Big trees and drinking

Up with the sun this morning, and back into Joshua Tree to secure a spot before the crowds. A ranger at the visitor's center washroom says that today will be extra busy in the park, since this is the last weekend of Christmas holidays before the kids go back to school. And then I realize that yes, we are still only the third of January, and how easily we forget that fact when our surroundings don't ressemble the scenery we are used to seeing. For me, the fact that we are in 15+ degree weather, and sun every day, does not equate to Christmas. So besides the lights I have strung up in the campervan, and the cookies we brought along for the trip, my brain is in a slight state of disassociation. 

And now for level two of National Parks parking hacks! Sometimes, the campgrounds in the parks also provide some public parking, so that visitors NOT staying on sites can benefit from the hiking trails that depart from inside the campground. These sites are clearly labeled NO PARKING 10pm-6am, which means they are available ALL DAY LONG. Even better? The average visitor to a National Park does not just randomly drive through the campgrounds, so these sites are basically unknown to 90% of the parks' visitors.

To top it all off, you can use the services INSIDE the campground, like the vault toilets or trash receptacles! So, when Mario discovered that most of the short hikes he wanted to check out all left from around the Ryan campground, in the heart of the park, it was a no brainer that we would park nearby, but when we discovered how great the spots were, and how removed from the main roads with all their through traffic...We pull in, with the sliding door facing the dramatic rocks surrounding the area, and I make pancakes. There's no rush to leave, no big distance to cover today - we are taking it easy and enjoying the nature and beauty that is Joshua Tree.

First, we hike out to Ryan Ranch, the ruins of a cattle farmstead located in the park. It's a short trail, dotted by rusted piped from irrigation, the fallen blades of a windmill used to draw water from the ground, the crumbling brick walls of the old farmhouse. An overgrown cactus garden, lined with rocks, shows that once upon a time, someone lived here and loved the desert that surrounded them. We try to guess how the landscape might have once looked, and why this area was so attractive as a cattle ranch, with its serious lack of grass. As we return to the van, we watch some climbers making their way up a nearby stack of boulders, ropes securing them in place.

Lizard!	Mario capturing the view past the walls
Old farmstead ruins
Big tree	More big trees

We make up some sandwiches at the van, and head back out, this time to the Big Trees Trail. This park is full of Joshua Trees, but some are really well established, and grow in protected valleys, and their size reflects this. Here, behind the Ryan campground, in the center of the park, the trees are some of the biggest. We are even lucky enough to find some fallen trees cut up for easier removal, so we get to examine the innards, the very GUTS, of the Joshua Tree. Would you believe that it is incredibly SPONGY? That I can pick up a 12-inch wide log from the trunk EASILY, and with only ONE HAND? It's so cool. 

Further along the trail, we perch on a pile of rough granite boulders for lunch. Again, I scribble in my notebook while Mario goes exploring, finding some of the first pine trees we've seen in the desert. No bighorn sheep, though, nor desert turtles. That's been his goal throughout these hikes, with no luck thus far. (Turns out, the turtles are hibernating underground, and so impossible to spot at this time of year) We venture a bit further after lunch, but ultimately return to the van. Mario is interested in checking out another corner of the park, and of course I want to collect my passport stamps for the day, so we drive out of Joshua Tree and into Yucca Valley.

Mario's view from above

Even more big trees

Insert here a surprise detour, where we spot a small sign on the side of the road advertising the Joshua Tree Distilling Company, and decide we need to follow it. We end up discovering a very cool, small batch distillery, where they blend things like a Blue Corn Bourbon and an American Single Malt Whisky, but with such smooth flavour profiles that even I am interested. Our tasting "guide" even suggested their Giant Rock Gin to me, which seems bizarre, until I take a sip of the seriously botanical liquid, with its notes of lemon, fennel and aniseed, and can't believe that this is what good gin could taste like! What an amazing discovery - too bad we'll never find the stuff at home.

Tonight's stop is nothing glamourous, just the parking lot behind the California Welcome Center in Yucca Valley, but for the inviting price of FREE. We even get a fantastic show of a sunset and accompanying wicked cloud formations before we close up the vehicle for the night. You can't always find  the best campsite in the middle of nowhere, but you can always make a spot feel like the best, just by facing the greatest view.