Gift of Adventure – Joshua Tree National Park
“Girl you are crazy! Awesomely crazy!!” was the message I got from a friend when she saw that we were packing up our family and driving halfway across the country to Joshua Tree National Park in California for Christmas. My response, “Well I’m about to find out what kind of crazy I am!” The unknowns were endless. Driving over 1,600 miles from Missouri to California with your mom, husband, and three boys (ages 13, 9, and 2!), in winter, to a place you’ve never been and despite all your research, still weren’t sure about, could either be a really awesome adventure….or go really, really bad! Most people I know thought we were the real kind of crazy, not the “awesome” kind, but I was determined to give my family an experience they would never forget! Why you may ask?
If you could give your kids anything that YOU wanted to give them for Christmas, what would it be? Do you really want to spend hundreds, maybe even thousands of dollars, on meaningless toys, game systems, and other items kids “just have to have”? Long before I started this blog or even hiking, I started considering doing something different for my kids at Christmas than the usual gift giving.
I was tired of spending so much money on all those presents that the majority probably only got played with a handful of times before they were forgotten. And don’t even get me started on “gaming”! Don’t get me wrong, I love technology, and have even been known to play a game or two while growing up, but it never took over my life like the kids of today. Given a choice, my kids would be playing games non-stop, all-day long! Whether it be on the the PlayStation, cell phone, or iPad! And it’s not their fault. It’s mine and my husbands. We’ve allowed them to do that! We bought them all that crap! Why? I’m not sure, I guess it made our life easier…
As I’m rediscovering the world around me, remembering all the trips that I’ve taken with my family, and becoming more active through hiking and other adventures, I’ve realized that experiences and “adventures” are the greatest gift that anybody could give me and those are the things that I want to give my children. I knew that it was something they may be resistant to, only because they don’t know any better. But I also believed, deep down, that in the end they would love it! So the planning began…
Pre-Planning Stages
When this idea originally came to mind, I had a couple of non-negotiables: 1. Warmer temperatures than those in good old Missouri. 2. Evening accommodations that included either tent camping, bed and breakfast, or some other type of arrangement that was not your typical hotel 3. There had to be a lot of “outdoorsy” things to do. Even though hiking has become my passion, I’m open to other activities.
First, I had pictured some beach camping. At the time, the boys had never been to the ocean, so I thought that would be quite a Christmas gift. Unless, we went waaay South, I knew it would still be too cold to swim, but still warm enough to play on the beach and enjoy the outdoors. It’s not too bad of a drive down to Orange Beach or somewhere along the Gulf. Unfortunately, Hurricane Irma took care of any beach camping ideas. After she blew through, it seemed the majority of the beaches were going to be closed for clean up. That and my mom beat me to getting the boys to the ocean when she took them to my sister’s wedding in Gulf Shores in late summer.
So the next option for warmer temperatures had to be to head Southwest.
I looked at all the popular National Parks in the Southwest United States; Grand Canyon, Zion, Bryce Canyon, but they all had trails that were closed in winter. Then I came across an article about the underrated National Parks in the country and Joshua Tree National Park was one. After doing some research, I felt like this would be the perfect location for our “Gift of Adventure.” Much warmer temperatures (60-70s during the day), open all year round (most popular time to visit is during the winter), lots of activities that are kid-friendly, and sites you can only see in that park. The drive was going to be a little longer than I had been looking for, but I still felt we could make it work in our time frame and it would be worth it.
Camping
Once we had a destination, it was time to figure out sleeping accommodations. As I already mentioned, I wanted something other than a typical hotel to stay, with tent camping my preferred option. Joshua Tree has a lot of camping in the park, but only a few can be reserved. The rest are first come, first serve. After making a phone call to the park’s visitor center, I was informed that the week between Christmas and New Years was pretty busy and it may be difficult to find camping. Since we were driving a long distance, we didn’t want to chance a site in the park, so I started looking on Airbnb.
While I found a few house rental options, my mom discovered a site called Hipcamp. It’s like Airbnb, but geared more towards those looking to camp. Most of the options around Joshua Tree was private land that people rented out for people to camp on. And most of those options did not offer running water or sometimes even restrooms, but then I found JT Highlander Tent Camp. It seemed perfect: Tent camping that offered running water, hot showers, flushable toilets, tent platforms, seating, fire pits, a grill, and …..fresh eggs from the camp host’s chickens!! And it was in the actual town of Joshua Tree right outside of the park’s main entrance! So we booked it!
Upon arrival, we found the camp to be exactly as advertised, even the horse neighbors. It was found in a neat little subdivision on the edge of town. The lots were probably one or two acre lots, which were used for all different things. Obviously camping, but other things like horses, tennis courts, artwork, cactus gardens. To get there you had to travel on pretty rough, sand roads.
In regards to weather, the day hours were pleasant in the park with temperatures in the 70s, but the night was a little chilly. Well really chilly, in the upper 40s and low 50s. The boys all seemed to stay warm, I on the other hand was trying to figure out my new sleeping bag. The first night was cold because my air mattress deflated on me and I didn’t use my sleeping pad, so I was sleeping on the ground…brrrr! So I got up in the middle of the night and slept in the car! The second night I broke out into a sweat…used the sleeping pad but had too many clothes on! The third night, I think I got it figured out! It would have been nice to have a campfire, but there was a “no burn” in place.
My mom said she slept pretty good in her sleeping bag, except when our neighborly horse decide he needed to relieve himself in the middle of the night! It was a bit of a running joke for the week, but she was terrified that one of those times he decided to pee, it was going to trickle down into our tent since we were just downhill of him! And she swears when the horse farted that the side of the tent started “flapping in the wind!”
That being said, our camping experience was pretty enjoyable. Oakley particularly liked walking over the to the chicken coop and showing them his dinosaurs! We honestly weren’t there a whole lot other than to sleep because we spent so much time in the park, but it still was a good fit for us. And the camp host was extremely friendly and helpful. You could tell that he put a lot of thought and effort into his property. But now to what you really want to hear about….
Joshua Tree National Park
Joshua Tree National Park was more than I had imagined. I had never been to a place quite like this! I’ve been to deserts, but never given the opportunity to explore it the way we did. And this was unlike any desert I had ever been to. The actual joshua trees, which are unique to this area, were definitely a natural wonder. But I didn’t expect the mountains and rock formations. Absolutely gorgeous!
Before entering the park for the first time, we made a stop at the Visitors Center near our campground. And it was packed!! We had to wait in a line to get to speak to a park ranger. While waiting I overheard a park ranger tell one couple that all campgrounds were full and try Hipcamp (so that was a good choice we made ahead of time), another told someone that this was the busiest week OF THE YEAR (oops…I knew it was a busier time of year, but not THE busiest!), and finally I was told by the park ranger that if there wasn’t available parking at trailheads, I would have to wait until something opened up before we could hike it, so I would be better off to get to the hikes that I most wanted to do early in the morning (and they were true to their word!)
There was one main road that went from one end of the park to the other, and most of the main attractions were found right off that road. So our intentions the first day after we had our campsite set up, was just to travel the road, familiarize ourselves with the park, and do what we could do since we were getting a later start. The other days we planned out a little more carefully what it was we for sure wanted to do and made sure to get to those things first. Besides just driving and enjoying the sites, there were two main activities that we participated and are most popular in the park: rock scrambling (and a little climbing) and hiking.
Rock Scrambling
One thing we quickly discovered was that when we saw a group of cars pulled over, we needed to stop. Our very first stop not far into the park set the tone. It was a large rock formation just off the road in the desert. People were climbing allll the way to the top. As we got out of the car, we took our family picture with a Joshua Tree (which isn’t the best) and headed to the rocks. Tanner immediately climbed right to the top with zero hesitation. I was fine climbing up, but once I got up there and turned around and realized how high I was, I got a little more anxious (I’ve been working on overcoming my fear of heights). August took a lot more prodding. He didn’t want to do it, but I pretty much made him. Once he got up there though and realized that it wasn’t so bad, he was pretty adventurous the rest of the trip. I’m not sure how many times they asked if we could stop so they could climb, but I wish I had a dollar for every one. We didn’t mind. It was a joy to watch them go!
Besides the rather safe rock scrambling that we did, we discovered that rock climbing is actually one of the most popular activities for visitors in the park. Every stop we made, we had the pleasure of watching people skillfully climb atop some extremely high rock formations. There were times we just stopped and watched for awhile. It was really neat as you drove through the park, looking around, and you would just see lone men and women standing atop some very high, very steep rocks!
The experience has really piqued Tanner’s interest especially. Since coming home on the trip, we have discussed him taking rock climbing lessons. Even though as a mother who is scared of heights herself, it pleases me to think of Tanner learning a new activity that could broaden his level of adventure in the future. As interesting and fun as the rock scrambling was, the reason I wanted to go was for the hiking!!
Hiking
Going into this little adventure, I’d done quite a bit of “Pinterest Research” and saved several items related to “must-do” hikes. So I had a general idea of the hikes that I for sure wanted to hit. The rest I figured we would play by ear, depending on time and the amount of energy the boys had. When we stopped at the Visitors Center we were able to ask the Park Ranger about the hikes we wanted to do and she recommended some more based on our situation. Despite all the traffic, we were lucky enough to get in all the hikes we wanted to do and a few extra!
As a I said earlier, the first day at Joshua Tree, we set up camp and then just entered the park with no real plan. Just get comfortable with the layout of the park and do what we could do. Well, we did a little more than familiarize ourselves. We got to do two hikes/activities that I had on my Joshua Tree Bucket List: Hidden Valley and Keys View.
Hidden Valley is a 1 mile loop trail that circles inside of a valley enclosed by rocks. The environment inside of the valley is much different than the landscape outside of it. Because of the protection it receives from the surrounding rocks and the extra moisture, there is so much more greenery along the trail than other places in the park. The trail was rumored to have once been used by cattle rustlers hiding out.
Keys View was one of my favorite places we visited in the park. I read that it was necessary to watch the sunset at Keys View, and our timing couldn’t have been more perfect. However, I wasn’t the only one who had read that. The entrance to Keys View could be found at the top of a mountain at the dead end of a road just off the main road. We weren’t even halfway up the mountain when we noticed that people had already been pulling off to park and walk the rest of the way up the mountain. We weren’t interested in that at that point. Then a little further up, we came to stand still traffic. People waiting to get to the top to try to find parking. Uh ohhh. Mom was getting a little frustrated with all the traffic, so the boys and I decided to get out of the vehicle and walk the rest of the way up, and hopefully figure out some kind of parking for our vehicle by the time Mom hopefully made it to the top.
While the boys went ahead and went to the top, I spent my time standing in open parking places as they became available, only to be given some pretty evil glares and almost ran over as people parked in them anyway. But I didn’t give up. Finally I noticed a spot that would be perfect. It wasn’t a legal parking spot, but we wouldn’t be the only ones illegally parked. (Sorry Caroline, but we were desperate!) I held my breath as mom inched closer to us. Finally, she made it and we got the spot!!
The experience we had on Keys View was worth the stress of getting up there. The view was absolutely breathtaking. And when you added the beauty of the sunset…wow! From Keys View you can see the San Andreas Fault, Mt. San Jacinto, Mt. San Gorgonio, and the Salton Sea. On clear days they say you can even see mountains found in Mexico! We stayed up there for quite awhile, just soaking it in! This was absolutely a must-see!
For our first full day in Joshua Tree, we had a full itinerary, which we planned to start bright and early! Ryan Mountain, Barker Dam, Ryan Ranch, Skull Rock and Cholla Cactus Garden were on the agenda.
Ryan Mountain was probably my favorite end-of-hike destination. I say “end-of-hike” because the actual hike to the end was NOT my favorite! It was hard!! Ryan Mountain is a 3 mile, out-and-back hike to the summit of Ryan Mountain. It offers 360 degree views of the park and it’s surrounding landscape.
When we were at the visitors center the day before, Ryan Mountain was one of the trails I inquired about. I got a “surprised” look from the ranger who went on to describe it, but emphasized the 1,000 feet of elevation gain we would encounter on the 1.5 mile hike to the summit. I smiled and said “Thank You” with still no real idea of what to expect.
We got up early because Ryan Mountain is labeled as one of the most popular hikes in the park, so we knew we wanted to get there early. When we arrived at the trailhead, it was about 8:00 a.m. and we had no issues with parking. As we looked at the mountain, we could see the trail snaking up and around the side and about a third of the way up we saw some little hikers already on their way up. So up we started! One and a half miles isn’t a big deal at all, but this was the toughest mile and half I’ve ever done! The elevation gain was no joke! August hung back with Mom and I, but we kept on going. When we made it to the top, it was worth all the work. The view was amazing! You could see for miles in any direction you looked. I especially liked seeing the flat desert valleys in between all the various mountains throughout the park. We spent a good amount of time at the summit before we headed back down. Obviously coming down was a whole lot easier! I got a kick out of August on the way down. As others were huffing and puffing their way up, August kept telling people “you’re almost there,” “halfway there,” and “good luck!” People were pretty tickled with his encouraging enthusiasm!
Barker Dam was our next destination. Barker Dam was a 1.1 mile loop that took you to dammed up lake. The area used to be used by early cattle ranchers. Seeing the lake in the middle of the desert was pretty interesting. It’s a good place to view bighorn sheep, especially in the morning I’ve heard. We didn’t see any, but it was a nice little easy hike that offered something a little different from other hikes. Side note: We had to fight for parking at this location as well. My mom made several circles around the parking lot before I was able to secure a parking spot from someone who was leaving.
Ryan Ranch was our next hike. Ryan Ranch is a mile out and back trail that features structures from the original Ryan Ranch, under the shadows of Ryan Mountain. The most interesting structure was the old adobe house that was still partially intact. You had to hike along an old ranch road which was not the easiest to be honest. We found trying to hike in some of that deep sand can be pretty taxing. But it was a neat little hike. This one was probably Oakley’s favorite because we let him out of his backpack and he seemed to get a kick out of running around the house and climbing up on things.
Skull Rock is just what it sounds like. A rock that looks like a skull. It’s right next to the road and if you are paying attention at all, you can’t miss it. We stopped just to get a quick look at it and a few pics before heading to our next destination. There is a trail that starts at the rock, but we opted not to hike it.
Cholla Cactus Garden was the final point of interest for the day. It was another location on my Joshua Tree Bucket List. I was captivated by the pictures of the cholla cacti I saw on the internet. Especially a picture I saw of the cacti at sunset when they seemed to be glowing. It’s due to the “fuzziness” of the cacti and the way the needles catch the light. The cholla cactus is known as the “teddy bear” cactus.
The Cholla Cactus Garden itself is a quarter mile loop trail that takes you through thousands of densely concentrated cholla cacti. It is advised to stay on the trail, wear closed-toe shoes, keep children close, and absolutely do not get off the trail or risk getting caught by a prickly cacti.
We got there just a little before sunset, like I wanted. We walked around the trail admiring the cacti, but were very cautious. At the entrance to the trail was a little shirt was a piece of cholla cacti stuck to it. It made it very clear of the dangers of getting too close. My mom decided to kick a small piece of one away from the walking area while we walked along the trail and it immediately stuck to the bottom of her shoe! When she tried to kick it off with her other shoe it almost crawled up to the top of her other shoe!!! I told her if she kept it up it was going to work its way up her legs!! We finally got it off, but it reaffirmed the dangers of the area.
We hung around long enough for the sun to the set, but the sky didn’t turn the pretty colors I’d seen in the pictures that evening, but I still tried my hand at capturing the “glow” of the cacti in the sunlight. This is definitely some place you must see while visiting Joshua Tree.
Our final day at Joshua Tree we decided to venture into a different part of the park. There’s actually two types of desert in the park: High Desert and Low Desert. A high desert is one found in higher elevations, which is where we had been the first few days in the park. We were actually in a section of the Mojave Desert. As we traveled to the southeast corner of the park, we got into the Low Desert, at lower elevations, a part of the Colorado Desert. When you travel to this area of the park, you find that there are very few joshua trees, if any at all, in sight. But there were other types of vegetation. We were seeking out California fan palms at one place in particular, Lost Palms Oasis. We did make a quick stop at White Tank Campground to walk the Arch Rock Nature Trail before our last destination in the park.
Arch Rock Nature Trail was a must-see on my bucket list because it had the only arched rock in the park, and I had never seen one. This trail is not listed on the visitors guide given to you at the center. I’d seen pictures, so I had to do research the night before to figure out exactly where it was. I don’t think it’s advertised very much because the trail head is actually found within the White Tank Campground, where there is very little extra parking for people other than campers.
This was a favorite for all of us. We all enjoyed the rock scrambling that is required to get up in to the Arch Rock. My brave Tanner even climbed on top of it!
Lost Palms Oasis was our final adventure in Joshua Tree National Park and our biggest test! I know I cried and carried on about the difficulty of Ryan Mountain, but this hike definitely pushed us to our limits!
It’s advertised as a 7.2 mile out and back trail which features sandy washes, rolling terrain, and a descent into a canyon where you explore the largest fan palm oasis in the area. The visitors guide states that the climb out of the canyon is strenuous…and yes it is! But there were several things that made this a tougher hike: walking in deeper sand, several rolling hills, more than one canyon, one very large hill one must climb, straight up, and then the final canyon down into the oasis is a doozy. Plus we were in the middle of the heat of the day.
The park ranger we talked to right before making this journey I felt like was trying to convince us this trail was not for us. But we were determined as always. And as usual the boys determination surprised me as well. Was this a hard hike…absolutely! Was it worth it…most definitely!! When you get to the bottom of the canyon, surrounded by those giant palms, it is like you are in a whole other world. Not just the landscape is different, but the temperature drops at least 10 degrees. We packed several snacks, so it was a nice place just to sit and relax and eat some food for some energy. Energy we were going to need for the hike back to the car!
August may kill me one of these days, but let me just say that he was pretty appreciative of the special toilet paper I had bought, more as a joke, and given to them as part of their supplies for the trip and stuck in his backpack!!
As we drug ourselves back to the car after our final hike in Joshua Tree National Park, we waved goodbye to our “Gift of Adventure.” In two and a half days we walked a little over 20 miles, climbed around hundreds of rocks, and seen some unforgettable sights! Twenty miles may not seem a lot to more serious hikers, but I couldn’t be more proud of my boys. We are talking about 13 and 9 year old boys who not only kept up, but didn’t complain! They seemed to thoroughly enjoy all the adventures we found within the park. And God love Enrique! He did almost every single step carrying Oakley and his dinosaurs on his back!!! I know it wasn’t easy but he’s a trooper! And that’s why he crossfits, right?
Other Fun Facts
- We left for Joshua Tree on Christmas night, Dec. 25th, and arrived to our campground mid-morning, Dec. 27th. We spent one night in a hotel (which is another fun fact). We left for home about 10:00 a.m. local time on Saturday, Dec. 30th, and arrived back home about 4:30 p.m. on New Year’s Eve, Sunday, Dec. 31st!
- We drove a total of 3,811 miles!!
- The only time we stayed the night in a hotel while on the road was the night before arriving at Joshua Tree. Wanted to be fresh before our first big day in the park. I just found something off of Priceline and it ended up being the Route 66 Ramada in Kingman, AZ. It was an adventure in of itself! It had old school murals painted all over it, old cars, statues…It was interesting to say the least.
- Before finding Hipcamp we almost booked a little house that spoke “Joshua Tree” to us. Mom wasn’t too sure about it and didn’t want to take the chance. Funny thing was, we passed it while coming into town for the first time! We were kind of glad we did pass on it…LOL
- On the way to Joshua Tree, my mom found a historic site that we decided to stop and see. It was an opportunity to stretch our legs and learn about a new culture. We stopped in Old Laguna, NM which is part of the Pueblo of Laguna nation. There along Old Route 66 is the Mission San Jose de Laguna. This is a Spanish mission that was constructed over 300 years ago. We were able to walk right in and look around. It still had dirt floors, a very interesting beamed ceiling, and original tapestries on the walls. Cameras were not allowed inside, so I did not get any pictures of the inside. But it was definitely worth the stop to see. As we were leaving, we started hearing a drums start beating and people singing. We weren’t sure if we were welcome to see whatever it was, but decided to follow the sound of the music when we saw more signs stating “Absolutely no pictures. If you are caught your phone will be taken and turned into the tribal council.” So we figured it was okay to observe under those regulations. What we witnessed we later discovered was called the “Turtle Dance.” Tens of residents were dressed in traditional garb and dancing while another group continued to chant and beat drums. There were several other residents watching and every once in awhile they would go to one of the men or women dancing and give them a gift. I didn’t know what would happen to my phone if I did get caught taking pictures, but it was quite an experience. I would have loved to have shared it with you.
- After completing our last hike in Joshua Tree, we exited the park from the South Entrance. I had done a little research and realized that the General George S. Patton Memorial Museum was just outside of that part of the park! If you know our family very well, you know that us Taylor Girls grew up watching the movie “Patton” with our Dad. I knew I just had to stop and check it out. Besides the giant statue of Patton and his famous dog, other exhibits included a collection of tanks and other military vehicles from WWII and the Korean War, artifacts from several wars and years of fighting (including some from Nazis), and memorabilia from Patton’s life and career.
- Other than snacks for breakfast and lunch in the park, we didn’t pack any real food for dinner. Our plan was to eat in the evening somewhere before returning to camp. Our first night we ate Mexican in Twentynine Palms, CA (good, but nothing special). However, the second night we had pizza in Joshua Tree at a place called Pie for the People. It was delicious!!! The pizzas were ginormous!! And they had all kinds of unique pizza choices. Mom and the boys went with a typical pepperoni but Enrique and I went with a “David Bowie.” It was a pizza with white sauce, mozzarella, bacon, roasted pineapple, jalapenos, Guinness caramelized onions, and the item that did it for me…plum sauce! That with a big, yummy salad, and we were in heaven. It must have been the place to be because the line was out the door!
- As you may know, I try to frequent any establishment featured on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives. So on the way home, I found a place in Flagstaff, AZ called Salsa Brava that we decided to stop and eat lunch. Tanner and I got the stuffed sopapillas and Navajo tacos that were featured on the show. But what I thought was the coolest was the Salsa Bar! Instead of bringing you salsa like most Mexican restaurants. Here they dropped off several bowls for you to serve yourself the different types of salsas offered from their bar. They had several different kinds ranging in flavor and spice. Maybe someday we can get something like that at our local El Tapatio!!
- We Missourians are spoiled!!! I say this because I’ve never had to fight for a parking spot or places on a trail whenever I’ve wanted to hike around home. At times it was rather frustrating. But then again, what do you expect when you visit a National Park right outside of Los Angeles and San Diego! Despite the traffic we were still able to get everything we wanted to get in before having to return home.
In conclusion, I believe this trip was a huge success! So I guess I made it into the “Awesomely Crazy” zone versus just being “Crazy.” After 3,811 miles driving, 20+ miles hiking, and zero down time the boys could still smile when we got home and ask “where are we going next time?” That tells me all I need to know! Our “Gift of Adventure” was something that will live with them forever! If you’ve never considered doing something similar with your family, please do so.
Now I am already looking for options for next year!! So if you have any suggestions, please comment and let me know!
Long live Family and Lagom Adventures!!
P.S. I’m not a total hard ass…My children did still get Christmas presents under the tree Christmas morning. But the majority of them were new Camelbaks and other items they could use on the trip!
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