Universal Studios and Joshua Tree National Park
This short vacation was the ultimate compromise vacation. My girls wanted to go to Universal Studios, and I wanted to see Joshua Tree. Somehow or another, I did not pass along my love of walking around new places, otherwise known as 'nature' to my children. They know darn well that I like to sneak in a hike or two when visiting a new place and a bribe is usually needed They were keen on seeing Universal Studios as they really love Harry Potter books and movies. So, I said, sure. (pause) And since we are in the neighborhood...
The Three other people in the car with me were initially shocked when I told them we were driving. It was only a 6 hour drive, pretty easy. I did pick a heavy 3 day weekend to visit Universal, and it was indeed packed. Early morning entry is very much worth it, we saw a lot, and got to go on a couple of rides before it was an insane wait. Overall, I enjoyed the different 'lands' and thought the attention to detail for Simpson land was very impressive. Rides combined optical illusion with movement and was cleverly done. You could visit in one day, two is definitely more than enough. Unfortunately, a very cold front hit Cali about that time, and staying outside for long on the second day was rough. Splurged on staying at the Sheraton, but it was nice to be able to walk to the Park.
On to Joshua Tree . It's not exactly next door to Universal and is about a 2 hour plus drive. We stayed at 29 Palms, to be precise versus Joshua Tree City. First stop was the visitor center to get an idea of the park and some history of the place. We took a short drive to get to a very easy one mile loop at Hidden Valley. The Park was established in 1936 as a National Monument, see www.nps.gov
My favorite lodging places are historic bed and breakfasts. The Campbell house absolutely caught my attention because it once belonged to a couple that needed to move to the desert for health reasons in the mid 1920s. They simply drove out in their car one day, being told it was a life or death situation, and camped until a small cabin could be built. I was imagining their complere leap of faith at that moment, not knowing what their future would hold, and living in somewhat harsh conditions. Eventually, the wife came into an inheiritance and the couple ended up building a lovely house and cottages that house tourists today. (See http://www.campbellhouse29palms.com)
Next day was hiking day, with my daughters acting like I was living to torture them. It will probably be one of the few times where hiking in the middle of the day is actually preferable. The temps were dropping to freezing at night. My choice: Palms Oasis, a 3 mile there and back trail. I might have been smiling the whole time, who's to say. It's pretty, sometimes desolate, but very cool to come upon a true desert oasis. There are plenty of hiking websites to explain the terrain, etc., I'm not going to go into detail about elevation gain. I will say it was a moderately strenuous walk at time. Took us 2 hours with stoppage time. I've got lots of pictures from that walk.
Can't say the cuisine around those parts are fine dining, but what's there is pretty OK. We had respectable Mexican and pizza. There's a lot more people living there than I expected, mainly due to the military base close by.
Impressions: would I live there? Nope. The scenery is unique, which I love, and I would definitely go back. I think camping in the park would be a different experience. There's more people actually living there than I expected. Good value for the buck, not a luxury spa destination, which is fine by me.
