After Traveling: Joshua Tree

We drove the ~5 hours between Death Valley and Joshua Tree in a single afternoon. And if I hadn’t just been thoroughly spoiled by the beauty and variety of Death Valley (previous post), I would have gasped at the desert and mountains we passed along the way: pure rock dust passing into fields of green and back again.

We arrived in Joshua Tree just as the sun was setting, making our way to Arch Rock, and I don’t know how we could have been better timed to see the sun fade and then splash vibrance onto the tumult of rocks that first evening. I had never seen rock formations like this, and seeing the night come up while straddled atop was magical.

The natural playgrounds in Joshua Tree make it incredibly accessible to wander and interpret into your own individual experience. I have no doubts about why I’ve heard so many albums emerge from those rocks and I hope to climb back in sometime down the road.