Joshua Tree was a place that Adrian had been to before, but he could not wait to return and share it with me. This is a large national park spanning at least two desert areas including the Mojave and Colorado. We stayed in the Cottonwood campground within the Colarado desert part of the park. It was the more traditional desert landscape and very hot during the day as expected. The camping area itself was located near a true oasis with wonderful hikes.

It has been very dry in Joshua Tree- yes, even for a desert. The Joshua Tree only grows in two places on earth: The Mojave Desert and somewhere near Jerusalem. We were surprised to learn that the area was originally settled as a cattle farm with lush fields and a flowing river within the last 100 years.. Even then, though, water was the most important commodity and there was even a deadly shoot out over water rights. Many of the hikes were through the areas that were previously flowing with water or were home to springs, but currently dry. This did not taint the beauty of the otherworldly landscape.

The now endangered Joshua trees provided a Dr. Seuss-like shadescape that created polka dots of relief against dramatic rock formations. These rocks were often stories high and as large as a shopping malls. We would not have been shocked to see a dinosaur or a giant Komodo dragon dart out at any moment. Ok, we would have been- but they would have absolutely fit right in! The sunsets, too, were spectacular as the rosy desert sun melted in to the earth in exchange for the black velvet of the night sky. In this dark sky sanctuary, the nights were always punctuated with a dazzling number of stars.

The town of Joshua Tree was also with its own charm, offering a rowdy saloon with loud country music and good time feel. This offered up an absolutely mouth- watering post hike burger and beer that may be the best we have ever had. Then, we saddled up and were on to the city!