Joshua Tree

Posted on by Brad

        

I had never been to Joshua Tree before, which is somewhat weird, considering it’s so close to L.A. and my fondness for the outdoors. It was beautiful there. The rock formations were amazing. The boulders, rounded by thousands of years of sand blasting, made me feel like a kid on a jungle gym, leaping from boulder to boulder, scheming how I would make it a little bit higher. I did plenty of climbing.

It was like summer and then a Los Angeles winter. As soon as the sun set behind the rocks, the chill began to set in. A few hours after sunset and people were digging out more layers to stay warm.

It had been far too long since I slept in my tent. It was nice to be alone in the crammed space with just a few things around me to worry about. It really does just reinforce how much unncessary stuff I have in my life, but then again, I don’t live in a tent full-time. I’ve made a threat here and there about doing that very thing though. Somehow, I just think it would be a good thing to do for a while…or maybe not.

Despite it only being a short trip, it felt like I was out of town for days. It was energizing to be away from the lights of the city. Millions of stars lit up the night sky. If you looked in one area, you were sure to see a shooting stars. I wished, as we all sat around talking and playing guitar, that the moment could be re-created at a later date.

6 thoughts on “Joshua Tree”

  2. My brother and I loved hiking around those rocks when we were little. This one time he walked right past, I mean RIGHT past, a rattlesnake. I was behind him and saw it happening, and yelled at him to stop, but it was too late. Luckily the snake was asleep.

    So we run back to camp and holler at my dad that there’s a big huge snake up in the rocks, and he comes back with us to take pictures of it. 🙂 Then it woke up and got mad, but by then we were safely far away.

    I had a point before, but I seem to have lost it. Great pics! Glad you’ve discovered one of the great SoCal landmarks.

  3. Darian – Are you just trying to get my home address by flattering me? I decided to make a couple of desktop pictures out of the windmill photos just for you 🙂

    Brian – We didn’t run across any snakes, but boy did the coyotes freak me out in the early morning hours. No matter how many times I hear that, it freaks me out. What’s worse is we had a dog with us, which I was sure they had killed. It sounded like a infant being murdered. It was terrible, but amazing at the same time. I think I’m going to venture back out there this weekend with the dog. It’s just too close to not go when I have the chance. Ah, the joys of unemployment.

    Andrew – I have so many photos of our adventures together. Some of the best times of my life (still), which goes to show what an impression they made on me. I remember all of it and am really glad we had those times. You need to leave Kansas for a bit and come out this way so we can walk those paths, brother.

  4. Hey, Brad, I’m jealous. I miss trudging with you. I hope you still use that same tent – like a rocket ship it was in that Southeastern Utah wadi. You could hear the wind, like waves coming, like a rushing horde, and then the crash when it hit the tent, bending the Easton tubing down, making a college kid sandwitch, all stoned giggles and comfortable in the knowledge that it would hold – a good piece of equipment. The Gila was more beautiful but maybe a little less fun, less like a playground, more like a job. Still, do you remember that gorgeous teacher soloing with that Moss tent on the precipice? She made me love those tents, too. You’re right, tents are the best. You unroll it, set it up, and no matter how well you cleaned it out after the last trip, there’s always a pine needle or spider carcass there that takes you back, until the whole tent is one giant memory bank. I miss you; I hope we can walk some more paths some day.

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