My Time At Joshua Tree

A short memoir of my 4 days and 5 nights in Joshua Tree, Palm Springs, Pioneer Town, 29 Palms, and Yucca Valley.

AUTHOR’S NOTE:

When I wrote this, I tried to give my honest opinion. If you disagree with my opinions, I can’t really change that, but sorry anyway. Not all sentences conform to grammar conventions. I love my family and tried my hardest to be honest without being rude. If you didn’t want to be mentioned in this, I am very sorry. For anybody who cares, this memoir contains 0 human names and 0 dog names. All mentions of people are not meant to be offensive. The pictures at the end don’t have any closeups, as I tried my hardest to pick pictures without people. Thanks for reading!

Day 1 7:44 PM

We’ve been here for about 2 hours, I’d say. By ‘here’, I mean the airbnb I’m staying at. The drive was long, due to the congested roads. I’m tired and ache, but there’s nothing like a sore throat to keep you company. It’s not all bad. There’s games, a TV, a genuine Pac Man Game. Best of all, there’s a telescope. A big, beautiful, telescope in a place with clear skies and little light pollution. Amazing stars and views all for us. A glimpse into the cosmos, just for my eyes. I’m a big space nerd. I love the thought of looking at planets and galaxies. My dogs’ nails are clicking on the floor. We discourage my dog from jumping for lots of reasons. One of the reasons is because his nails are sharp. Last I checked, my uncle, aunt, and father were discussing CG. Number one thousand reasons not to do contact sports. There’s competitive people mixed with contact, need  say more? I prefer net sports, such as volleyball or tennis. Best argument ever. I’m writing this memoir so I don’t lose my mind. Keep in mind, it’s a lot of people (whom I love). Same house as all eleven of them. I VALUE my personal space. I like being alone, writing, listening to music. I want others to (hopefully) laugh at my (bad) jokes, to want to come to Joshua Tree. Also my writings have been in a dry spell lately. Do you know how hard it is to write a beginning? Once you’ve done a beginning, it’s all easy from there. At least, that‘s my opinion. I don’t want to go to sleep on this hard bed in the desert. It’s away from hospitals, and the fire department. There are coyotes. I’m stressing myself out. This is going to be fun. I’ll be fine. It’s only a few hours. Worst comes to worst, I lie in bed reading on my Kindle instead of sleeping. I wish I could just blip to tomorrow. I have breakfast, I’m rested, everyone’s calm, I don’t forget to write in here. I could go play darts, but I DON’T want people to get injured. I prefer to remain uninjured. I could also wait to play Pac Man or another arcade game that I’m no good at. Maybe I could get my sister to play a game. That’s all for today I guess. I’ll write more tomorrow morning and/or afternoon and/or nighttime. Who’s to say when I will remember I have a memoir to write? I might forget about my memoir tomorrow! Who knows? Hey, is it Pac Man or Pacman or PacMan? If I look it up, I’ll get sidetracked and abandon this memoir. Is it a memoir if it’s not about your whole life? Is that a diary? Too many questions. I didn’t realize it was possible to do that. To turn your whole memoir into the big question of “why the heck am I reading/writing this? It’s some kid writing a chapter or 2 about a trip. BIG WHOOP.” I need to go brush my teeth. Goodbye for today. 

Day 2 10:02 AM

If you’re still reading this, I am very grateful. Now that it’s daytime, I see how big this place really is. Old horse stable, hammocks, a dried out pool. Scratched up pots and pans. There goes my dog’s clacking nails. I wonder if I could paint them. I have serious doubts my dog will enjoy his nails being neon. If you don’t mind, why don’t we talk about the horrors of bunk beds. Did I already do this? Point is, when the top bunker climbs up and down, the ENTIRE BUNK BED RATTLES. It’s equivalent to an earthquake. Today, we visited Joshua Tree. I’m not in Joshua Tree (surprise!). We’re actually staying in Yucca Valley. Close enough to be called My Time In Joshua Tree, hopefully. I have the feeling the readers are going to get bored of my ramblings. I know, you probably want to know about the landscape or the national park. Landscape: Dry, desert, hot, cold. Trees that look like spiky pom poms. National Park: Ask me when I actually go. If this is boring you, just leave. Stop reading and go read something interesting. If you’re still here, thank you. That means a lot. Hey, why do we do these 4th wall bits? “hey reader” “If you’re there”. You know, that kind of thing. Are you supposed to know my tone as I’m writing this? It would be a pain if I wrote it. Just use your best guess. How do you think I feel? Be back later for updates on the park or town. We also might go to this art museum and eat lunch out. COMING SOON: My review of a lunch spot. Adios.

6:14 PM

It’s been hours, but I have news. I am getting at least half decent bouldering. I learned new techniques and such. I learned a few things the hard way, but don’t we all? The landscape was so gorgeous. The Joshua Tree silhouettes were amazing against the afternoon sun. There was so much to climb! It was tricky, but I got plenty of help that I am grateful for. The lunch place we went to sucked. Food I disliked, HORRIBLE service, and flies everywhere. Also, my cousins/sibs found a hole in a fence and CLIMBED THROUGH into somebody’s backyard. Can you believe that? For dinner and just in general, we went to the store and bought way too much cereal (irrelevant detail, but true). We also enjoyed getting stuck in traffic because OF COURSE we did. I’m going to go. Just updating. Or is that just for blogs? Can I give updates for the day? Especially if they’re good? Maybe I should call this a blog, not a memoir. Who knows? Anyway, I’m gonna go for real. Ciao.

Day 3 7:04 PM

I cannot believe it’s Saturday. It’s a really tiring vacation. We climbed a mountain on a whim. Here’s a fun sentence because I live for alliteration: I traversed treacherous terrain on a tear. We missed out on the botanical gardens because lunch took a long time. We saw the Palm Springs Art Museum. I bought playing cards with my hard saved money. They’re really cute. What was I saying? I was going to explain the mountain. It’s a beautiful mountain conveniently parked by the museum. My aunt didn’t know about how steep and rocky it was. None of us did, because we saw the trail and went (well, the adults did), “Oh look let’s hike.”. People weren’t dressed to hike, we were dressed to look at art. Some people split up with us to check out a store, so it was me, my 2 brothers, my 3 cousins, and only 2 adults. So my uncle took 2 cousins, and my aunt took everyone else. The reasoning behind that is 2 cousins went very far ahead, and my uncle went to look for them. The 3 boys left (2 bros, 1 cousin) were going up and they were going fast. I waited for my aunt. Then the store group started the hike. My group met them. The 3 boys went up. Me, my sister and my aunt chilled. We had enough. We weren’t dressed to hike. We went to the bathroom, took a while, and walked back to the mountain. While we did that outing, my uncle’s group reached the peak of the mountain, my dad’s group nearly reached the top and then came down. Do I regret not hiking to the top? To be honest, maybe a bit. I’d feel really accomplished. I had to go to the bathroom, and the top was pretty far up, and we didn’t feel like it. I feel bad for my dog, who spent the whole day waiting around the house. I bet he felt abandoned. Also, we made 60 cookies, taste tested 1, and 10 people ate some. 49 cookies left, last count. I wonder if anybody took some… I’ve written a lot in this memoir, and I still have many more days! Only on day 3, can you believe it? This might be getting a bit too wordy. Arrivederci!

Day 4 10:35 AM

This is a short entry. Today’s plans: hike, outdoor art thing. Another mountain hike. Whew, I’m already tired. Salut. Also, we might skip that art thing. I believe it’s by Noah Purifoy.

7:58 PM

Well, this was an unplanned day. The adults changed the plan, leaving me out of the loop. No art, a different hike than the one we planned. Let’s start over. This morning: Breakfast chill time. Then more chilling. “Actually, no, we don’t have time for the art thing.” The art thing is 10 minutes away and we’re doing absolutely nothing. After lunch, we Finally head out. We drove out to the national park. Not bad traffic, but we got a flat tire. At first, my siblings and I attempt to help. Then we were sent to go hiking with our aunt. We looked for a trail, found none, so we just climbed on a rock pile. We regrouped with the other adults, started a hike, and then started climbing rocks instead. I explored and had a lot of fun. Dinner wasn’t great. We ate at a bar where I was overstimulated. Apparently, bars love music that’s 90% bass. It was an all around rough experience. Now I must go. I bid you adieu.

Day 5 10:48 AM

I’ve been up for a while. Just chilling. I’m bored. Later, we’re going to meet up with the cousins (When I say the cousins, I’m usually including my aunt and uncle) at a flea market and antique store. Farewell.

6:58 PM

Today the activities were going to a shop, Pioneer Town, and finally the art thing by Noah Purifoy. First, breakfast (Froot Loops are my guilty pleasure because my parents won’t buy them). My cousins left, and then we enjoyed the swingset outside. That was so much fun. This airbnb is humongous and has plenty of room to play. We left to go to the store. I bought a cute cactus pen and a pin for my teacher. I found out how amazing I looked in a fringed jacket. After that, I found out how much it cost-$250! Our group left for Pioneer Town, an old movie set turned tourist trap. Pioneer Town is a cool place. I got lots of neat photos. We waited for 1 1/2 hours (estimated) to get lunch. The lunch place was a BBQ place with great food. It was called Pappy + Harriett’s. I had some tri-tip on sourdough with a cream soda. The food there was delectable. We drove to Noah Purifoy’s outdoor art show. I’d tell you I loved it if I were a better liar. It wasn’t my favorite. I enjoyed the house he built, though I’m using that word liberally. After, we zoomed home and I watched (and commented on) Great British Bake Off with my family. Now I’m baking and writing. Improvised variation 7 layer bar and chocolate covered raspberries. Everyone else is watching Mission Impossible III. Au revoir.

FINAL DAY Day 6 8:06 AM

I never said goodbye. That’s really too bad. The cousins left early, and sent a goodbye video. I’m really gonna miss them. Leaving soon to go to brunch. I know people there, so I’ll be fine I think. Last night, I saw Jupiter with a naked eye, but didn’t get to use the telescope. The stars were magical, majestic, and decadent. I am going home soon, and I can’t wait to sleep in my own bed. It’s the 31st, and I don't want to ring in the new year on the highway. This place is amazing, and despite some mishaps, I truly appreciated my time here. Goodbye, Joshua Tree, Palm Springs, Pioneer Town, 29 Palms, and Yucca Valley. I’ll miss you, and I’m grateful you gave me this amazing experience.