When I told an old high school friend of mine that I had gone to Joshua Tree for the weekend, his first question was “how much weed and shrooms did you guys pop?!” I laughed him off and told him that there was no “weed or shroom popping” at all during our visit, to which he responded “No hallucinogenic drugs in Joshua Tree? What’s wrong with y’all?! Joshua Tree is the hippie capital of the world.” I kindly reminded my not-so-dear friend that Joshua Tree is a National Park first and a hippie capital second.
Joshua Tree is not like most National Parks you think of. It’s desert landscape and extremely fluctuating temperatures takes a certain kind of love. And while it is not considered beautiful by some of the general standards, it is awe-inspiring in its own special way. The occasion for this visit was to take advantage of a rare occurrence- that my boyfriend and I were not working the weekend because of the Memorial Day holiday. We are more mountain people than desert people, so we only planned for about 24 hours in the park, which was plenty of time for us.
A late start on that Saturday put us at the front gates of the park exactly as the sun was setting. Our plans had been to at least make it into the park during the sunset and wait for the stars to come out, but we were still rewarded with an amazing view by the Joshua Tree National Park sign at the Cottonwood Springs entrance at the South end of the park. Just our luck there was no one else around taking photos so we really cheesed it up and took our time enjoying the amazing view of the sun as it lowered behind the mountains.
We drove into the park as the sun sank behind the rocky hills and tried to determine a good time to park and wait for the ultimate star viewing time. We eventually pulled off into the parking lot for the Cholla Cactus Garden. There was only one other car belonging to a French couple walking their dogs so it seemed secluded enough to enjoy the night sky all by ourselves. We grabbed a blanket and started walking down the trail. About 1/4 mile from the parking lot seemed good, but in reality, the entire park is dark and there are no lights to pollute your view so any spot would be a good spot. We laid out and waited until probably 8:30pm or 9pm. We did have a few people walk past us, but this did not stain our experience whatsoever. The view was AMAZING! Awe-inspiring. Fantastic. I’ve only ever seen a view that clear from the Sierra Mountains in Bishop. We watched satellites float by and argued over which specs of lights were stars or planets. If you’re a bit of a space enthusiast, like me, it is really helpful to have the Night Sky app on iPhone (no I’m not sponsored). It uses the direction you’re facing to see what constellations, planets, galaxies or satellites you’re seeing. After freezing for about 2 hours, we eventually headed back to eat and head to bed for our next day in the park.
Conveniently enough, our hotel offered breakfast so we made sure to eat as much as we could before heading into the park. We came through the same Cottonwood Springs gate as it is the closest entrance into the park from the 10 Fwy. The Cottonwood Springs Visitor center is the first building you’ll come to and the best place to stop for National Park souvenirs or to use the restrooms. One thing a visitor quickly learns in a National Park is that other visitors will pull off LITERALLY ANYWHERE to stop and see whatever is on the side of that road. Annoying and convenient, it makes for a love/hate relationship when visiting during busy times. We bought some tchotchkes and traveled further into the park. The terrain is pretty much the same throughout the entire park, so little landmarks are what we aimed for to see. We pulled over at a section of large rocks to climb and walk around. The breathtaking views reward those that are bold enough to climb to the top.
Next stop was to Skull Rock (yes it really does look like something out of Peter Pan). It is as cool as it sounds, but not with the insane crowds of people that we somehow timed our visit with. We walked over to see it but decided to hop across the street instead. There’s a nice and easy trail that loops around and takes you through some cool rock formations including a very Game Of Thrones type chair, suspended rocks, and marble veins.
The weather was pretty overcast for the majority of our trip, threatening rain at any moment. The crowds made it difficult to take in the serenity of the park so we opted for The Arch before heading out. It was definitely worth seeing but unfortunately we could not get to it without standing in line. We snapped a photo and admired from afar before gettting back on the road to leave. I convinced my boy friend to make a quick stop for a photo op with the famous Joshua Trees on our way to the north entrance.
If you an leave out the south side of the park, it’s definitely more convenient to get to the highway, but leaving through the north entrance is where all the cute shops and restaurants are located. Lots of hippy type places with great food and souvenirs that’ll definitely have that perfect fridge magnet you’re looking to bring back for your mom. Our priorities are slightly different as we drove straight to the In-N-Out Burger near Morongo Casino and then promptly spent all the monies at the outlets. As it started to drop buckets of water from the sky, we decided it was time to head home. But not before deciding that 1: we are more mountain people than desert people and 2: we would absolutely return to Joshua Tree, even if only for the star gazing.
My Life As Gidget 
Leave a comment