Hey Susannah Dot Com

Two LA natives in their late 30s, who had been to Coachella multiple times in their youth, had never been to Joshua Tree? Yup.

And for one of them specifically, it was their first time in any National Park, in California or beyond? Also yes.

For someone who can lean into California hippie/energy/crystals/woo ideals, both these things are surprising. Particularly the fact that my family growing up was relatively outdoorsy - camping, and driving to see family in the Bay Area, was pretty much the only vacations we went on, so I’m not sure why National Parks never managed to make their way onto our destination lists. (We covered a lot of the state parks, though, so there’s that.) As I got older and had the funds to travel on my own, my priorities were the big cities. I feel alive in the city, walking around with music in my headphones and feeling the energy of being around people, stopping into bars and visiting museums and urban parks. Which, fair - as a youngster, perhaps New Orleans and Portland hold more intrigue than Sequoia National Park.

But the other thing is that, well… I had certain ideas about myself and what I could/couldn’t do. I’ve covered some of this ground before - I didn’t believe myself to be an outdoorsy person, so I didn’t prioritize “outdoor” activities and destinations, and it became a self-reinforcing concept. I like to walk and swim, but heavy duty hiking, rock climbing, or trail running never sounded appealing. I’m slowly realizing that there are ways to engage with the great outdoors on your own terms, where you can sample it without getting sunburned or dehydrated. So while the fact that I made it to this age without stepping foot in a National Park, kinda makes me feel some type of way… I’m more focused on how I can get to another one again.

This Joshua Tree trip was short but packed in a lot of amazing activities:

Pappy and Harriet’s

Pappy’s has been a bucket list item since I first heard about Pappy’s, and I’m glad to say that the Big Thief show didn’t disappoint. For the uninitiated, Pappy and Harriet’s is a BBQ restaurant/roadhouse and concert venue who have a decent-size outdoor stage to watch bands perform in an Old West setting. Big Thief was a perfect band to see there, and I left with a great appreciation for the band.

The Integratron

I’ve been to a few sound baths, which is basically like a sound healing meditation session. The one at the Integratron, an acoustically perfect domed venue, had the sound vibrations penetrating deeper than I’ve ever experienced. Seriously, you can feel the sound vibrating through your whole body. I was super relaxed for the rest of the day and am probably still feeling the benefits days later.

Joshua Tree National Park

Obviously! With a 7-day pass only being $30 per car, this is an obvious and affordable must-do and we did a ton of research to figure out the best activities to do in a short about of time. The must-sees we landed on:

Barker Dam Trail - A 1-mile loop to see the now-dry remnants of a dam. Some parts were a little more uneven terrain than I was expecting, but overall it was easy. There are also petroglyphs (drawings on rocks) by an as-yet-unidentified Native tribe that were cool to see. We also saw a rattlesnake.
Skull Rock - Easy to pull over and see this one. It kinda looks like a skull.
Cholla Cactus Garden - The southernmost destination, we felt like we were driving endlessly and eventually came upon the garden, which was totally worth it. The Cholla Cacti appear out of nowhere and are breathtaking, especially at golden hour. More than worth the drive.

We got plenty of intel about the park using a narration app. It’s a pretty incredible place between the Joshua trees (they are so big!), rock formations, and wildlife.

Food, Drink, and Etc.

La Copine was really good. Probably the best restaurant in JT, so make sure to make a reservation.
Tiny Pony was a much-needed bar/late night eats spot with a cute patio.
JT Country Kitchen was a tiny small-town diner with the absolute nicest, quickest servers and shockingly great food. My breakfast burrito was so big that I didn’t need lunch or dinner - I should clarify, it was at like 11am.
Our Airbnb, Joshua Tree del Sol, was awesome. (No, we didn’t know the listing was that type of place with an IG presence when we booked.) It had a gorgeous backyard with a hot tub, hammock, and coolest of all… an RV for photo opps. We didn’t spend a ton of time at the Airbnb but made sure to have a couple of hours enjoying the backyard, under what we later learned was the super flower blood moon.

Here, have some pictures…