Hey There!
We finally packed our bags and left bright, colorful, happy San Diego and headed into the desert wasteland that is inland California. I'm kidding! Sort of... it is pretty beige back there.
I think that since we are used to Colorado mountains - the lack of trees is a little shocking. Anyway! We made the trek to Joshua Tree which was about three hours. We were both coming down from almost two weeks with friends and a full house again so it felt a little sad actually, but nice to get back into the swing of things at the same time.
We pulled into town just as the Super Moon was coming up and myyyyy, my, my was it pretty! I was on the phone with my friend Allie - and Blake and I both yelled "whoa!" as soon as we saw it. It was gigantic and orange and so beautiful. We followed the road into the campground just staring at the moon. By the time we got there it was a little higher and less bright but it lit up the whole area and there were a lot of other campers out and some people with pretty impressive camera set ups so I'm sure there were some really amazing photos taken.
Since the time changed the sun set so early that night and it was already dark by the time we were looking for a parking spot. Blake got a little frustrated and pulled into a spot without really thinking about it and then when we realized we needed to turn around he scrapped the whole side of the van on a giant yuca plant... (insert teeth clenched emoji) also - sorry to the yuca. We have learned that desert plants are veerry fragile and people are very sensitive about them..
We found a great spot though and posted up for a few days. Joshua Tree is a little less accommodating for pets than Zion was. It makes sense because its too hot for them the majority of the year but it made it a little harder for us to do what we would have wanted to inside the park. The Ranger showed us a cool little hike that we were able to take them on but its was only about .75 of a mile so they were a little restless but we made it work. We also took the drone out again to try and get some cool footage. You can tell by how i said try that it didn't work. Blake hiked up this trail with it and got it all put together before remembering that he had changed the password but didn't know what he changed it to... *rolls eyes*. Oh well, we'll get it in the air soon!! I'm so excited to start using it!
Moving on! If I'm being honest - I wasn't too impressed the first two days in Joshua Tree. Like I said - it just seemed like a pretty boring desert with some wonky trees here and there. I had read a lot about the park in the weeks prior to going a lot of them wrote a lot about the "hidden magic in the desert" and I just wasn't seeing it.
The third day we got up and headed into the park in the early afternoon. It wasn't too busy which was nice and once we got about 5 miles inside I started to see some of the beauty. The rock formations look like they can't possibly have gotten there on their own. Blake and I just kept coming back to it until he finally looked it up. Turns out that we aren't the only curious ones because it tells you about it right there on the visitors map. I won't bore you in case you aren't into rocks but it's super cool and you can read about it <here>
We got out a few times and checked out some rock climbers and some of the prettier hike spots. Since we had the dogs we had to be choosy but I feel like we saw the highlights. For people who like rock climbing or biking I think Joshua Tree would be an awesome experience. I really enjoyed our final day there have an appreciation for it but I doubt that it will hit my list of top 5 National Parks.
On our last night there we stayed just outside the park on the South Side. They actually have some really nice BLM camping right outside the main entrance and honestly I wouldn't bother trying to camp inside the park if any of those spots are open. They're free and you have cell service! If you guys are planning to go I would say leave puppies at home for this one do as many trails as you can. The hikes are all relatively short and you can camp pretty easily in some of the dry sites inside for about $10 a night if you don't want to leave.
On our last night there we stayed just outside the park on the South Side. They actually have some really nice BLM camping right outside the main entrance and honestly I wouldn't bother trying to camp inside the park if any of those spots are open. They're free and you have cell service! If you guys are planning to go I would say leave puppies at home for this one do as many trails as you can. The hikes are all relatively short and you can camp pretty easily in some of the dry sites inside for about $10 a night if you don't want to leave.
We hope you guys are liking the photos and if the video won't load for you, you can find the original here.
Happy Monday!
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