Jan-Feb: Joshua Tree, CA
Weather
- Avg Temperature: High 60-65F/ Low 37-39 F
- Avg Days with Precipitation: 3 (Annually it’s only 19!)
Post-stay update: We couldn't have been happier with the weather. Our first week and fourth week were a little chilly. Then is was 50s, 60s and 70s. We only had two days of rain!
Internet
Dial-up speeds in the town of Joshua Tree itself. We are staying 10 miles outside the city where cable internet exists!
Post-stay update: Internet was definitely spotty. It was great at the library, Starbucks and McDonalds. At our house and the hipster coffee-shop, not so much.
Food
Nothing like a Pizza Place that also offers -- Indian cuisine! Thanks to the generous gift from Wendy's colleagues - we'll also be spending a lot of time at The Natural Sister's Cafe.
Post-stay update: Sam's Indian is pretty good. We tended to eat there when we were hungry enough to eat napkins, but still have had much worse food elsewhere. Natural Sister's Cafe has hands-down the best Gluten-Free muffins we've ever had - some of which are vegan, too!
Where we are staying
The Coyote Retreat (aka a small house) in Yucca Valley.
What we are excited about
Natural beauty mixed with delightful desert weirdness!
We are staying 11 miles from the park entrance and planning to spend lots of time exploring this place where “two distinct desert ecosystems, the Mojave and the Colorado, come together.” It looks amazing!
Post-stay update: We had no idea how big JTNP is! We were delighted to spend hours and hours hiking over 100 miles in the park. See our posts about the park here and here.
Desert Institute - Joshua Tree National Park Association
Although most of the spring field classes aren’t offered until after we leave (doh!) we look forward to taking advantage of some guided hikes, a driving tour of Rock Art of Southern California and possibly….wait for it!...a weekend class on pine needle basketry.
Post-stay update: Sadly, we didn't take advantage of any of the classes. Hopefully next time around!
“One of the world's largest inland seas and lowest spots on earth at -227 below sea level, Salton Sea was re-created in 1905 when high spring flooding on the Colorado River crashed the canal gates leading into the developing Imperial Valley.”
Sadly, there is an environmental doomsday predicted for the area– starting in 2017 (!) “Toxic dust storms will increase markedly, and so will the chances of a rotten egg smell routinely wafting over much of coastal Southern California."
While here, we will also, of course, visit Salvation Mountain.
Post-stay update: See our post on Salvation Mountain here. We also visited Salton Sea -which was great for a few hour visit, but not an overnighter.
“Located in the Santa Monica Mountains, features five miles of ocean shoreline, with rocky bluffs, sandy beaches, sand dunes, rugged hills and uplands, two major river canyons and wide grassy valleys dotted with sycamores, oaks and a few native walnuts. There are more than 70 miles of hiking trails.”
We’ve booked a weekend here – one of the few campgrounds that allow dogs on the beach! It has no electric or water hookup, so happily, we get test out our solar panel and water tanks!
See our blog post on our stay here.
What is it? Well it’s the “fusion of art, science and magic”!
Built over an 18 year period by George Van Tassel, a contemporary of Howard Hughes, who “said UFO contact and channelings and ideas from scientists such as Nikola Tesla led to the unique architecture of the Integratron” . We can book a sound bath – 25 minutes of crystal bowls played live. Jason Mraz did it – so must we!
Post-stay update: See our blog post on our sound bath at the Integratron here.