Joshua Tree National Park

On my way into the park I noticed on Instagram that a few travel friends were passing through the Mojave desert.  I am so happy I reached out asking about their plans since they were on their way to Joshua Tree!  We even did the movie-esque thing where we arrived at the trailhead parking lot at the same time from opposite directions and waved as we parked.  Jordan and Ethan, you two are awesome.

In the evening I decided to finally make my trek out for my first backpacking adventure.  Most nights were too cold to allow it with my current gear setup, but this night it was going to drop to a balmy 40F.

Most of my time in this park felt all over the place.  I did a lot  little short hikes around the touristy locations on my first day in the park.  For my second full day in the park I decided to get a couple long hikes in.  I hiked the loop around the Lost Horse Mine Trail.  There was an old mine, but I think the horse is still lost.

I finished the evening with an incredible sunset.  It was an accident but I stumbled upon the best viewing location at Key’s View.

I’m including this album here since I don’t know where else to put it.  After leaving Joshua Tree I headed back to Las Vegas near my favorite van spot there and met a fun group of people.  This week included Settlers of Catan and hosting people inside my van for homemade pasta (I didn’t make the pasta and yes it was delicious).