Joshua Tree

A short drive down the highway we made our way to our next destination.  We got a sweet recommendation from my mate, Anthea who said we had to stay here and the main reasoning for coming this far south was because of this little trailor park called Hicksville.  This desert getaway was like a dream.  We had booked this months ago when the planning of the trip started and only until 2 days prior to arrival had we been sent an email outlining the exact hidden location.  They want to keep it a secret in a way so it's not completly tourist hit and remains somewhat of an oasis.

I had my doubts as we turned off the highway onto the open sandy desert.  "Drive three miles, then make a left?!"  I wondered outloud as I read the directons we were sent as our car bounced over mounds of sand, feeling as though we were in a souped up car in a Snoop dawg rap video!

After a 10 min drive, a telephone pole appeared with an old sign attached to it and a hand drawn arrow pointing towards a cluster of tiny trailors surrounding a kidney-shaped saltwater pool.

Words can not describe how awesome this trailor park is.  We had our choice from seven trailors including the sci-fi inspired Airstream, complete with an alien communication device and fog machine, or the pony located in its partially hidden away stables.  We opted for the Cramps theemed trailor called the Lux named after the recently deceased Lux Interior. This little punk/tiki themed cutie had a black and white television, complete with a selection of horror flicks on VHS and a Cramps filled jukebox!

Before getting too comfortable, we forced ourselves to leave the oasis and check out Joshua tree national park.  We took the roof down on the convertible and let the wind blow through our hair as we zipped through the park gawking at the funny Dr Seuss-esque twisted, spiky shaped trees.  Upon exiting, we found a sweet little cowboy saloon and sampled our first burger in America.  A 1/2 pound beef pattie, with jack cheese and an Aneheim chilli sauce washed down with a loacl IPA, I was in pure bliss.  We set off to return to experience a rare chance to view a meteor shower.  We were so lucky as we had no idea this was to happen and were told by the large group of LA locals who inhabited the other trailors who came up from the city for this specific reason.  What better place to view this obstacle than away from the lights and pollution of the city and in the middle of the quiet serene desert.

 

                                                   

                                      

We bought some beers and situated ourselves in the rooftop jacuzzi, as we were as close as we possible could be the specatcle.  This was such a magical evening and one we will never forget.  We met some amazing Americans and spent the whole night leaning our heads back on the brim of the spa, faces upwards to the light show, talking rubbish and other wordly things to these friendly strangers and watching the stars as they zipped past like zippers unleashing the cosmos below.  It would happen so quickly, like an erractic scream, that you almost couldn't believe it was true.  And those strangers - we would never get to actually see their faces because of the complete darkness, and we could never quite remember their names, but they were wonderful and the perfect example of the 24-hour friendships you form while travelling.

Palm Springs

Rising before the crack of dawn, we packed up our camp site, left our camping gear at the entrance to the park hoping anyone would beneift from the cheap gear we had purchased, and bid our farwells to Yosemite as the sun rose, leaving us with the orange glowing rocks as a final memory of the amazing national park.

With the seven and a half hour drive ahead of us we settled into roadtrip mode, cranked the music and let the wind blow in our hair.  We had many stops along the way at little vinatge markets, toilet stops, hick diners directly from Pulp Fiction (the only part missing was that our waitress was not smoking at our table as she took our order). We passed through cute little towns that hadn't changed since Country and Western times.

We arrived to our lush hotel at Palm Springs that I managed to swindle a free night's accommodation through my travel agnecy connections at the Ace Hotel.  It was on the grounds of a mid-century modern hotel and the converted attached diner used to be an old Denny's.  It was Sunday and it seemed that half of Palm Springs was having their Sunday recovery party session at the pool.  The party was happening and we were right into the ice-cold maragritas and poolside listenting of tacky DJ tunes!  It was so nice to relax the muscles after the epic hikes at Yosemite and the long drive down.  Also to add to the bliss we had a dramatic temperature change.  From a chilly Yosemite to a balmy 40 degree desert heat - i was in my prime.

The hotel was so lush and hip and we basically spent the full amount of time we were allowed to stay at the hotel, just there! The only other stop was to check out the mid-century architecture scattered throughout the city.

Palm Springs, you were good to us. 

Yosemite National Park

Yosemite National Park - home to epic views, pristine pine forests, and the infamous giant sequoia trees. Naomi was almost weeing herself with excitement as we drove in. I told her not to as it would spoil our flash convertible hire car.

The park lived up to all expectations. We had the best part of a week there and chose to spend our time exploring the nourthern section of the park, rather than Yosemite Valley itself, which was filled to the brim with tourists. Straight away we knew we had made the right decision. After pitching our tent in a campsite called 'White Wolf' we set off on a small hike to explore a lake for the rest of the day. It was stunning. Instead of being laden with tourists, the trail was home to many native animals, including deer, the tenniest tinniest chipmunks, and even a black bear.

Over the course of the next few days we got into a great routine. We would wake at the crack of dawn, make a little fire to warm our hands and make cups of tea, then set off for the day. Leaving so early we would have almost a whole day of hiking without seeing another soul, and often had an entire trail completely to ourselves. There is nothing quite like standing on the edge of a cliff face, whole valley view unfolding beneath you, and no one around but your partner in crime.

One day we did push it a little far though. We chose a trek called The 10 Lakes. As the name indicates, the walk culminates in a beautiful view where you can see 10 individual lakes from above. Naomi told me it was 20 kilmoetres, which sounded fine. She did not tell me though, that a couple of hours into the walk she realised it was actually 20 miles rather than km! Towards the end of the 34km that we ended up walking, we were both pretty exhausted, and I have to say my legs were s-o-r-e the next day, but that view was well worth it.

One of my highlights was hiking into a valley with giant sequoia trees. Some of these trees were up to 3,600 years old! Their bases were as wide as a terrace house and they stood tall and wise, overlooking everything that had been happening in the generations passed.

Yosemite - a dream of dreams - we left the park covered in dirt from head to toe after not having showered for a week, but with that fresh forest air in our lungs we felt unconquerable.