My husband and I had a wonderful opportunity to go stay at an Airbnb in Joshua Tree recently. The owner wanted to get new images of the place and we worked out a trade. We’d get a nice little vacation and I’d shoot the property and house - it was a win/win!
(I’d actually love doing that more often. It was really fantastic and let us get away and visit somewhere new and different.)
Joshua Tree has always been a place I’ve wanted to visit, those crazy Dr. Seuss style trees and the beautiful sunset images…what is not to love? Well, besides the heat during the summer - man, it is no joke! It is like being inside an oven. I gotta say though, I far prefer the dry heat over humid Atlanta heat. Still, the desert can be cruel and you can not be overly hydrated. Water is your best friend here.
Quick tip ladies - pantyliners inside your bra. Seriously, how did I go nearly 50 years and never learn that? #gamechanger (wish I had known that in Atlanta, OMG!)
The Joshua tree, the largest of the yuccas, only grows in the Mojave Desert, which is crazy. BUT, even more crazy, is that only Joshua trees (and most other yuccas) rely on the female pronuba Moth for pollination. No other animal visiting the blooms transfers the pollen from one flower to another. In fact, the female yucca moth has evolved special organs to collect and distribute the pollen onto the surface of the flower. She lays her eggs in the flowers' ovaries, and when the larvae hatch, they feed on the yucca seeds.
Without the moth's pollination, the Joshua tree could not reproduce, nor could the moth, whose larvae would have no seeds to eat. Although old Joshua trees can sprout new plants from their roots, only the seeds produced in pollinated flowers can scatter far enough to establish a new stand.
One moth and one tree exist in one small place in the entire Earth.
Just sit on that a bit.(Learn more at DesertUSA it’s incredibly interesting!)
Okay - let’s get to the pretty…. ;)
Coyote Corner is the place to shop and get your Joshua Tree souvenir shopping done. From incredible handmade items, all kinds of mindfulness things to the traditional magnets, shirts and hats. You will spend an hour there and still miss things. I picked up a vintage Joshua Tree patch for my ragged jeans, some new Tibetan prayer flags and, of course, the required magnet (we collect one from wherever we travel). They also offer showers to wash away some of that eau de Mojave for campers, travelers, or whomever may need to freshen up.
Located next to the store is Cliffhanger Guides, From October to May they offer guided rock climbing adventures. Not only do they do private climbs and provide all the gear - they even do lunch and I hear it’s pretty damn good. We were disappointed that we were there during the off season, but we absolutely can’t wait to come back and try it out. Gary and I both love rock scrambling and have been dying to try out some more adventurous climbs - with proper supervision, of course!
Just another block down Twentynine Palms is the most eclectic and wonderful art area. Various artists and installations abound.
No matter what you enjoy, you will find it in Joshua Tree. The National Park is huge! There are some incredibly fantastic camping areas out there. We hope to go back in the Fall and camp for a few days and probably do some rock climbing. One of the really wonderful things is that if you prefer to just drive around you can see so much without exerting yourself, or you can get out and climb the rocks and explore. It really does offer something for everyone.
As an added bonus - there is no cell service in the park. It is you and nature - they way it should be ;)
Namaste