Joshua Tree NP

It’s unbelievable that we’ve been on the road for 16 days now, but California, here we are!

We arrived in Joshua Tree on the 17th after a day of travel from Tucson. We booked a campsite off of Hipcamp- an app similar to Airbnb but for camping! It was only 15 minutes from the park entrance, and had a "bathroom" (it was an open-air outhouse, but with a flush toilet!)...although there were lots of desert mice and one joined us in the bathroom that night ha!

Joshua Trees, or Yucca brevifolia, aren't actually trees at all- but a form of yucca! The largest of the yucca, and they can grow up to 40 feet tall. The park was first created as a national monument in 1936 after a resident named Minerva Hoyt fought to protect the Mojave and Colorado desert environments. The monument was designated as a park in 1994 by FDR.

The Joshua Trees are only half of the fun of this park! The giant rock piles that formed underground from volcanic activity offer great climbing, bouldering, and hiking (& they look really cool)

Courtney found some awesome climbing spots in Hidden Valley & the Echo Tee area! We were able to climb both days we were there.

We also were able to see some petroglyphs!