Go Camp in the Desert.

Seriously, if you have never camped in a desert, you need to. Like now. Or, ya know, whenever you feasibly can. I camped at Joshua Tree National Park on Thursday night and it was fantastic.

But I'm getting a bit ahead of myself. I left you with me driving between lush fields, my car being bombarded by little yellow butterflies. I was on my way to Salvation Mountain, which was a little nervous about because it's basically in the middle of nowhere real close to Mexico and seemed like the sort of place people might get murdered. Also, as I drove towards it I was suddenly IN the desert. Like, there were huge sand dunes! And also it was 108°. So yeah, I was slightly freaked out that I wasn't going to survive the day either because I would get murdered or because the desert would kill me.

But I went anyway. I figured, when else would I go to some weird painted mountain in the middle of the desert? Answer: never. So I went. It was actually really really cool. The guy who made it died a few years ago, but he basically became a christian and decided that all traditional church followings were making everything too complicated so he took himself to the desert and made this  big monument to God. Basically, accept Jesus and love him and be saved. I'm really glad that I went, though it would've been nice if it was like twenty degree cooler and I could have stuck around longer without thinking I might die. It was a pretty impressive place, especially when I realized that he'd lived there for like thirty years with no running water or electricity. What the hell, how is that even possible? SO HOT.

When I left Salvation Mountain, I made my way toward Joshua Tree. Now, I as much as I was scared of walking around outside in the desert, I was even more scared of camping alone out there. I realized that I'd actually camped in a desert before, on a little camping cot in a canvas tent in Wadi Rum, Jordan. It was a "bedouin" camping experience during my Israel and Jordan travels. The quotes exist because it was pretty darn touristy. I was pretty sure my experience alone at Joshua Tree would be nothing like it. And it wasn't. It was better. 

I drove through the park as the sun was setting. There are many different camp grounds in Joshua Tree (I think maybe seven or something?) but I didn't want to stay in the very first one near the entrance, ya know? So I kept going. The road was really winding and the speed limit was like 30 mph, and it took a WHILE. I was starting to get nervous that the sun would be completely down and it would be dark. I ended up stopping at a camp ground called "Jumbo Rocks." As you maybe can imagine, there were... jumbo rocks. One of them specifically was named "Skull Rock" and almost looked like those Easter Island heads, but huge and not actually carved, just skull-ish. People were climbing up on them and taking pictures, but I was mostly focused on getting a camp site. The good news is that the temperature was dropping rapidly as the sun sank. It wasn't 108° anymore, praise the lord. It kept getting cooler and cooler and was probably only in the seventies when I got to the camp ground. 

Even though I was scared, I wanted an authentic desert experience. I didn't want to be right next to someone in an RV. So I kept driving through the campground, looking for a good site. In fact, I went all the way to the end of it. Jumbo Rocks campground is one long road with different loops of sites. I went all the way to the last loop and there was nobody else in it, and I picked the site right in the middle, 75. Basically, I was the last site before it stopped being a campground and started being just desert wilderness again. Look, I found a map to illustrate what I've struggled to explain, and then added an arrow for you. That was my camp site. There were people along the road and also another occupied site in the bigger, main loop at the end, but nobody in my little jutted out loop. Just me and the jackals (just kidding. Do jackals even live in deserts? I have no idea. I just thought it sounded good. Oh hey, I looked it up and they DO live in deserts. Well, I'm glad I didn't look it up while I was actually there. No cell reception was maybe a blessing, it turns out. Although I don't think they live in North America. Whatever.). 

ANYWHOO. This time, my tent wasn't hard to put up alone, and I managed it all in maybe half an hour. I felt pretty great about it. And it wasn't that hot. This is my, "I'm surviving in the desert!" selfie. You're welcome. After I pitched my tent and moved my sleeping stuff inside it, I ate peanut butter on bread and then a can of peas (the lap of luxury, I tell you) and then settled into my tent to read.

See, the biggest reason I wanted to camp at Joshua Tree was to see a gazillion stars. As soon as the sun was down I could already see some, but I was going to drive myself crazy waiting for the sky to get completely dark, so I distracted myself with my book for a good 45 minutes and then wrapped myself in a sheet and emerged into the darkness. My oh my, what a treat. There WERE a gazillion stars! Mission accomplished! Have you ever been able to see the stars so well that you can just look at the Milky Way? I hope so. I used to do that in Sorrento when I worked for the Wilsons. But it's been a while since I've seen that many stars. The desert did not disappoint. I think I only stayed out there for about half an hour, but it was so satisfying. I also saw four shooting stars, including one which looked straight out of a cartoon depiction, with a bright winged tail burning up behind it. So cool. Then I headed to sleep.

In the morning, the rising sun woke me up at 6:15. I hopped out of my tent and climbed a mini-jumbo rock to finish watching it come up. I took this panorama because it was just so wonderful. That's my tent, though it isn't nearly as far away as it looks. Panoramas are kinda weird like that. 

With the sun, however, the heat started to creep back up slowly. So after I took the picture, I started packing my camp site away. I think I had everything packed into the car by like 7:10. I spent some time making a playlist for the rest of my drive that morning, and was headed out of the campground by 7:30.

As I drove through the other side of Joshua Tree National Park to leave, I realized I should maybe take a picture of a joshua tree. So here you go. I used the self timer on my film camera to get one of myself with it, too, and hopefully that comes out, but I won't know until I get the film developed. And from there, my excursion in the desert was pretty much over.

For real though, if you ever get the chance to camp at Joshua Tree, or any desert, you absolutely should. It was definitely the part of this trip that I was most nervous about, but after I'd done it I felt like I could pretty much do anything! Towanda! I highly recommend it as an experience. Especially if you can go alone. It was really satisfying.