Day 3 - Joshua Tree National Park

Today Lar and I ventured out of the city to visit Joshua Tree National Park. It's a few hours out of the city in the middle of the desert and the park is home to some pretty Dr. Seuss lookin trees. Before we left we stopped at an Asian bakery near Lar's house so I could try a specialty - salted iced coffee. Apparently they usually make it really sweet but I ordered it with no sugar. Lar said some of her friends rave about the drink but I honestly couldn't taste the salt anywhere except for in the bit of foam at the top. Whatevs.

I had to be on a work call for some of the drive which was kind of a bummer. That's what I get for going on vacation when we're negotiating contracts.

There's nothing to eat or drink in the park so we stopped by a cafe my aunt's friend had recommended to us. It was another hippy place but the food was solid. We also went in another hippy place next door that mostly sold essential oils. The place smelled really great. The town at the edge of the park is tiny. It seems like it's some locals, some people who set up shop for the tourists, and some people who come for an artistic or spiritual retreat. I was so intrigued by the homes - the way  history and nature influence architecture is so interesting. I didn't get any good pictures, though.

As we drive into the park we saw mountains made of boulders and more and more Joshua Trees. We picked a few mile loop walks to make the most of the trip. It was my first time in the desert so I was pleasantly surprised by the temperature - it was definitely hot, but not as blazing as I had feared. It was also spring and breezy, which helped, and the shade was easily 10* cooler than in the sun. I wore a shirt button down on top of a tank top to try and prevent sunburn, and I didn't even take it off because of the heat until we were on our second mile walk. I was just so glad to not be cold. 

 

 

We drive up to the highest peak in the park to look over a fault line. It was beautiful but very windy. One of the places identified on a park map was Cochella - I had only ever heard of it as a music festival and didn't even know it was a real place. Once I put two and two together all I could think is how miserable it must be to go to a concert in the middle of the desert like that. No thanks.

Before we left the park we walked through a cactus garden. I was hoping to see all kinds of cacti but it was more like a cluster of one type of crazy cactus. By that time we were a bit tired so we walked through quickly.

We stopped at a restaurant just outside the park for a pick-me-up smoothie; it hit the spot after a full day in the hot sun. The decor in the place was really cool - old west and rustic, but without being over the top kitch.

 

Well, maybe the taxidermy was a bit much.

We drove back home, ate some Thai take out, and watched Silver Linings Playbook. Good stuff.