#jtnp

[geocycle2010]

[imaginaryloversandfriends]

Roadrunner in Joshua Tree, CA

[spirited-avvay]

sunrise @ Joshua Tree National Park | 10.22.23

[moany-lisa]

lovers at Heart Rock, 2022

[dogsaver-blog]

On Ryan Mountain by PS Birch

[naomitours]

Joshua Tree, CA: Where The Streets Have No Name

I was never a big traveler. As a kid there was the odd family vacation or the occasional professional event in college, but almost never more than a state away. All of that changed when I took a temp job in California, and I visited one of my favorite places in the whole world, Joshua Tree. For reference, this is a joshua tree:

Some indigenous names include sovarampi, humwichawa, or umpu. It has tremendous cultural and religious significance.

Now a joshua tree is not a tree, it's scientific name is Yucca brevifolia, and it's much better described as a cactus. But who the fuck is Joshua, and who thought he was so important to have a tree named after him? Well, like many problems, it's the Mormon's fault. When missionaries first saw these trees they were reminded, as Mormons often are, of a biblical story. Specifically, Joshua stretching his hands out towards god. (Of course, it must be mentioned that indigenous people were already living here, and had their own names for this plant.)

What I Saw

Joshua Tree National Park

Maybe it's just our way as humans to see cultural figures in nature. Take for example this rock, which immediately reminded me of a crew mate from the hit video game Among Us (an amogus, if you will).

Suspicious formations at Skull Rock Trail

Skull Rock Trail is famously very easy and accessible, so if you're not big on hikes it can be a good starting place along with adjacent Split-Rock Trail. If you're looking for something a little more challenging, my pick would be the Ryan Mountain Trail, which is a really stunning 3-mile, out-and-back route to the summit of this majestic desert mountain.

View from Ryan Mountain at sunset.*

Another interesting fact about the park is that it actually covers 2 deserts.** The joshua trees grow exclusively in the Mojave Desert, but JTNP is also home to the Sonoran desert, which is beautiful in its own right:

The Cottonwood Visitor Center can be found here, but you probably already went to the VC in the city proper before you came here so no need to stop unless you're for some reason really into seeing all the visitor centers.

The Integratron

We also visited The Integratron. Now I have not been a spiritual person for many years, but this sounded like a cool experience. Basically, this guy in the 50's claims he was inspired by aliens to build it as a place of rejuvenation and, yes, time travel. I mean, look at the building:

Mr. Spock, set phasers to Enlighten!***

I mean, this thing looks like a spaceship, inside and out. You go in, this guy gives you a tour and overview of the history and then we all (there were about 20-30 of us) climbed up these big stairs and you get into this large, domed room. There were mats to lay down on and this woman came in and we all laid down and were instructed to remain completely silent while she performed what they called a "sound bath" in these quartz music bowls:

Did I feel something bigger than myself in that moment? Did I connect with the sun, the moon, the stars and the cosmos? No. But was it a cool and unique experience, an interesting story? Yes, but probably not worth the almost $40/person we ended up paying. Nice people though, it was very relaxing!

Where I Stayed

There's a lot of accommodations in JT, its generally warm climate also makes it a good spot for camping. I've been a few times and I generally stay in these horrible little motels, but when I went back here with a friend we wanted to get somewhere nice and had a really phenomenal time at Joshua Tree AutoCamp, which is a glamping experience that is equal parts nature and luxury. After all, when you wake in the morning, it's hard to beat the view of the mountains:

The best part of waking up in the desert is that it's so hot right away. This might not sound like a benefit (please stay hydrated at all times!) but one of the best parts of AutoCamp is that it has a pool, and as early as 7 in the morning you can see people taking a dip and cooling off.

Come on in, the water's very cold and you're in a desert

After the swim you can shower back in the Airstream, there's even little pegs to hang and dry things, like these horrible Pabst Blue Ribbon swim trunks we found at Walmart.

Then, once you're ready for bed, which we were after hiking all day, there's this big, comfy king-sized mattress, or if you need more than 1 bed, there's a long couch that's fine for sleeping as well.

What I Ate

There's a lot of great food in the desert, but what always interests me in my travels are the novel, the regional, the one-of-a-kind foodstuffs you will regret not trying. Joshua Tree was my first encounter with curry pizza:

Two pizza from Sam's, my memory isn't great so I think the first is the Bollywood pizza, the second from my most recent trip, is the Mini Maharaja pizza.

At Sam's Indian Food & Pizza, you could call it a natural evolution in Indian, Italian and arguably British culinary traditions. After all, while the origins of tikka masala are debated, it remains a staple in Indian-American cuisine, of which I am a humble but devoted fan. And much like traditional pizza, it's a tomato-based sauce, the result of the adaptation in medium is a delicious, savory pizza with green onions, paneer, ginger, cilantro and more!

We also ate at JT Country Kitchen which is an honest diner with good food. And I had a pancake that morning, which is just a little dessert in the desert, am I right??****

Summary

Joshua Tree is like nowhere else on Earth, it's inspired so much culturally, U2's album comes to mind, and it's also neighbor to the nearby Coachella and Stagecoach music festivals in Indio. The dry desert air, the sun beating down on your face, it connected me to my body in a new context, and I wanted to start this blog by commemorating somewhere truly special for me.

Joshua Tree was the place where I fell in love with national parks and the desert. It's where I take my friends whenever we're in southern California. And it's where, one fateful night, I decided I was going to transition medically and be my whole, authentic self. It was the start of an adventure, and I hope you'll join me on this blog as I take you along on many more to come!

Footnotes * Ryan Mountain is, of course, named after Hollywood actor Ryan Gosling, who was the first person to summit the mountain in 1994 when the park was opened. **** ** That's two more deserts than I grew up with in Ohio, I didn't know what I was missing! Thanks to climate change though, maybe we'll have our own Midwest desert someday soon! *** With all apologies to Trekkies, I've never watched so I don't know if the phasers were Spock's job, please don't do that Vulcan neck-thing that kills me, I'm ticklish. **** I apologize ***** This is not true, please don't spread misinformation online, it was just a joke!

[lostinyv]

Sign up online at https://www.cmccd.edu/current-students/internships/ Among many benefits, participating in an internship helps to: ·         Develop your knowledge and skill set. Enhance your resume for employment. Expand extracurricular activities for application to scholarships and universities. Explore job and career interests for best personal “fit”. #studentinternships #igotmystartatcmc #jtnpinterns #jtnp #discoveryourself #coppermountaincollege (at Copper Mountain College) https://www.instagram.com/p/CnQcmcOJ6cw/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[modernhomespalmsprings]

Some very cold camping last night but nice lighting this morning as always..#jtnp #jtmf #jumborocks #skullrock back later for some day shots 📷 #mcdowellranch (at Jumbo Rocks Campground) https://www.instagram.com/p/ClysUbKLuhC/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[pigeontakeover]

If you love desert hiking, please consider signing the petition to create the Chuckwalla National Monument!

The proposed plan would designate over 600,000 acres south of Joshua Tree National Park as the Chuckwalla National Monument to protect biodiversity and historical Native American cultural sites. It will also add about 17,000 acres to JTNP.

[boonesfarmsangria]

jtnp 0113-232023

[duncantraveldiary]

More hiking and rock climbing in JTNP

[petnews2day]

"What if I spot a tortoise?" and the rule of thumb when viewing wildlife in JTNP

New Post has been published on https://petn.ws/KQ3Ln

"What if I spot a tortoise?" and the rule of thumb when viewing wildlife in JTNP

It keeps threatening to warm up here in the the hi desert, which means our one of our oldest resident species starts coming out their shells- metaphorically. The Mojave Desert Tortoise will become more active when its warmer, especially as flowers start to open up on native weeds, cacti and other down-low food sources. Z107.7 […]

See full article at https://petn.ws/KQ3Ln #ReptileNews

[imaginaryloversandfriends]

[benjaminsblog]

Joshua Tree National Park

I had a very short shift today, as the only women’s match being shown was the doubles final*. I knew that this was going to be the case at the start of the tournament, so I was looking forward to rewarding myself with some sightseeing after the hellish start. I earmarked the rest of the day for a trip through the gigantic JTNP, so waited impatiently for the tennis to finish. It took longer than it should have, but as soon as the trophies were lifted, I was swiftly out the door and on the road by 2pm.

I drove 30 minutes to the southern entrance of JT, stopped for a quick photo op, and then proceeded through the park at a leisurely pace, stopping as and when I fancied. In truth, it wasn’t the most photogenic place I’ve visited, but I think the most impressive aspect was the enormity of the place – I looked out across a plain towards what looked like multiple layers of mountains, and could never remember being able to see so far into the distance. It made me wish I had a viewfinder with me to check how far it was!

Not that the views weren't impressive - there were noticeable shifts in the environment as I drove through, with some distinctly green patches that I was not expecting. The sun shone all day and was accompanied by a delightful breeze, making my journey all the more pleasurable. I suddenly found myself passing the 'You are now leaving JNTP' sign 2h30 later, but the scenery kept delivering on my drive back - the San Gorgonio Mountain seemed to loom above/around/in front of me regardless of which direction I was driving in.

As I pootled along on my expedition, I kept catching myself smiling a goofy smile, still not believing four years later that this is my job!

* I often accuse people of not giving doubles its due, so I should give it more of a mention. I covered the doubles final on the penultimate day – Barbora Krejickova (CZE) & Katerina Siniakova (CZE) v Beatriz Haddad Maia (BRA) & Laura Siegemund (GER) – phew! Barbs & Kat are the World Number 1s, whereas Bea & Laura were playing their first tournament together (although they are both accomplished doubles players).

The Cezchs took the first set before the underdogs won the second through sheer bloody mindedness, but they eventually ran out of steam in the ensuing championship tie break. Given that I was itching to get going, I could have done without the four copy+paste speeches from each player, but I couldn't really begrudge them their moment in the sun.

[moany-lisa]

[anonymusbosch]

https://youtu.be/05v4nfUmBYI?si=8niLNNKkYJOvmXQK walk the moon / one foot

high confidence: mojave desert, granitic pluton area encompassing joshua tree national park + mojave national preserve

medium confidence: joshua tree national park, upper half, not near some of the charismatic formations like Hidden Valley. an area without joshua trees themselves. maybe a lower elevation zone.

lower confidence: somewhere close-ish to the Ryan Mountain region or south-east of there

(JTNP is correct but I can't find more info on a precise location)

occasionally I try to figure out where a music video set in the desert was shot based on the rocks + plants + any structures. it's a symptom of a disease i happen to have called "being extremely sexy and sometimes covered in dirt"