Joshua Tree California is a desert. Winter is my favorite time here, as the weather is perfect for hiking. Campers may prefer the fall and spring for sleeping outdoors. Depending on rainfall, wild flowers are magnificent. Joshua Tree National Park is beautiful. The rangers constantly work on the
trails and keep it tidy. www.Joshuatree.org and www.joshua.tree.national-park.com . Many come for photo opportunities and rock climbers are plenty. In this tiny place between Yucca and 29 Palms are a few
places to have a meal. My favorites are The CrossRoads with the best coffee and sandwiches and for Thai food, the Royal Siam is on the next block.
There are two health food stores and on Saturday morning the farmers market provides some fresh produce and flowers.
Summer is for those who like it hot and dry and over a hundred more times than not.
For entertainment I recommend a short trip up the hill to Pioneer town where Pappy & Harriets has some great bands performing. They also serve
food and drink. www.PappyandHarriets.com for their calendar. There is one small motel up there too.
If you want to go for a nice drive through the park, the ranger will give you a map and you can drive through to 29 Palms and have a meal at the
29 Palms Inn and maybe rent one of their bungalos. You can also drive through the other direction and come out at the highway 10 near Indio.
There are facilities in the park but be sure to take any water and food that you might need. Cell phones work in some places.
Even if you go there once, you will never forget the landscape and unusual rock formations and Joshua Trees.
If you come for a few days you may want to take day trips to Palm Springs and Idyllwild. Thursday evening in Palm Springs is bustling with
a street fair with musicians like Bobby Zee www.MorpheusMusic.com and Brent Lewis www.BrentLewis.com The Palm Springs art museum is open to the public from 4 till 8 pm Gratis that day. www.psmuseum.org
It is about a 45 minute ride from Joshua Tree. While you're down there, stop by Trader Joe's and pack your camping cooler with some great snacks.
Idyllwild is just West on the 10 to the 243 up the mountain another 45 minutes through beautiful pines. There are camp grounds up there too.
The state park is just before the stop sign near the fire department. You can walk all over town. The middle of town has a fort with lots of shops.
You can paint a variety of pottery and they will fire it for you at Earth"n" Fire. www.earthnfire.net The Gastronome is a fabulous restaurant. Weekend brunch is popular inside or on the deck. Also, if you walk up
North Circle Drive la Casita has great Mexican food and further up is Cafe Aroma, my favorite. Frank will take care of you. There is a very special room at Cafe Aroma called the Herb Jeffries room. If you are lucky, you may get to meet Herb Jeffries. http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=108229623 and www.imdb.com/name/nm0420370/ for a look at his life work. At 96, Herb Jeffries is singing better than ever.
Lots of great musicians have played there. Including myself. To find out who is performing go to www.CafeAroma.org.
I hope that my review of Joshua Tree is helpful. Enjoy yourselves in Joshua Tree with day trips to Palm Springs and Idyllwild!!
It is our favorite triangle. Throw in Santa Barbara and life is perfection!
P.S. For another day trip... Palm Desert is the home of the living desert. Don't miss this opportunity to see a swell animal zoo and gardens. They even have an animal hospital tour and special music events. www.livingdesert.org
Best wishes from Marilyn "Music" is my middle name!
