Our original travel plans had us going to Phoenix, AZ, and then Joshua Tree, CA. But thanks to my teeth, we stayed at the Grand Canyon longer than we anticipated. To make-up some time, we decided to skip Phoenix and go straight to Joshua Tree. What we didn’t realize was the travel time from the Grand Canyon to Joshua tree was double the time as it would’ve been from Phoenix.
Damon wanted to try and do the drive in one shot. I was concerned – every other time we’ve tried to do longer trips it’s stressful. To compromise, Damon stayed up late cleaning and getting us prepped for driving. This enabled us to leave early. By nine a.m. we were on the road and before I knew it, we were already in California and just a few hours from Joshua Tree. It really helped that the kids are better behaved in the morning, that I was feeling better, AND I had cell service almost the whole time so I could stream movies along the way.
When we arrived in Joshua Tree, we attempted something we hadn’t done since New York – Boondicking! Our last attempt was less than successful since many things in our travel trailer didn’t work and it was really hot! This time, Damon made efforts to make sure that everything in the RV worked, so we’d be comfortable.
After we set up, we instantly went outside to enjoy the warmth of the outside. Definitely very different from the freezing tempts we’d left just hours before. However, it was the desert and as the sunset it got very cold.
While we could do a lot without hook-ups, the downside is our RV can’t power our portable heaters and our central heat isn’t working at the moment. So by morning, it was very cold inside. Added to my lack of sleep thanks to little-dude and I was in a bad mood.
Since it was our only day here, we decided to explore Joshua Tree. After a beautiful, hour-long drive through the park, we decided to stop for lunch in the small town of twentynine Palms. In a happy accident, we were unable to stop at Five Guys for lunch since it was on a marine base. Instead, we ended up at Andrea’s Charbroiled Burger – a popular, local restaurant.
After an enjoyable lunch, we drove the hour back to our campsite through Joshua Tree. However, this trip wasn’t so peaceful. Little-dude wasn’t happy about being in his car seat and let us know by crying, which upset mini-man, who started screaming, which further upset little-dude. The whole thing ended with my contorting my body so I could feed little-dude while he was in his car seat, which stopped the screaming from every one. However, it didn’t last. The whole thing repeated three times during our drive.
Exhausted, I collapsed with little-dude when we got back. I wish it was a nice nap, but little-dude wouldn’t sit still. I wonder what, of the thousands of things, could be going on with him (teething, growth-spurt, wonder-leap…?). Ah, the joys of parenthood – constantly trying to figure out what’s going on with your kids.
Joshua Tree National Park
Fingers crossed that our next leg is peaceful. At least it’s shorter than the last one. Hollywood, here we come!
Heartswell Adventures 