California :: Days 5 + 6

I don't have many photos from the last couple of days. We stayed with friends, and I didn't want to stalk their home -- even through trust me, I really wanted to. It was absolutely stunning, and I'm so happy for them. It was such a treat to stay there. After leaving Joshua Tree, we stopped at Shields Date Garden to get a famous date shake. When it came out of a machine I was skeptical, but let me tell you, it was amazing. Next we made a quick stop at Trader Joe's to pick up some flowers, then Chula for lunch. The squash blossoms were redunk. We thought the entire area would be so busy since it was the first weekend of Coachella, but we actually didn't have any problems. After lunch, we headed over to Ken + Greta's gorgeous home. Later, another friend, Elke, who lives full time in an RV and is in the area for a few weeks stopped by and we all went out to dinner together on the golf cart. Such a fun night. To be clear, the people photographed above are creative powerhouses. Elke and Brian work together and Ken, until recently when he stepped down, was his boss. He's so lucky to know and work which such incredible people. Also, I felt like Greta and I were kindred spirits. They were just so welcoming, and it was such a lovely time. My final morning, Ken made a delicious breakfast, then it was time for Brian to take me to my new favorite airport in Palm Springs as he makes he way back home. We both had been looking forward to this week for awhile, and it definitely did not disappoint. What a wonderful time.

California :: Day 04

This was our big park day, and it was amazing. We got an early start and headed to the West Entrance, which tends to be very crowded, however, we hardly had a wait. We started at the Creosote Trail, which is a small .5 there and back. From there, we did the Hidden Valley Trail, then Cap Rock. We parked there for awhile to work and have lunch, then continued on to Ryan Ranch and the Hall of Horrors. We of course had to stop to see Skull Rock and finally, the Cholla Cactus Garden. It worked out perfect, since our final campsite was located in Cottonwood at the bottom of the park. We parked our van, made dinner, and finally woke up at 2am to see a little bit of the Milky Way.

California :: Day 03

We took our time in the morning, Brian hanging out in the van to do work, me chilling in our comfortable hotel room. Before we left, we wandered around Pioneertown again. Glass Animals were playing at Pappy & Harriet's that night, and it turns out they were staying at our hotel. I of course didn't put two and two together until a few minutes after a conversation with a member while getting coffee. But kind of cool. We stopped at Luna Sourdough for lunch before grabbing groceries and heading into Joshua Tree. Brian did a great job reserving campsites. We stayed at two different sites, and literally got the last one in the entire park both times. The first night was at Indian Cove. It has 97 sites, but is very secluded since you cannot access the rest of the park from that entrance. Once we pulled in, we stayed. It was really hot, but we walked through our campsite and did a tiny loop before setting up for the night. The view was amazing, overlooking Joshua Tree. Our neighbors were there to viewing of the Milky Way, which is supposed to be stunning from that area. Brian set an alarm for 2am, when they said it supposed to be best ... but we slept through it. 

California :: Day 02

After working a little bit, we drove to 29 Palms and Joshua Tree (the city) and walked around a little bit. We were lucky enough to get a reservation at the Pioneertown Motel. We checked in, then went to The Red Dog Saloon for tacos, queso and margaritas. Crazy story. Brian had gone ahead while I strolled the street of Pioneertown. As I was coming back, the people at the hotel came running out to me and said we didn't have a reservation! We were already living in our room. When we checked in, their internet was down. Turns out, they gave us another Brian's room. You see, there is nothing around Pioneertown. It's basically the hotel, Red Dog, and Pappy & Harriets, a concert venue and restaurant. So we were kind of freaking out. Fortunately, Brian found the email and confirmation number to prove we did in fact reserve a room. We got to stay, and I think they put the other Brian in the cabin, which happened to be available. So we both got to stay. But yikes! 

That night we went to Pappy & Harriets to see A. Savage, a singer songwriter. It was our first time hearing about him, but it was low key and really good. Unfortunately, the restaurant isn't usually open on Wednesdays, so they only had hamburgers. As we were closing our tab and leaving, Brian looked at the credit card they gave him, and I kid you not, it was the same Brian's who's room we took! Can you even believe that. It was nuts. 

(We found out the next day, our reservation email went through - they found it in gmail - but it didn't get to reservations and got stuck half way. Crazy.)