Since we had been to LA so many times, we wanted to check out somewhere new that we hadn't been to before. Joshua Tree is only about two hours away from Dan's house (when you leave at the right time!). We left in the morning and went straight to the Joshua tree visitor center to get a map and some hats for the kids. It was already pretty hot outside. From there we went to our first hike called the Hidden Valley Nature Trail Loop. This is a one mile loop that circles a small valley surrounded by large boulders. There were signs along the way explaining the different plants and animals. We even saw a group of people scaling the large rocks! This was our favorite hike due to its kid friendliness and scenery!
We drove a short distance to The Discovery Trail. This is a 0.7 mile loop that was actually designed by kids, for kids! As you walk on the path you pass through a series of washes and canyons, and of course there was plenty of boulders for everyone to climb on.
We then drove to Keys View Trail where we were welcomed with beautiful views of the valley and Palm Springs in the distance. The kids love a good view and they were pretty impressed! We didn't stay long, but it was plenty of time to take in the beauty of the area.
After that we drove about 45 minutes to the house we rented, just outside of the park. The kids took a well deserved nap while we enjoyed the quiet!
The next morning we loaded up the 9 of us and drove to Skull Rock. This was supposed to be a fairly easy 1.7 mile hike through the rocks, but all of the kids (plus Dan) kept getting distracted by climbing the rocks. They exerted so much energy that they didn't want to hike the rest of the trail! So the four of us, plus A decided to push on. Except that everyone was complaining about being too hot and tired - we made a decision when we got to the road to follow it up to the car. It took a little longer than expected...
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| This is the only picture I got of the actual Skull Rock |
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| The whole crew |
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| Me and Dan the Man |
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| Walking along the road... |
From there Dan's family and J went home and we drove to Cholla Cactus Garden. This garden was so cool! The cacti looked like they were glowing from the sun. I've never seen anything like it. M had a good time running through the paths! I think J would have loved it, but she was allured by a car ride and other kids!
We went back to the house and hung out for a bit before going out again just before sunset. The kids played in the sand and climbed rocks while we tried to get some great pictures and just enjoy the scenery. We stayed until just after sunset and then drove to an area where it was empty and we could see every star in the sky. I've never seen so many stars before.. it was unreal.
The next morning we packed up and drove to Palm Springs. We had a couple of hours to kill before our gondola ride up to the top so we found a restaurant that could accommodate the 9 of us outside. It's a good thing we got there early because this place filled up! While we were eating, the waiter asked if he could take some promotional pictures of us. He wanted to show that real people ate at the restaurant and not just celebrities, ha! After our delicious meal they gave us a whole bunch of free pastries and desserts!
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| My favorite picture of the kids (4/5 of them!) |
We drove to the aerial tramway and Dan made it JUST in time. This is the worlds largest rotating tram car and goes up 2.5 miles over ten minutes of breathtaking views. The kids loved it and so did we! When we got to the top, called Mountain Station, at over 8,000 feet we could feel the difference! We walked around a little.. down a windy trail and up to the observation deck. There's over 50 miles of trails that we didn't get to go on. By this point the kids were tired and cranky and we couldn't enjoy it the way we would have if it was just us. Nevertheless, we were able to see spectacular views of the entire area.
After that we got in the car and returned to LA. We had such a great time during this MUCH needed week of travel and family togetherness.
