National Parks are some of my favorite places to visit in the USA.
This trip was a whirlwind, filled with beauty and also freezing cold. It was early December and we thought ‘hey why not go camp in the high desert!’ The last time we’d camped together was on a mountain in Alabama and we were snowed in over a foot, haha. So we might not make the best choices… or maybe we do.
The wind in Joshua tree is no joke and also the temperature drastically drops once the sun goes down. I’d known this about the desert, but when you’re out there with all layers on, several HotHands warmers opened and sandwiched between two layers of socks and still a bit cold… You wonder what you were thinking when you booked your flight. But then, the sun rises, you begin to thaw out, the pre-cooked bacon is sizzling as you watch the earth begin to wake up and the beauty of the landscape reminds you this is why. This is why you come out, sleep on the ground, hear the coyotes catching their breakfast, freeze your fingers off, try to get the propane stove lit, move your body up a mountain, bundle up and watch the stars come out. It’s all worth it – even in the uncomfortable bits. Those may fade away or just make you laugh later, it’s what makes the good times even better.
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DAY 1: We arrived into busy LAX, picked up our rental car, stopped at In-N-Out and then went to Walmart for food + supplies. That took several hours even though everything was on the way out of Los Angeles – lots of people living there. We were planning to get a first-come, first-serve site. We arrived at dusk and drove around for over 2 hours trying to find a site. Yeah, Joshua Tree is busy!! We were so tired (time-change and long travel day). We found a little pull off in the park to figure out whether to drive out of the park and find a campground or check online at the Jumbo Rocks Campground. We found a little spot where we had one bar and looked online to discover there were sites free at Jumbo Rocks. We reserved one and drove there to set up. The next day we found out that they had just made same-day reservations available that day.
Let’s just say set up was interesting… In the dark, wind whipping around us… I’m laughing envisioning the scene. Us wrestling the tent into position. Wow, I was so glad to lay down that night. We’d set up near a bush and it was whacking the tent all night. I was glad when morning came.
DAY 2: The sunrise was beautiful. With the time change from east to west coast, waking up early was a breeze this trip. I enjoyed getting up with or before the sun each day. We walked around before tearing down camp to try to find a site for the next two nights. We needed to get one of the first-come, first-serve for the weekend. We drove around Ryan Campground a couple times and were able to get spot. This was all before 8am. The sites were definitely all taken by noon.
We set up the tent again – this time in the daylight! – and set out to explore.
We hiked up Ryan Mountain, which had beautiful views all around. It was about three miles up and back I think. We stopped and walked around a few other side spots before heading to the Cholla Cactus garden at sunset. The desert has so many different and beautiful textures. So different than the lush, humid east coast.
We closed out the day with soup heated over charcoal and watched climbers on the rocks nearby. It was so cold we could never get the propane working even with putting it in our sleeping bags at night.
DAY 3: Good morning.
Waking up in a tent is a wonderful feeling. Well, if you have a sleeping pad and comfy sleeping bag.
We had our tent turned in a way that suited the wind gusts and I woke up coated with a layer of dust & sand on my skin and sleeping bag. I peeled myself out of my warm cocoon to use the pit toilet and watch the sun rise. A coyote pack yipped and yelped as they chased down an unfortunate soul to eat. The other campers low conversation gently echoed from the surrounding boulders.
The beginning of a day.
Sun, land, creature, moving together to WAKE UP, to greet the day.
After fueling our bodies with coffee and food, we walked out to the ranch that is right near Ryan Campground. This got us moving before we packed our lunches and headed to hike Lost Horse Mine.
The hike took us a couple hours and was quite popular as we found out when we were leaving. Because we were up so early, we’d gotten there with only a few cars in the lot. Every spot was full when we left and people were hiking in from far down the road. The hike meanders up and down the surrounding hills to the mine.
On the way back to our site, we stopped at Keys View which has beautiful overlooks that are very accessible if you aren’t into hiking or can’t walk far. We also hiked around Barker Dam, which was an unexpected oasis surprise.
We rested back at the tent for an hour or two before heading to the nearby Sky’s the Limit Observatory. It’s an all volunteer observatory with several telescopes set up that you view the planets and stars. It’s a come and go as you’d like program. The night sky is beautiful in Joshua Tree. There is still some light pollution from the nearby towns and cities, but there are just so many stars.
Afterwards, we went down into Twenty Nine Palms to buy some more charcoal for dinner at the gas station. When we went in, the cashier was wondering why we were so bundled. The temperature difference between town and the campground was pretty drastic. It was sooo much warmer.
Another hot canned soup evening. Yum. Best choice for easy food. And a baguette to munch with it. The coyotes were smelling the soup as it heated, moving in closer and closer.
We were full, warm(ish) by the soup, and ready to tuck into our sleeping bags to escape the wind. Another good day.
DAY 4: It was our last morning in Joshua Tree. We were going to drive to Death Valley National Park!