Put this National Park on your list and research buying a park pass in advance.

I was able to buy a Military Lifetime pass online and have it shipped to my home.

A 3 hour plus drive from Orange County we hit the road on a Friday afternoon. We decided to reserve an Airbnb in 29 Palms. I’m so glad we did because that’s where we found reprieve during the mid-day sun. We’re on the tail end of Spring in California and things are warming up rather quickly. Whoosh HONEY! We haven’t even hit triple digit heat in the desert yet.

Our itinerary was rather simple…

Friday Arrive by Check in 4pm eat dinner at Spaghetti Western. Well that changed as soon as we saw SW was 40 minutes one way from our Airbnb. Sadly, we had to adjust and stop on our way into town. The restaurant wasn’t serving yet but the bar was open. This place is so cute. Our server Ian was really good but our service was slow because they had a team meeting just before they opened for dinner at 5pm and our order wasn’t taken until close to 5:30pm. My roadrunner cocktail was very tasty. Our meals were meh. I was very excited to try the eggplant Parmesan I saw on their instagram account. Well it arrived tough and without pasta. I tried ordering a side of penne and was out of luck. My meal was $24!

I had two rounds of the ROADRUNNER cocktail.

I recommend stopping at the Spaghetti Western for cocktails and appetizers. We weren’t happy about our meals so order at your own risk. The venue is a lot of fun for photos. They offer LIVE entertainment so check their events page online.

Planning around the heat, we decided to watch the sunrise and then head to the local farmers markets. There are two, one in Twenty-nine Palms and the other in Joshua Tree as our morning excersion. Ahh, sunrise was at 5:34am and it’s recommended to get to your desired location 45 minutes before. The math meant I needed to be up to get ready around 4am.

Ok, I’m not a morning person or early riser. There is science I may never be either. I actually believe I’m in the IN BETWEEN. 8am is a good time for me to wake-up and my power hour is 10am. Anyway - we were on the road and at Cholla Cactus Garden just as the sky started brightening up. Too bad Google Maps was TOTALLY wrong on where the Cholla Cactus Garden was. We weren’t even in the park. Seriously, we could have just watched it from our Aribnb. Paxton however decided that we would head to Keys View. Was it glorious? Sure. Was I tired and irritated? Hells yah. Note: not morning person equals GRUMPY.I’m really going to read up more on the early morning vs late night people. I don’t believe dusk and I get along that much. I much rather watch a sunset over a sunrise especially on retreat. My therapist also agrees.

As the sun rose and we got all the pictures we needed; we decided to head out to town. On our way out, we stopped at a couple rock formations. Hall of Horrors and Skull Rock. We didn’t go too deep into the Hall or Horrors and felt fortunate Skull Rock was easy to access. We weren't in HIKING MODE or gear. I just wanted some cool pictures. Our Fuji TX30 was perfect. It’s light weight and gives me a few preset options I can easily work with. Oh and the infamous three legged coyote Tripod greeted us as we entered into the Twenty-Nine Palms area. DON’T FEED the wild life. Tripod was not afraid to approach our vehicle. He is asking for food because humans have obliged. Please don’t feed the animals. It goes against what they naturally need to do to survive desert conditions.

We felt the Joshua Tree farmers market had a lot more to offer in the grocery department. 29 palms had food and craft vendors. We wanted to pick up a few items to enhance the groceries I brought with us for meals at the house. I’m SO GLAD I shopped before hand as our place was located OFF THE GRID for the most part. Although, we did forget toothpaste and I forgot my face wash. Luckily there was a Rite-aide on our way back to the house.

Buying jam to have with our English muffins.

Saturday plans were…

Morning see the sunrise and shop farmers markets
Afternoon rest, read, relax
Evening dinner at the airbnb (I brought steaks and red potatoes) STAY IN

We really did need a nap after our early wake-up call. I was ecstatic we were able to see Skull Rock so easily. It really was practically on the roadside, we hopped out and climbed one small area to see it. We initially thought we might stargaze later in the night and changed our minds in lieu of lounging.

Honestly, making time to explore downtown Joshua Tree was worth it. The shops are quirky boho chic and lunch at the Joshua Tree Saloon was REALLY GOOD! We had a couple cocktails, a chicken salad and carnitas tacos. We then made our way to the visitors center. We grabbed a FREE park map (because I forgot my AAA one) and read all the fun facts about the park including it’s history. It wasn’t very big but had just enough to give you the history of the park.

Sunday

Sleep in then go gift and souvenir shopping in town.

Lunch at Joshua Tree Saloon then rest at airbnb
Sunset at Cholla (Choy - ya) Cactus Gardens inside the park.
Enjoy a late picnic dinner while stargazing.

We made it back into the park for sunset at the Cholla Cactus Gardens. This is where the Mojave and Colorado deserts meet. It was stunning. Be mindful of BEES, we were caught off guard and low key wondered if they were about to make a hive out of our car under carriage. Paxton was amazing and moved the car. It was a

Monday pack up and head home.

Our Tier 3 patrons receive a post card from our trips.

We had a loose itinerary and tried to be flexible. It was very hot during the day and we also wanted to relax as much as possible. No UFO’s were seen on this trip. But we will return in the cooler months. - Tamantha*

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