JT

Last weekend, my husband and I decided to get away to Joshua Tree for a couple days.  Partly to extricate me from the apartment that I've been stuck in for weeks straight, day in, day out, unpacking and cleaning etc.  And partly to celebrate our 2-year wedding anniversary.

My husband's maternal side of the family owns a "cabin" just a couple miles outside the entrance to the Monument.  I put cabin in quotes because when I was first dating him, and he'd speak about this cabin - I imagined something much grander than what it ended up being... which is a perfectly respectable, albeit humble, one-bedroom abode.  Hey, it's got indoor plumbing and a garbage disposer in the kitchen sink. I certainly do not take for granted said amenities considering the boony-esque locale of the place.

Actually, I really enjoy our trips out there - so long as we avoid the hot season (May through September), there is definitely something priceless about the ability to just pack an overnight bag, drive a couple hours, and feel like you're thousands of miles from civilization.  The cabin has no TV or telephone.  It's near some great terrain for rock climbing, hiking, and just plain wandering.  And - as I mentioned - it's minutes away (by car) from the Joshua Tree National Park.  Within the Park, there are even more and better opportunities for hiking, camping, and rock climbing.  Not to mention the stunning vistas. 

I think there's something ingrained in all Americans brought up west of the Mississippi where we get weak in the knees just looking at truly awe-inspiring landscapes.  The harsh beauty of crags, boulders, and canyons seems to ignite a primeval tie to the land and how it's shaped our universal subconscious.  Yeah, snow falling on cedars is pretty and dew-dampened meadows are serene - but give us the Red Rocks of Colorado and Utah's magnificent Bryce Canyon any day.  Tahoe/Mammoth vs. Stowe/Sugarloaf is no contest.

Aside from the gorgeous land-based scenery in Joshua Tree, my husband is an avid stargazer.  He has a very nice amateur's telescope and one of our favorite things to do out in the desert is flip through a recent Sky & Telescope or our DK Astronomy book, find constellations, then study a specific star, cluster, or - our favorite - nebula.  This past visit, we enjoyed looking at Jupiter and four of its moons, the Orion nebula, and the Pleiades cluster. We could have sat out there into the wee hours had it not become overcast.  What little we were able to view was nonetheless exciting and thought-provoking.

Landscapes have an uncanny way of grounding you, but only the stars can take your breath away...