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Old 9 Sep 18, 03:34 PM  
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Pumba75
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4 go La La in La La Land - Day 4: I'll show you a place, high on a desert plain

Saturday 4th August 2018

Today started with breakfast at the hotel. This was included in the room rate and was ok. Standard selection for a hotel buffet - hot and cold options. We all made sure we had our money’s worth! It was fairly busy with a mix of tourists and the military.

Our plan for today was to explore Joshua Tree National Park - obviously not all of it, as it’s nearly 800,000 acres! We weren’t too sure what to expect, but were looking forward to finding out. Being that the park is where the Mojave and Colorado deserts meet, it was also very very hot.

At 8.30am we pulled up at the visitor’s centre near one of the 3 main entrances to the park. We paid our $30 entrance fee, collected a map, and bought a fridge magnet and we were now ready to go.








We’d stocked up on water, and the visitor centre staff were advising that, due to the high temperatures, hiking was not recommended today. This was a shame but as we couldn’t honestly describe ourselves as hikers in any way, shape, or form, it didn't dampen our spirits!

Having looked at the map, and worked out some of the highlights that we wanted to see, we formulated a plan - to take the main road that runs through the top section of the park to the other entrance in the town of Joshua Tree, stopping at points along the way to take in the scenery.






As we ventured further into the park the landscape began to change dramatically, becoming even more arid. After a few miles we pulled into one of the parking areas (stopping on the road itself is prohibited) to look at some of the rock formations - the first thing that struck us was the absolute quiet. Other than the infrequent buzz of crickets, it was totally silent, and with no other cars or people in sight, completely deserted. After a few minutes, with photos taken, we got back in the car to escape the almost oppressive heat and cherished the air con!




We drove on a short distance and then pulled up again to view Skull Rock - it’s obvious to see from the photos how this particular formation got its name. Again, the heat meant we could only stay outside for a few minutes.




We continued on the road, taking in the breathtaking scenery. Melissa was keeping her eyes peeled for giant cacti but she still hadn’t found what she was looking for...




The next stop was an area called Keys View - we had to come off the main road for this and follow a smaller road up to the top of this particular peak. From here we had the most incredible views down into Coachella Valley, looking across to San Jacinto mountain, and Palm Springs, which nestled in its foothills. You could also, apparently, see the San Andreas Fault from here as well - although we weren’t too sure what it was actually supposed to look like! It was an incredible view across the valley.








Jumping back in the car, we continued along the rest of the road and headed out of the park’s Joshua Tree entrance. All in all, we’d spent a lovely couple of hours exploring - this was a totally different experience to anything we’d done in the States before. We were blown away by the landscape and came away feeling very happy and content. A bucket list moment.

As we were quite close to the town of Yucca Valley, we decided to pay a visit to Walmart to pick up a few bits for lunch - today was National Choc Chip Cookie Day in the US so we felt we should mark the occasion! Shopping done, we headed back, driving through the town of Joshua Tree itself - contrary to what U2 have told us, the streets do actually have names.

We had no real plans for the rest of the day and, given the pace we’d been holidaying at so far, felt it wouldn’t hurt to have a bit of down-time. We headed back to the hotel and shared the sub, chips and cookies we’d bought at Walmart for lunch. After a rest we headed out into the hotel pool for a swim - again, the time we spent outside being curtailed by the heat. The girls loved spending time in the pool. Always one of their favourite things to do on holiday.

At one point today, it hit 46F.




Once we’d swum and got ourselves changed we decided it was about time for a milkshake - we headed into Twentynine Palms to Fosters Freeze - a fast food chain. We’d read about it on Trip Advisor, where it was highly rated, and the photos suggested it was styled on a typical 1950’s diner - the reality was a little different! It was a bit shabby, and definitely “tired” inside, but the ice cream milkshakes were good!








We headed back to the hotel via the Gas Station, and M proceeded to have a nap - she never does this, but I think the last few days and change in time zones had finally caught up with her. The rest did us all good.

When she woke up, we decided to go for dinner. Again, from researching we’d picked a local restaurant called The Rib Co - it was only a couple of minutes drive from the hotel and was pretty much a basic wooden shack at the side of the road!




The chef was stood outside cooking the food on a giant bbq.

It was a popular place, and obviously somewhere that a lot of the town’s residents frequented, but we were able to find a table that had just been vacated.




After a lot of deliberation we opted for the following:

Corn bread muffins




M - Chicken tenders and Fries




E - Pulled Pork sandwich




Melissa - Fried Chicken with mash and veg




Me - Prime Rib with Baked Potato and BBQ beans




Everything was cooked fresh so we waited a little while for it to arrive, but when it did it was worth the wait. The portions didn’t look as huge as some you see in the States, but none of us were able to finish!

The chef was happy to chat and have his photo taken when we left!




By the time we got back to the hotel it was about 8.30pm and we were all beginning to tire, so got ourselves ready for bed.

It had been a more relaxed day, which we’d definitely needed after the craziness of LA, and Joshua Tree National Park had been a real high. Melissa said it was the highlight of the holiday so far. Spoiler alert - she says that again tomorrow!

Tomorrow we move on again to San Diego, stopping at Palm Springs Aerial Tramway en route.

Thanks for reading.

Edited at 03:45 PM.
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Old 9 Sep 18, 05:31 PM  
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MichelleB
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A nice change of pace and terrain from LA! It looks lovely but a bit too hot for us I think!
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Old 9 Sep 18, 08:41 PM  
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Amazing landscapes but way too hot for me too!
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Old 10 Sep 18, 01:37 PM  
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Lovely pictures! Enjoying your report so far, you have a similar ish itinerary to my current plan for next year so I'm reading with keen interest
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Old 10 Sep 18, 06:33 PM  
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Nice relaxed day and the rib place looked good. I love Foster's Freeze ice cream! I have to admit the one you went to looks a little more run-down than the ones I have been to.



I have to admire the bravery of those who visit the dessert in the summer. Way too hot for me, but the landscape is stunning there- almost like you're on another planet.
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Old 10 Sep 18, 08:38 PM  
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Sounds like a great day, great photos too. It did look very hot though.
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Old 12 Sep 18, 05:59 PM  
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Great day! Love the photo's from Joshua Tree but 46 degree phew.
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Old 12 Sep 18, 10:02 PM  
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Loved seeing your photos of Joshua Tree, it definitely was a highlight of our trip. Although this has made me feel very thankful that it was much cooler when we were there, I'm not sure I could have handled those temperatures!

We were amazed how quiet it was too, we drove for miles without even passing another car! Such a beautiful place
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Old 13 Sep 18, 12:10 AM  
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It's been a good few years since we visited Joshua Tree NP and twenty nine palms but I'll never forget that intense dry heat.

Loving the subtle U2 song references.
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Old 16 Sep 18, 08:01 AM  
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The landscape and views do look amazing in the park, wow it was hot though. Dinner sounded delicious.
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