we took the full loop on the Geology Tour Road, stopping to stretch our legs at one of the gold mines. This is an easy dirt road. On our previous trip here, we skipped the loop, and drove straight south over the Little San Bernardino Mountains exiting onto the 10 Freeway. The south section is a little tougher, but still not bad. For this trip, after the loop, we hit the paved road that takes you through the south-west section of the park - a part we didn't see the first time. On this road we got to see the transition from the cooler high desert, with rocks and Joshua Trees, to the (slightly) warmer low desert with mostly sand and cacti (the desert is "subtly" interesting). Next, we stopped at the very unusual Cholla Cactus Garden, and further south at a palm oasis for lunch.
