Since moving to California, I have learned that I love the desert, the dry arid air, the alien trees and alien flowers, the contrast of warm yellows and grays against a bright, cloudless sky, the sight of a blazing sun rising over smooth, white washed rocks and descending below those same rocks in the evening to present a sky filled with a million more blazing suns. And since moving out west, I have learned that this can all be found near Joshua Tree National Park.
My first trip south to J Tree happened in January, and was documented here and here. We were a bit wide-eyed and drove all through the night just to hotel hop in Palm Springs and then climb some very large rocks. We were all disheveled teens attempting to look presentable at the Parker. We were all kids let loose in a natural jungle gym at J Tree.
It was one of the best spur of the moment trips, and a good replacement for a ill-planned road trip to Mexico. Soon after this first visit, the J Tree withdrawals were too real and so in February, I booked a famous little Airbnb for September. Happy early birthday to me!
Hype for the Joshua Tree House kept building in the months leading up to Sept. 23rd weekend. Too many people wanted to come, but we finally settled on six. (We'll just all squeeze in the Jeep, why not? Note to self: 5 fit comfortably in a Jeep. Definitely not six.) Six very lovely people joined on the Magical Mystery Desert Tour, AKA my birthday, to Joshua Tree National Park!
In short, we drove down Thursday. We worked from LA on Sunday. Step one on day of actual birthday: Find donuts. We explored the LA arts district and then drove to Palm Springs for drinks and dinner and
Here are the pics. It was truly magical and a great way to turn 25. Be back soon, J Tree.