The dry bake of the heat, soft purple hues of dusk, cold nights, howling wind across the wide open land, a giant clear sky of stars, slow and quiet, Gambel’s Quail calls, coyote tracks, tequila, the chirpy greeting of a hummingbird, dusty shoes, the prick of a cactus spine, lizards sunbathing in bliss, bumpy dirt roads, straw sun hats, loose clothing, Native American history, handmade pottery and art. The desert is one of my muses. Although my heart was formed way out here in the lush green humidity of North Carolina, the desert light still managed to pierce through. It’s an extreme place, but it captures and inspires me in a unique way. Suddenly I’m an artist again. My creativity is awake. A healthy rawness exposed from underneath the too-fat corporate sludge.

I’ll admit I haven’t met a scorpion or a rattlesnake, or spent a whole summer in that exposed heat to know for sure just how much I’d miss creeks, trees and the smell of freshly cut grass. I know I would. That’s one of the torments of my being, missing something all the time because I love a lot. But I sure do miss the raw wild of the desert when I’m here. I miss a part of myself in a weird way. That flickering flame. As my mom says, “Life is a series of tradeoffs.”

“Am I in heaven or did I just fly into Palm Springs International Airport?”. We started by visiting Palm Springs, which undoubtedly has the coolest airport I have ever been to. It’s essentially an outdoor mall and it’s glorious. Feeling low humidity on my skin always sends me to bliss. The flight landing into Palm Springs was beautiful with mountains plopped all around. I think I expected flat and brown, but nope. While Palm Springs the town wasn’t totally our vibe (a bit too flashy tourist commercial stuff), we loved our place at Korakia and spent a lot of our time lounging there. We did step out and visit a really sweet and beautiful cactus garden, saw a few gorgeous desert tortoises, and a Native American museum.

We originally were going to go to Death Valley in between Palm Springs and Joshua Tree, but changed our minds while landing on the plane to go to Laguna Beach. We didn’t want to make such a long drive for just a couple days there. Laguna Beach was fun and we enjoyed it a lot, but it was cloudy and cold so we didn’t get as much beach time as we envisioned. Zamie also spent a whole day throwing up. I didn’t realize that southern California was so often gloomy and foggy. “May gray” and “June gloom” as they call it. I still love it though!

Joshua Tree was our favorite overall. It’s kind of a weird place in comparison to most of what we’re used to. But when we look close enough, we absolutely love it. And it offers something that other safer places can’t. That’s what caught our attention.

If the desert is holy, it is because it is a forgotten place that allows us to remember the sacred. Perhaps that is why every pilgrimage to the desert is a pilgrimage to the self. There is no place to hide and so we are found.

Terry Tempest Williams

Highlights:  Palm Springs Cactus Garden, Joshua Tree National Park, Hidden Valley Trail in the park, Pioneertown, Shopping – Hoof & The Horn, Acme 5, Coyote Corner, Soukie Modern (Pioneertown), Hanging at Korakia pool and the Joshua Tree house and listening to quail and seeing coyotes!

Where we stayed (and would stay again): Korakia Pensione(Palm Springs), Hacienda by The Joshua Tree House (Joshua Tree), Casa Laguna(Laguna Beach)

Fav Food Spots in Joshua Tree: Kitchen in the Desert, Más o Menos, The Copper Room, Luna Sourdough, Frontier Cafe, Pappy & Harriet’s (Pioneertown)

Playlist (by The Joshua Tree House)

This adventure with mom was inspired by her mom, my Yiayia. Wow, did we all love Yiayia! She was the sweetest, warmest, and gentlest soul who shaped so many of my earliest memories. When I think of her, I instantly smile and feel warm and calm. Yiayia always had that special place in my heart and always got my best love, which often meant piling blankets on her and surrounding her with my favorite stuffed animals. Stepping into her home meant smelling something warm and delicious in the oven, Pete Sampras or Lawrence Welk on TV, hugging her small body which stopped below my chin, and sometimes hearing her yell at Pappou in Greek through her teeth, haha. She had a funny sassy side – most notably during card games, when our focused silence would be broken the moment she knew she was about to beat us all. In our weary defeat, she’d laugh uncontrollably til red in the face while slamming each winning card down, and we loved it because she was just our cute little Yiayia in her fuzzy orange nightgown, slippers and big glasses.

Before moving out east where our family has now been for decades, Yiayia grew up in San Francisco and would tell my mom stories about the gigantic trees she would see in California. Being a nature lover all her life, my mom was always fascinated by the stories of these enormous trees, so big that you could drive a car through them. So this year we set out to see them for ourselves. We started in the bay area and saw coastal redwoods at Muir Woods National Monument and down through the Big Sur area. The coastline was beautifully dramatic and foggy, but it eventually dissipated just enough to see its striking clear beauty. Don’t be bummed if you see fog though, it provides a lot of the water that the redwoods need! I’d even consider it a blessing.

Yiayia honeymooned in the early 50’s in Carmel-by-the-Sea, so that was another Yiayia-inspired visit for us. According to locals, the storybook charm of Carmel has hardly changed in many decades. There are no street lights or commercial stores/restaurants. For perspective, the latest woe of the town is that there will now be resident mailboxes vs one community post office, so now mail and delivery trucks will be chugging around the quiet streets (I agree, that does sound like a downgrade). We adored Carmel and wondered where Yiayia might have stayed or stepped. Did she walk on this exact beach or see this exact building? What was her experience like? We’ll never know, but I like to imagine we shared something with her there.

After a few days of turquoise water, rocky coast and small town bliss, we crossed the state over to Sequoia National Park & Kings Canyon National Park. After passing through hours of flat farmland, the mountain roads leading up to our hotel were unexpectedly twisty and cliffy, so fair warning there. The two parks are adjacent to each other but have very different landscapes, both absolutely stunning. Our favorite part was hiking through the Giant Forest, a place you could spend several days alone. Here you’ll find General Sherman, the largest tree (and living organism) in the world by volume, and countless other massive sequoia trees around 1,000 to 2,000 years old, even some known to be over 3,000 years old – what?! We spent the better part of two days hiking through various trails in the Giant Forest.

We spent one day in Kings Canyon National Park, and most of it was just driving, that alone took about 3-4 hours there and back. We didn’t see a lot of people, so we opted to not hike alone in what felt like wilderness, mostly because there’s always that chance of bears. We did a couple of short walks that took about 30 minutes total, and they were beautiful. The drive alone was an experience, definitely twisty and cliffy roads, but it was gorgeous and you can take your time stopping.

I think the standout from this trip will be the redwoods and sequoias. I have such a deep appreciation for them, not just because of their age and size, but all they do for the environment, and how they are able to survive through it all. I felt thankful to be in their presence and share a space for a moment in time, all alongside my mama!

MAP OF TRIP

Highlights:  Sausalito, Muir Woods National Monument, Carmel-by-the-Sea, Big Sur, Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park, McWay Falls, Pfeiffer Beach, 17 Mile Drive in Carmel, Carmel Mission Basilica Museum, Sequoia National Park, Kings Canyon National Park, The Giant Forest, Giant Forest Museum, Tunnel Log, Moro Rock, Zumwalt Meadow.

Where we stayed (and would stay again): Carmel Country Inn (Carmel-by-the-Sea), Wuksachi Lodge (Sequoia National Park).

Food Spots: Mission Ranch Restaurant (Carmel), Nepenthe (Big Sur).

In honor of Grizzly 399 who tragically lost her life while I was editing these photos, I’m adding the below PSA. Rest in peace mighty mother and Queen of the Tetons.

Please always be responsible when visiting national parks for the safety of wildlife and others. Always follow the Leave No Trace principles and drive slowly and vigilantly.

Leave No Trace

Slow Down & Drive Safe

Ways to Safely Watch Wildlife