Joshua Tree Road Trip

A couple weeks ago I took a road trip to Joshua Tree with my husband and a couple members of his family. Because I've been cooped up for the last three months, getting out of the house was an exhilarating experience, which was only amplified by the astounding beauty of the natural splendor of Joshua Tree! Before we got to the park, I made the request to stop by the World Famous Crochet Museum located on the outskirts of the park in the town of Joshua Tree. Both my husband and his family members asked me "how do you find out about these weird things?" Well, I guess I have a nose for sniffing them out and keeping up with where all the hipsters on Instagram like to go in the area doesn't hurt either!

If you are planning on going to Joshua Tree, I would highly recommend visiting the World Famous Crochet Museum and the artists' community that surrounds it.  Be forewarned, however, that the museum is small...very small...as in one person can go in at a time small. But its quirky charm makes it well worth the visit. Case in point, my husband's father and uncle, who joined us on the trip, almost seemed to have more fun looking around and taking pictures than I did! Below you will see some of the other fun things that are located near the World Famous Crochet Museum including a vintage beauty salon and an out of this world art installation!

After we finished taking photos and gawking at the sights in the town of Joshua Tree, it was time to get on the road and get to Joshua Tree National Park. There was actually a line of people in cars waiting to get in so clearly we weren't the only ones who were eager to get out into nature for a while. Once we got past the park gates, we were greeted by a forest of Joshua Trees of varying shapes and sizes. We got out of the car to explore the vast expanse of trees and rocks a number of times. (You will notice that I changed my footwear from sandals to sneakers, especially since I have the misfortune of always getting into an altercation with cacti when we go to these types of places!)

Speaking of what I wore on our road trip, I decided to wear this bright colored tee from Uniqlo's collaboration with Marimekko in addition to my cactus earrings from Zenzii. (You can save 25% on them with code KATIE25.) I know, my love of cacti is ironic due to all of the times I've had cactus needles stuck in my foot or hands! Luckily, it turned out to be the perfect, comfortable, cactus proof outfit to wear combining both a pop of color with a dash of practicality. Yes, believe it or not, I can be practical when need be!

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One of my favorite things that we did in the park is go to the Key's View lookout where you can get a view of the Coachella Valley, Mount San Jacinto and Mount San Gorgonio, in addition to the Salton Sea if it's a clear day.  It's truly a beautiful, albeit somewhat windy, location. My husband insisted that he take the photo below of me standing near the view. He actually took a few and for most of them my hair was completely in my face or I looked like I was afraid of being blown down into the valley. The one below, however, didn't turn out too badly! We also discovered a smattering of wildflowers in this location, as you will see below.

Last, but not least, wild animals were not all that visible on the day that we visited Joshua Tree due to the heat. Because I love animals, I was really hoping see a tortoise or maybe even a big horned sheep up in the mountains. Luckily, towards the end of the trip my father in law spotted a black-tailed jack rabbit. I was able to zoom in on it and get some good photos without scaring the poor thing off.

I am ending this post with a picture of me back in the World Famous Crochet Museum to give you a sense of the scale museum. While some of the things found in Joshua Tree, like this museum, might be small, they are big in terms of impact! The park itself, with it's sprawling miles of desert scenery, other worldly rock formations, and majestic vistas also has a big impact and can't be missed if you're in the Palm Springs area! If not, I highly recommend just getting out in nature or finding your own quirky treasure like the World Famous Crochet Museum to explore, as it will help you to get over the quarantine blues of the last few months!