Day Trip to Joshua Tree
By Tony Miguel
Insert selected images from Hidden Valley, Moonrise, Plants and Rocks.
I’m sorry it took me so long to finally make the pilgrimage to Joshua Tree. After years of hearing about it but never seeing any pictures I had no idea what was in store for me. I thought I would just see a whole lot of those plants from the U2 Joshua Tree album.
I planned my trip around the full moon. I checked the web and saw that May 30 was a full moon so I thought this was the perfect time to make the trip. My friend Sonja came along for the ride, she had been wanted a trek to the desert herself.
We left L.A. around 11:00 a.m. with everything we would need for 1 night.
A guitar, 3 cameras, water, ice chest, 2 iPods, 1 sharp military knife, crystals for cleansing, sleeping bags and pads, bundle of firewood, flashlight, chicken Andouile sausage, chips, chocolate, cheese, and carrots.
We took our time, stopping for breakfast and shopping, it took us about 2.5 hrs. to get into the town of Joshua Tree. The drive was beautiful and traffic free, not too hot, nice light and fresh air.
We drove to the North/East gate so we could drive back through the park and pick the best place to camp.
As we made our way through the park the size of the rocks and the formations immediately got me asking questions. Luckily there are geological explanations on the side of the road explaining how these formations were formed over time.
Time and pressure are responsible for all things good.
Rock climbers were all around us. I’d never seen people doing this accept at Yosemite, it didn’t look as dangerous here but I’m sure it is.
Running around the rocks with my camera I had to stop and remind myself that I’m not a rock climber and just because my hiking boots had a good grip on the rocks didn’t mean I was invincible. It was easy to become mesmerized by the beauty of the sunset and the rising of the moon as I ran around trying to get a weeks worth of photos in 30 minutes.
It was exhilarating.
We found the perfect campsite with a windbreak / sleeping area created by 3 massive boulders. The weather was perfect, the air was fresh, the birds sang and the wind whistled. Our chicken sausage tasted great cooked on the open fire to the sounds of Sonja strumming her guitar under the full moon.
The next day we went for a hike through Hidden Valley, (see photos) and then we went to see the damn.
It was a pleasant 24 hr. getaway that everyone should do at least once even if you don’t stay the night. You can always stay in a motel in Twenty Nine Palms or Palm Springs if you don’t want to camp and driving home isn’t that bad if you share the drive.
From L.A. take Highway 10 East to Highway 62 North/East to Joshua Tree.
Approximately 135 miles and 2.5 hrs. from downtown Hollywood.
