Joshua Tree National Park

Joshua Tree was the first National Park I actually camped in a campground on site. I decided to take the long way into the park to drive from the south entrance up to the north entrance. I didn't know I would have to leave the park and re-enter in a completely different spot to access the campground, so I arrived after dark and was totally turned around trying to find my site. I was able to get settled fairly quickly since I was just about a month into the camping life at that point, and had learned I could just leave the car headlights on for set-up. :) I knew there were trees and bushes on the perimeter of the site, but it was pretty delightful to wake up to an actual Joshua tree. 

The geological features of this park were absolutely the highlight for me. There were types of granite I had never heard of before and the formations were different from one side of the road to another.

After school, I took another loop in the park from a different entrance and was able to do some bouldering to get up on the rocks. This was extra tough since Piper had to stay in the car or within 100 feet of the roadway and I wanted to respect the Bark Ranger rules. Luckily, I found a few places where she could see me from the car or where she could come, too. Another safety tip: I would never climb or walk out of sight of the car without a cell signal or geotagging myself and intended return time with someone. Solo adventures are great, but getting hurt without someone knowing where you are seems like a dumb way for me to die.

I took a picture of this rock formation and marked the exact latitude and longitude so that when I go back with someone else to take care of Piper, I can climb it. It's probably only about 150 feet up and over, but it would be a super fun challenge for me.

Check out the ripples in those clouds! Temperature variations between different places in this park and times of day were extreme - with 40-60 degree swings depending on the elevation of the stop. Layers are an adventurers best friend, even when you are mostly just driving the adventure.

Time and again I was flabbergasted by the wide range of life you could find in a desert.

Saw this plant everywhere and it looked so alien I finally had to stop and get a picture.

My trip to Joshua Tree National Park was in December of 2023, and really opened my eyes to the issues within parks created by visitors. Up to this point, I had seen decades old graffiti at Mammoth Cave NP, but no park thus far had there been loud revelers well into the night, trash left at the edges of the parks far from ranger stations, and lines of cars jostling for space at turn-offs. While I would see much more of that as I continued the journey, I started being intentional about leaving no trace for myself and others wherever possible.

Our National Parks are such a treasure and they are much more expansive than the popular loop roads. I drove for 45 minutes in Joshua Tree without seeing another car on the south side of the park (without seeing any bighorn sheep, either!). That openness is glorious. It also means we all have a responsibility to be good stewards, because no team or staff is big enough to be everywhere at once. 

I loved this place and look forward to going back. I also want to share a pro-tip: you cannot use a solar panel to charge your laptop on a cloudy day. A week after this, I bought a reserve battery so I wouldn't have to be so nervous about losing my computer access for work if it went another 48 hours without being sunny. 

Oh, one more critical thing: it is not always sunny in the desert. The more you know.

Keep coming back!