Joshua "Easter" Tree

Let me just admit upfront that I am not enamored with deserts. I know what you are thinking. Didn't you grow up in Utah.....a desert? Well yes, and I loved Utah, just the less deserty parts of the Utah. I consider deserts barren, parched, dusty, bleak death traps just waiting to catch you alone without water. Not exactly my dream vacation. So perhaps you are wondering why or better yet how I ended up camping in Joshua Tree National Park (a desert) over Easter weekend. That's easy. #1 Joshua Tree makes me think of U2 songs, not a desert dwelling Yucca plant that has it's own National Park. #2 Someone said camping. I love camping. If someone suggested camping on Mars, I'd ask when we were leaving.

So the first thing I needed to learn was what a Joshua Tree looks like, and what better place to do that than in a Joshua Tree forest like this one.

What? You don't see a forest? Let's try a wider shot.

Believe it or not that whole valley is packed with these trees. Perhaps packed isn't the right term. While the trees were everywhere they are anti-social and maintain 10 ft+ distance between each other. I guess this is one legitimate place where it might be difficult to see the forest for the trees.

And here's a Joshua tree growing out of my head:

Another kind of forest just outside Joshua Tree National Park scares me:


As it turns out the desert is very windy place, making it an ideal place for massive wind farms. Sure, they look all nice and safe in a picture but when you drive through 30 miles of winding roads that are packed with these spinning puppies, you get the distinct impression you are driving into a turbine.

Technically the rocks around our camp should have sheltered us from the wind, but alas the wind knocked my tent down at least a dozen times both days.


But the camp was truly beautiful at night:

(disclaimer: This is not my picture. I "borrowed" from my friend Eric Newnam)

Being in the desert has a way of giving you reason stop and think:


It also has a way of making you into a walking contradiction when you haven't showered in 2 days, your hat is covering your frizzy mess of knots and tangles, you reek of campfire, and you happen to wander out of your tent proudly wearing a dirty t-shirt that declares you are sexy.

I wish I could include all the pictures I took this weekend of all my friends, but my life has been threatened if said photos show up anywhere outside of Facebook. :)

3 Weeks

So it would appear there is a lot going on in the next 3 weeks:

1) I'm moving

This is a very good thing. Perhaps you are aware of the fact I have been living with a married couple for the last 6 months. While it's been fun, it is time for us to part company. Namely they are moving to Utah and I'm moving into an apartment that is 5 blocks from the beach in Santa Monica. I could be wrong, but I think I got the better deal. :)

2) Visiting Utah

I'm leaving work Friday night at 5 PM, driving 1.5 hours to Long Beach Airport to catch an 8 PM flight that will get me to Utah by 11 PM. Then 36 hours later, I'll be on a plane headed back to Long Beach. And that my friends is my weekend. :)

3) Take a Gondala (an Italian boat, not the ski lift) Ride

In November I bought into this really good deal on a gondala ride. I figured sometime in the following months there would be a special someone to accompany me on this trip. Well there's no special someone, and the ticket will expire by April 30th. Fortunately Dave, an awesome friend regardless of his poor judgement of posting less than flattering pictures of me on Facebook, has volunteered to accompany me on said boat ride. I'm still nervous that this has the potential of being very awkward. When calling to make the reservation the conversation went something like this:

"We could book you for an 8:30 trip"

"8:30 PM?"

"The wind has died down by then and the stars are out. It makes it more romantic."

"Uh, right, okay."

" You can bring whatever food you would like. A lot of people like to do a romantic picnic."

"Romantic.......right."

"We also provide you with a complimentary bucket of ice incase you want to bring champagne."

So here's the deal. I didn't really bill this as a date when I set it up with Dave, which means ixnay on the omanceray. I was thinking perhaps we should get decked out as the most touristy tourists, eat left over Easter Peeps, and sip on chilled juice boxes. It would be fun, amusing, and just plain awesome. :)

4. Go to Six Flags aka Magic Mountain

For 6 months I've lived within a 2 hour drive of Universal Studios, Knotts Berry Farm, Disneyland, and Six Flag, and I have yet to step foot in any of them. Today while I was lamenting my plight, I asked my co-worker how much it costs to go to Six Flags, and he gives me a free ticket that he happened to have that needs to be used before April 25th It also turns out that those Diet Cokes I drink like water also have a coupon for a $19.99 entrance to Six Flags, so if I invite a friend, we each get to go in for $10.

Now the trick is going to be trying to accomplish all of this in the next 3 weeks while working full-time, and attempting to find a new job.