2 Days In and Around Joshua Tree National Park

Living in Minnesota has made me accustomed to cold, but year 2022 winter has been bitter cold right from the start. After spending Christmas and new year's indoors in warmth of our house, it was time to feel a bit more warm venturing into the deserts. This time we selected the Joshua tree national park. Compared to all our previous visits, this one was less strenuous and more about new experiences.

Here is our 2 day itinerary.

Day 1:

We landed in Las Vegas at around 9AM taking a Saturday morning early flight from Minneapolis. Our tummies were already hungry given we were in PST timing but our bodies were in CST. We grabbed some lunch(Try the 85 degree C Bakery and cafe if you haven't) and started driving towards Palm Springs CA. We chose Palm springs since its 90 minutes away from Joshua National Park and the vibe and culinary scene there is fantastic. On our way we stopped at the Seven Magic Mountains (an artsy flare to the desert all around as you travel the I15 Highway). If you do drive from Las vegas to Palm springs, take the Mojave National Preserve road as that will take you through the vast landscape filled with Joshua trees. You can also stop at Kelso Dunes on your way to enjoy some sand hiking(Did you know that Kelso Dunes are also known as singing dunes? Because the sound that they make as sand glides on the ridges of the dunes on either sides while you walk).

Seven Magic Mountains

Our next stop was Palm Springs Wind farm. If you are looking for a photo op with a clean unanimous background, this place has it. The best stop is at 33.906, -116.543. After making our stops, we reached our hotel Inn at Palm springs at around 3PM. I highly recommend this place for your stay in Palm springs. First as it in the uptown area and very close to the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway. Secondly it has all amenities needed along with a cute and bright ambience. Later we decided to eat at Thai Smile and the food was authentic and delicious. Before calling it a night we roamed on N Palm Canyon Drive peaking at the night life in Palm springs.

Day 2:

We started early as our bodies were in CST time. We had a banana for kick starting the day and drove via Yucca Valley to Joshua tree national park. Do not forget to pack your lunch at Yucca Valley before you head to the park. We grabbed a bagel and we were on our way. If you can make at the sunrise, Cholla Cactus Garden is spectacular. Unfortunately we missed it, so our journey in the national park started from the Arch Rock. We did a 1 mile hike before moving to Skull rock which is just a scenic spot with all you can climb rocks.

From there we drove to the Barker Dam Trail. This is a 1.3 mile heavily trafficked trail, we went early enough to have very few people around us. From here, we drove to the Keys view, this is a must visit spot in the national park. The view is spectacular, you can see the Mt San Jacinto on one side and Salton Sea on another if weather permits. Both sunsets and sunrises are worth it if you make it on time.

From there we ate our lunch, Our next stop was Cholla Cactus Garden. Please beware of the cactus as its thorns are highly prickly and can hurt if you dont walk carefully. Nevertheless this is a cool small walk all around the cholla cactus. Our last stop in the park was the Cottonwood Springs Trail. If you are interested in trail, start from the South Entrance of the park so that you complete it earlier in the day due to its elevation.

That was our last stop in Joshua before we headed to fuel ourselves with a date shake at Shields Date Garden. This was a relaxing walk amidst grapefruit, orange, lemon and date among other trees. Do not miss the date shake here. From there we drove back to Palm springs. Our goal was to take the Aerial Tramway but there was a 2 hour wait time right before closing time. We were sure we were not able to make it so instead we watched the sunrise from the aerial tramway parking the next day. The area provides a good skyline of the city irrespective of the time of day.

Moving out day:

Our 3rd day was at Las Vegas. We got up and drove to Las Vegas on Monday morning. Our only stop in between was at Boo's Organic Oven. Do not miss the pies there. Everything is handmade. They had limited options that day but all of it was worth it. This time we had decided we will have our first 5 star hotel stay. We stayed for the night at the Palazzo. Our timing for checkin was so right at around 3PM that the concierge at the reception gave us a suite with a view. That night we roamed the Las vegas strip. We splurged on delicious Italian food at BRERA osteria. Tired with all the walking, we had a milk shake at Milk Bar in Cosmopolitan hotel and called it for the night. If you crave a cocktail in Las vegas strip area, I highly recommend Velveteen Rabbit.

So that sums up our visit in month of January 2022. Keep checking this space as we visit new places and try new food.