Joshua Tree: A Paradoxical Beauty, Part 1

It’s been nearly three months since Gary and I set off on our weekend adventure to Joshua Tree. This post was meant to be published shortly after our trip, but every time I sat down to write, I just couldn’t conjure up the proper words, expressions or metaphors to explain how truly magical it is. So instead of prolonging this post any further, I’ll just write about my personal experience and let it inspire you to take a visit for yourself.

First things first, if you are not one of my close friends you are probably wondering “who the hell is this Gary dude?” Love interest? Boyfriend? A friend with benefits? Sugar daddy? I know these are the first things that pop up in our simple minds when a guy and a girl take a weekend getaway. I’m going to kill the ending of the movie real quick for you; we’re just friends. Honestly, friends. Yeah, I know, boring. I won’t go into too much detail because Gary’s story deserves a separate post, but we’ve been friends for about 15 years. He’s the legend behind the lens, responsible for knowing my angles and has no shame telling me “relax your face you look like you’re about to poop.”

Both first-time explorers of the national park, we were excited to see what the hype was all about. I mean, it’s a national park in the middle of the desert, how beautiful could this vast land with a bunch of funny looking trees be?

We left LA at about 6 p.m. on a Friday. Three hours and two Spotify playlists later we arrived in Joshua Tree, the city not the national park. It was pitch black once we got off the main highway and onto the dirt road that led us to our Airbnb. It was so eery and dark I even said to Gary, “I wouldn’t be surprised if the chainsaw massacre guy jumps out” *cue the nervous laughs*

We pulled up to the “Home Sweet Homesteader” and unloaded the car. This trip to Joshua Tree was planned specifically to do a photo shoot for my blog, so we brought a lot of “stuff.” Cameras, camera lenses, a tripod, a stabilizer thingy for the camera to glide on for moving shots, Gary’s duffel bag and my two suitcases, toiletry bag and two hats- hey a girl needs options. We pulled out a flashlight in an attempt to see what the land around our abode looked like but it was impossibly dark. We called it a night, as we had an early call time to explore the park the next day.

We woke up around 8:30 the next morning. The curtains were still closed, but the sun was forcing its way through. I was eager to see the view from the large front window of the house, or if there even was a view at all. I walked across the tribal printed living room rug and around the vintage chest serving as the coffee table, grabbed the right side of the white curtain and said “are you ready?” to Gary. “Do it,” he said. I dramatically slid open the curtain and what I saw could only be described as stark beauty. Clear, cobalt skies, with wisps of white clouds like a painter had gently stroked their brush over a blue canvas. The land was sparse and brown-barley tinged with scattered Joshua trees and a horizon of purple-grey mountains in the background. It was not what I had expected but beautiful nonetheless and just a teaser of what was to come. 

We loaded the car with Gary’s equipment and my outfit changes for the day. It was almost 10:30 a.m. and decided to stop at a local café to pick up a packed lunch so we could stay in the park as long as possible. There’s a visitor’s office right before you enter the park and I highly recommend stopping there to get a map. It’s virtually impossible to visit all of Joshua Tree in one day, but the park ranger suggested we do a popular loop, that, with no stops, would take an hour. I was disappointed when I heard her say an hour. How boring. We just drive through for an hour, take a few photos and head back to the house, then what? I would soon come to realize how naïve that thought was. 

To be continued... 

 

Black Lace Top: Forever 21, Black Cut-Offs: Vintage, Black Boots: Wanted Shoes, Turquoise Neckalce: Gypsy Queen

 
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