After leaving Hollywood Boulevard (check out our blog post on 48 hours in LA), we headed towards Joshua Tree. Surprisingly, traffic out of Los Angeles wasn’t as horrible as I was expecting and the views were pretty scenic. Seeing all of Los Angeles in the sunshine with palm trees speckled about was a nice movie-credits ending to our short time there.
My group consisted of me, my husband, and four of his friends from Wales. Naturally, I wanted to show them the best that America has to offer. So, on the way to Joshua Tree I decided to make a pit stop at Walmart. Unfortunately, this Walmart was not a ‘super’ Walmart so they didn’t get the full experience; but it was still intriguing. I haven’t been to a non-super Walmart in probably twenty years. It was a nostalgic experience… As soon as I walked in I was taken to my childhood Walmart, where I bought my Barbies and Mary Kate and Ashley perfume. The UK peeps were underwhelmed, but I got a neat kick out of my little trip down memory lane.
After about four hours of driving past towns, wind turbines, cacti, and eventually Joshua trees, we made it to our destination. We stayed at a motel called the High Desert Motel. Now, this might not be the most luxurious of stays, but it was good for one night. The thing about the Palm Springs area from when I was looking at places to stay is you either get a motel or a crazy expensive, out of this world Airbnb. Plus, we got a coupon sheet to dining places in Joshua Tree. Who doesn’t like a discounted meal?!
The view from our room was beautiful. Joshua Tree is basically based around one long road, so there wasn't really anything blocking our view. We could see Joshua Trees, cacti, and mountains for miles and miles. A quite surreal experience.
After an hour of settling in, we were hungry and ready to use that 25% off coupon for Joshua Tree Saloon. We got an XL Lyft and arrived in under 10 minutes. The saloon was busy but we were seated in about 15 minutes. Joshua Tree Saloon had a variety of meals and drinks so that everyone was satisfied. I had a couple of cocktails (because 25% off) with my mouth-watering portobello burger.
A couple of hours passed by and we were ready to leave. My husband and his friend suggested walking the mile or so back to the hotel. Honestly, I said no because it was pouring down rain and I was also worried about snakes coming after me at 10 o’clock at night in the desert. So we left the boys to their walk home in the rain. What we didn’t bank on is the fact that Joshua Tree isn’t a Lyft or Uber hotspot... After waiting for about 20 minutes for the rain to stop (and praying for that Lyft), the rest of the group and I made our way back to our motel in the drizzle. Who knew it rains in the desert?
After a much needed quiet sleep, we easily checked out of the hotel and went to breakfast at Crossroads Cafe. Crossroads Cafe was located about a mile from our hotel and was in the middle of what I would call downtown Joshua Tree. There were a few different cafes, health food stores, and boutiques around it.
Crossroads Cafe was what I would imagine any small town breakfast joint to be like. It was busy and smelled amazing. The cafe had an industrial meets indie vibe complemented with taxidermy animals watching you eat your food. I ordered french toast, scrambled, eggs, fruit, and a latte. I was not disappointed and highly recommend Crossroads Cafe.
After leaving breakfast, we had to make sure we stopped for a short hike before we left for Las Vegas. We were in Joshua Tree after all. We chose the Fortynine Palms Oasis trail and started our journey. Now, we found this trail from a list that we got from our motel. We originally thought that this trail would take about 45 minutes in total. After an hour of walking, we were wondering when this trial would end exactly. We were getting progressively farther from where we parked and that “palm oasis” was still a small mirage in the distance. At this point we realized this trail would probably take us hours.
I’m a type one diabetic and wasn’t exactly prepared for this trail that was much longer than 45 minutes. I should have taken less insulin at breakfast. Also, I only had four glucose tablets on me and one of the guys had 3 fruit Mentos. My blood sugar was steadily dropping and I was full of regret for not bringing that apple juice with me that I had left in the car. There was no option but to tell my friends that I had to turn around. My blood sugar was dropping too low for comfort. All I could imagine was passing out and my husband having to call for a helicopter to fly me out of there. Thankfully, everyone was cool with it, and I avoided that dramatic desert rescue.
Once we got back to the car we realized that we (my husband) got the hiking time mixed up with another trail. The 45 minute trail was actually 3 hours! I do want to say though, the views were incredible on this trail. It almost looked like we were on another planet. I’m a little sad that we didn’t make it to the end of the trail, but maybe next time I’ll reach that far away oasis.
Once quarantine is over and it is safe to travel again, I would love to go back to Joshua Tree. I know there is much more to offer than what I saw. I would love to spend a few nights there and explore all that Joshua Tree National Park has to offer (with plenty of snacks to prevent low blood sugar). It was such a relaxing, and much needed, pit stop between the hustle and bustle of Los Angeles and Las Vegas.
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