Joshua Tree National Park

June 8, 2019

The alarm went off at 5:30AM and Hunter got us on the road at six. One great thing about the van is that I can sleep while we’re driving, which I do often. When we finally made a rest stop I got out and my legs were about as sore as the Grand Canyon was deep. We drove until we made it to California, and the farther we drove the more desert-like it got. Eventually there was just sand and low shrubs everywhere. When I was driving I accidentally missed the exit for Joshua tree. The next exit would add about 50 miles! Luckily we found one of those highway medians and turned around… We were wishing the van had four-wheel-drive right about then. We basically drove through a ditch but we got back on our route, got off the highway, and drove further into the desert. There were dry, rocky mountains and sand surrounding us everywhere. It was at about this point that Hunter decided he does not like the desert. The lack of gas stations and water were his main concerns. 

We stopped at a gas station and Twenty Nine Palms and then went into the Joshua tree visitor center. Before we really even entered the park Hunter decided he did not want to stay here for as long as we had planned. We made a little bit of a change, planning to stay only one night in Joshua tree and then head over to the coast of California. We also decided to cut out Death Valley due to Hunter‘s dislike of the desert. I was not extremely happy about this decision, but I just decided it would be an excuse for me to come back someday. With our new plan, we headed to Ryan campground. We visited Skull Rock on our way from some bouldering and exploring. 

The campground was pretty full when we got there, but we found a spot and made dinner. After dinner we went for a walk as the setting sun cast an orange glow on the sky and the Joshua trees. This is one of the first sunsets we have seen on the trip because we’ve been asleep for most of the other ones! We’ve had a lot of early mornings. I am currently sitting under the stars writing. The Joshua trees are definitely a unique sight. Each one is different from the others; some are tall, some are short, some only have one branch and some full of branches, sprouting off at odd angles. The desert may be hot, as Hunter keeps reminding me, but it is beautiful and full of different plants and animals with all their unique adaptations that enable them to live in such an extreme environment. It’s so different from New Hampshire. Stay tuned for more desert adventures tomorrow.

June 9, 2019

We kicked off the day by going exploring at the Hall of Horrors. We did some scrambling and even ducked through a cave before we headed to another trailhead to hike Mount Ryan. The hike was short (only about 3 miles round-trip). It was very hot but we drank lots of water and the views were amazing throughout the entire hike. We could see rock piles scattered around in the distance and mountains lined the horizon. Some of them even had snow on top! We encountered a few lizards, darting out into the trail; one was actually pretty big and had all of these different colors, shining in the sun. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky and the summit was relatively breezy, making it a very nice temperature. Hunter had been growing more and more ready to leave the desert, and the heat certainly affects him more than it affects me, so I was grateful he was willing to do this hike with me before we headed to the coast. 

When we got back to the van we made lunch and drove towards LA! We passed the snowy mountain that we had seen from Joshua tree… and then we had the traffic. I didn’t think about it before, but going into the city on a Sunday night, the traffic was bound to be bad. We drove through it all the way to LA, and once we finally got past the city it lightened up. We stopped at Walmart for food and continued to this little coastal town called Carpinteria. We parked the van by the state beach and dipped our toes in the Pacific for the first time! It was surprisingly warm for the ocean (based on our New England ocean experience). We had burritos for dinner and enjoyed the pretty town. It's settled between steep, beautiful mountains on one side and the Pacific Ocean on the other. It was a nice, cool end to a day in the desert.