DESERT ROAD TRIP

One of the best things about living in Los Angeles, is living in a year round vacation destination. There is so much variety within such close distances, that it's definitely a must to get out on spontaneous weekend getaways.

We took my little Piccolo out for his first road trip, and got the chance to explore Joshua Tree National Park. Yes, Joshua tree in the middle of June might not be an ideally timed vacation destination, but we had most of the park to ourselves in the 110 degree heat. Fearing the inferno that would descend upon us at noon, I was actually motivated to wake up early and get to the park when it opened. Initally, we stopped at almost every rock and tree, breathtaking as they were. Each one begged to be photographed and captured in all of its stark desert glory. After about an hour, we started to become a bit more picky for which boulders and trees deserved their glamour shots. 

Lately it seems like Joshua tree has become the must see destination for perfect instagrams, yet the park proved even more impressive than any photograph can capture. The gigantic boulders dotting the arid landscape felt other worldly, the subtle colors of the desert creating perfect photo backdrops. The road that took us through the park had several highlights that were especially picture perfect, but even the drive through the lone flats was breathtaking.

Something about this wild west desert scenery took me back to the original cross country road trip I took almost thirteen years ago. The national park's desert splendor reminded me of the other national parks we saw driving through Utah and Arizona, on the way to Rhode Island. Driving through Joshua Tree somehow made me forget all about the cares of modern life, about my current life in LA and my beautiful condo. I was transported to simpler times, to the journey to the opposite coast at the innocent age of 23, all on my own. I remembered the freedom of leaving LA, of driving 3000 miles to start grad school, not knowing who I would meet or what experiences that would bring. And, this feeling reignited a wanderlust for new explorations, of getting out of adult comfort zones, and trying to relive life with that sense of spontaneity and adventure.