“We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold.”
More like, “we were somewhere around Barstow when the vacation began to take hold…” After checking out of a cheap hotel, we took a scenic drive through Rainbow and Wall Street Canyons just north of Barstow before heading to Joshua Tree.
My Callisto coworkers generously gifted me with an Airbnb gift card as going away present, so we put that to good use and found a cabin near the park. It’s rustic but has a fireplace and hot tub, plus a fenced yard for Rocky. The perfect place to relax for a couple days (and try to kick this cold!)
We ventured into the park not knowing what to expect. Because of the government shutdown, there had been reports it would close today but late yesterday afternoon it was announced the park would remain open. When we arrived, there was a ranger at the gate who gave us dog-friendly recommendations (dogs aren’t allowed on most trails in National Parks) but couldn’t collect any fees.
We were surprised to find a number of 4-wheel-drive-only roads in the park. If we couldn’t hike with Rocky, Kyle could find his happy place and take us on an off-road adventure. I liked the one called “Geology Tour Road,” thinking I might learn about the unusual rock formations. Unfortunately, there were no brochures with info available because of the shutdown. The road is 18 miles long and takes you from the north end of Joshua Tree to the south side, near Indio and Palm Springs. We decided to drive all the way through. What we didn’t anticipate was that about halfway down the road, it turns from cute park-maintained bumpy dirt road to a boulder-ridden. sometimes washed-out forest road that snaked through canyons. It got dicy about 12 miles in — too far to turn back — and even Kyle got nervous (though he didn’t admit this until we got out). I think we’re done with off roading for a while.
