-Joshua Tree day trip-
It was a spur of the moment thought, but that’s where my favorite adventures come from. I had never spent time in Joshua tree, and with it only being a little over an hour away from me, I had zero excuses not to go.
A friend of mine had a birthday coming up, so I decided to throw together a little road trip.
I packed up a basket of food, clothes and blankets, and hit the road. I had no idea what to expect, other than beautiful, hundreds of year old trees, and no cell phone service. 
I love places that I don’t get phone service. I feel like current day, it’s so hard to put down your phone and enjoy your surroundings, so any place that forces you to do so, is a favorite of mine.
When we arrived, I had no idea the temperature would drop THAT much in the desert. It honestly blew my mind. It makes sense that it would, I just think my head was just in fantasy land that it would be much warmer.
It was a $30 entrance fee to enter the park. It’s 800,000 acres of delicious desert wilderness. It offers lots of beautiful boulders to rock climb on, hiking, camping or just taking your best friend out for a surprise sunset picnic.
I brought my tripod and set up in some of the prettiest places I saw in the park while driving around. 
I don’t know how to describe how this place made me feel. It was so dry, and cold, and peaceful. It was completely romantic and foreign to me. I used to think the desert resembled lifelessness. But seeing and being with these giant thriving Joshua trees, that grow no where else in the world outside of the Mojave desert, made my heart so happy. 
After capturing a few photos, I drove until stumbling upon a cool little camp site. I set up a blanket, brought out some cheeses, wine, crackers, salad, roses, fruit and veggies, and a couple little presents for my birthday travel honey. We sat and ate watching the sun go down behind the mountains. 
A sweet little pup made her way over to our feast. Her owner came round to retrieve her and it was the perfect opportunity to meet a fellow traveler. 
She belonged to two earthly looking French men who were traveling the states and hitting all the national parks. I love meeting people in places like this. They often are my kinda people! We listened to them jam out at their travel bus on guitar and bongos as we finished up eating and felt the temperature dropping. 
I cleared off the blanket and just laid there, barefoot and one with the earth. Listening to all sounds or stillness around me, with the wind whistling through my hair. I took a second to meditate and feel the earth hug me. This moment was my favorite in Joshua tree. The air smelt fresh, the cold wind was inviting, the whistle through the trees was poetic. I wish that moment could have lasted forever as I laid there alone like a lifeless crazy person.
As soon as the sun went down my body began to tremble and I craved warm layers. We drove out of the camp site and pulled over shortly after to take in the stars. There are no lights out there. You can see nothing and everything at the same time. You can see everything you need to see. 
It was such a quick trip, and I’m dying to go out again, but if you’re in the LA area, I couldn’t recommend a day trip out, to just get a taste of that beautiful place more. If time is on your side, I can only imagine how miraculous waking up to a sunrise there would be.
Side note PSA- during the government shut down, Joshua tree was incredibly abused and trashed. If these landmarks Mother Earth graced us with are going to remain available to visit, do so with respect and integrity. Let these places thrive and exist in peace. Leave it better than when you arrived.
-Happy wanderings!
Wandering Erika 