One Week in Joshua Tree

Story & Photography by Maranda Vandergriff

It was supposed to be Greece.

My then-fiance-now-husband and I had planned to travel to Europe for our honeymoon for months. But like many things in 2020, travel to Europe became very uncertain because of COVID-19. We finally laid that dream to rest (with a “just not now” mentality) and found ourselves back at square one.

Parker only had one week off of work for the trip. We considered staying in the Southeastern US instead and going to cities that we could drive to in a couple hours. We’ve both traveled around the Southeast, so the cities that caught our attention were ones we’ve already visited.

I don’t remember how I thought of it. I had seen the iconic Joshua trees in pictures, but I didn’t know much about Joshua Tree National Park or the little town named for those same funky trees. I started researching and brought up Joshua Tree, CA to Parker as a honeymoon destination option. It seemed like a quirky, quiet desert town with enough to do to keep us entertained but not too many options that we would be overwhelmed with a long itinerary for our short trip.

We decided to make the leap and started looking into Airbnbs in JT. We quickly found that nearly every single Airbnb looked like it deserved its own Instagram account. From bohemian bungalows to midmod hideouts to dome houses in the desert, the hardest part of our trip was deciding where to stay. I was drawn to an adorable cabin with an outdoor clawfoot bathtub. When I realized I had been following that particular Airbnb on Instagram for years, I knew it was fate for us to stay there. (Okay, that sounds a little dramatic, but we needed SOMETHING to help us choose.)

Our trip lasted from Monday to Sunday with nearly all-day travel in and out of Knoxville, TN on the first and last days. This left us with 5 full days. I had a mental list of some things I wanted to do, but we had a completely open itinerary when we arrived; we wanted to have a relaxed and lowkey trip to decompress after the stress of 2020 and wedding planning.

Here’s what we did:

DAY 1 — EXPLORING JOSHUA TREE

Brunch at Crossroads Cafe: Traditional American/southwestern cuisine (with lots of yummy veggie options)

Coffee at Joshua Tree Coffee Company

Light grocery shopping at Von’s: We wanted to try the local cuisine as much as possible, but we still needed snacks for the Airbnb and our trip into the park

Souvenir shopping at Coyote Corner: A cute little outpost with JT souvenirs, some outdoor gear, and a small selection of vintage

Explore Pioneertown: Originally created as a film set, some of the Wild West storefronts of Pioneertown contain real businesses – and it’s still used as a set!

Dinner at Del Taco: This is a chain we don’t have back home so we had to try it out

DAY 2 — JOSHUA TREE NATIONAL PARK

Breakfast at Frontier Cafe: Coffee, breakfast, and lunch. They were takeout-only so we got it to go and enjoyed it at the Airbnb

Day trip to Joshua Tree National ParkFirst stop at the gift shop for map (and more souvenirs)

Hiked Barker Dam: Easy, 1.3 mile hike. The hike leads to an old dam, and if you come during/after the rain you will find a desert oasis and might even see a bighorn sheep (but it was bone-dry when we visited)

Hiked Hidden Valley: Easy, 1 mile loop featuring giant boulders and rock formations

Cholla Cactus Garden: The Joshua trees give way to acres of the short but dangerously sharp cholla cacti. At the garden there is a sign that begins with a quote from J. Smeaton Chase, in California Desert Trails, 1919: “If the plant bears any helpful or even innocent part in the scheme of things on this planet, I should be glad to hear of it.” The sign goes on to read: “We humans often find value in other living things only when we see a profit for ourselves. We fail to recognize the value of a thing to itself or other living things. The Cholla (choy-ya) cactus is one of these outcasts. If we could ask the desert woodrat or the cactus wren how they value the cholla, undoubtedly they would have an eye-opening perspective to share.”

Sunset + stargazing in the park

Dinner at Joshua Tree Saloon: Traditional American with Wild West flair. I read one article that described the Saloon looking like Mad Max and I think that’s a perfect description!

DAY 3 — DAY TRIP TO PALM SPRINGS

Brunch at Wilma and Frieda’sCoffee at KoffiShopped at:

Palm Springs Vinyl Records and Collectibles

Windmill City Super #1: Screen print goods and locally-made gifts

Thick as Thieves: Home and lifestyle goods

Moorten Botanical Gardens: A beautiful garden with over 2000 varieties of cacti and succulents

DAY 4 — SALVATION MOUNTAIN

Breakfast at Joshua Tree SaloonDonuts and thai tea at The Jelly Donut

Trip to Salvation Mountain: About a 2 hour drive from Joshua Tree, this is work of art and faith. The artist spent over 25 years and gallons upon gallons of paint to create this quirky and sincere art installation in the desert town of Slab City.

Dinner at Pappy and Harriet’s Pioneertown Palace: This is a hotspot for live music, and some of notable artists who have played include: Paul McCartney, Vampire Weekend, Lorde, Arctic Monkeys, Band of Horses, and many more

DAY 5 — YUCCA VALLEY SHOPPING

Brunch at Crossroads CafeShopped at:Ricochet VintageThe EndMoon Wind Trading CoHoof and Horn