Joshua Tree, CA – 02.04.15

 

Joshua Tree! Finally! We had been talking about Joshua Tree National Park forever. We boondocked (camping without any hookups) in the Jumbo Rocks Campground and adored it. May be our favorite campsite yet. Dan’s best friend Martin and his dog Chunk came to stay with us for a few nights. We went on a few hikes even though it was unbelievably hot out every day. The longest hike we did was about 5 miles. It led us to an old mining site and beautiful views of the desert. The shortest we did was no longer than a mile and led us to a gigantic rock, appropriately called Skull Rock. It felt good to get our bodies moving. It had been awhile after lounging on the beach in San Diego! We spent a day exploring the quirky town of Joshua Tree. We popped in and out of vintage shops and stores filled with handmade goods. We ate delicious pizza at Pie For The People (a must if you ever visit Joshua Tree), and enjoyed the diverse group of people at the Joshua Tree Saloon, from 50 year old bikers, to avid hikers, to LA kids there for the weekend, to 3 year old babes, all getting along in perfect harmony.

We spent one of our evenings poking around Pioneertown, which is an old film set from the 40’s and has since been converted to small stores and music related buildings. Whenever we mentioned Joshua Tree to someone, they told us to go to Pappy and Harriet’s. So of course we had to visit! It’s an old saloon with music and lots of beer, it fits Pioneertown perfectly. We spent some time there listening to bluegrass and sipping some sweet tea.

After Martin left, we spent a full day doing nothing. We kept saying we were “desert drunk.” The sun was too hot, we hadn’t showered in a week, we weren’t drinking enough water, and our bodies were so sore from hiking. We were totally out of it and so silly. Completely delirious. Completely “desert drunk.”

Our new friend Greg (@OrangeSeedCo), who we met in Joshua Tree and often came around to hang at our nightly bonfires convinced us to come over to his site and meet his neighbors who were also from Massachusetts. Matt and Sarah (@BettyInTheUSA) are newly weds who quit their jobs, bought a motorhome from the 80s, named her Betty, and hit the road with no plan. We clicked immediately. We ended up going on a off trail sunset hike that same day and hitting it off perfectly. We were meant to be friends! Too bad we met them on our last day in Joshua Tree.

-D&T