The Great West Coast Road Trip: Day 10 - Joshua Tree

Even though the night was cool, as soon as the sun came up, the temperature in the trailer definitely woke us up!  We simply closed our windows, switched on the AC, and went back to our comfy bed.  Still, we were the first ones up.  Some of our neighbors stayed up until 3 am talking by the fire pit , and some (the taco girls) passed out early from too much drinking!

After breakfast, we doused ourselves in sunscreen (the desert sun is intense!), hopped in the pool, and stayed there until checkout.  We were the last to leave.  The trailer park was cool and so much fun, but also very peaceful and relaxing, and we would have stayed another night if they weren't already completely booked.  I'm currently in the market for our very own vintage trailer!  (I'm serious).

Heading to Joshua Tree, we made a pit stop in town at a little community of shops called (appropriately) Trailer Trash.  The first shop was a sort of vintage thrift shop with everything from guitars to used clothes and art.  Behind the shop, vendors set up their wares in old, run-down trailers.

 


At high noon, we decided to finally enter the desert.  Surprisingly, although it was nearly 100 degrees, there was a breeze that made it bearable.  That, and we mostly drove from point-to-point.  We aren't THAT crazy!  We did get in a little hike at Barker Dam, and got out at various other spots to climb some rocks and walk around.

Please hit play before viewing the following pictures in order to get the full experience:


For those that don't get it, I'm referring to this Citi commercial that was everywhere for a while.

This is a Joshua tree, for which the park is named.  They only grow around the Mohave Desert area.  Mormon settlers crossing the Mohave in the 19th century named it the Joshua Tree because it reminded them of a biblical story where Joshua reaches his hands up to the sky in prayer.  This was also symbolic for U2's album, The Joshua Tree.  We did have to listen to 'With or Without You' while we were here.

Although the haze of smog obscures the view a bit, you're looking at Coachella Valley and the San Andreas Fault from Key's View.

You can't just not climb rocks when you're here.

This is the famous 'Skull Rock'.

Didn't get a chance to explore what Hall of Horrors was all about, but it sounds easy.

More rocks!

There's actually water in the desert!  Barker's Dam:

Indian petroglyphs.

Leaving Joshua Tree, we headed for nearby Palm Springs.  There were huge fields of wind turbines all over the place!  It looked really cool; there was so much wind it pushed the car around!

We arrived in Palm Springs around sunset, and didn't get around to taking many pictures.  It's a strange little city right in the middle of nowhere!  It's been Hollywood's escape for actors and actresses since the 1930s, becoming very popular in the 50s and 60s with the Rat Pack, Liberace, Elvis, and Marilyn Monroe as residents.  You still see the mid-century modern architecture everywhere, and it's a very posh place!  Lots of golf courses and shi-shi hotels.  There is also a huge gay population there...no wonder everything was so fabulous!

After eating at Native Foods (DC location opening soon!) we did some more hot tubbing and crashed for the night.