Joshua Tree Vol. 3

Seven in the morning.  
I am up and notice how my hand reaches to my phone instantly, checking the news on the state of the election. Some change. Enough to give me enough hope to go back to sleep. I sink back in the memory foam comfy bed in my sweet Airbnb spot, and my dreams take me away to their land. 
The alarm clock wakes me a while later, and so - my day begins. 

My second visit to Joshua Tree National Park is like a second date with one magical affair: I see things and possibilities that I haven't seen before, I am more open to fall in love with the little magical piece of high desert, and t may be too early for that... but I dream of commitment - browsing through real estate magazines and letting my mind fly off with fantasies on my newfound love. 

Like in Zion, Joshua Tree seems like someone threw down magic dust on it.  
It stands out in the area, and there's nothing else like it. Like, nowhere else in the world. I think to myself: 'Boy, America may not know how to choose presidents, but it sure knows how to choose its national parks.'

After hiking in the park and discovering more boulders, Joshua trees, Chollas, and Cacti than I can take in one day, we head out and explore an outdoor art museum some dude put together in the north part of town. It's part junk yard, part experimental creative play in textures and whimsy. It makes a good instagram photo, that's for sure: An exhibit of toilets, built up structures made out of wood, metal, mesh, rope and whatever else the artist had, a theatre, a cemetery...all creative artsy spots that may not exactly be my esthetic taste... but I appreciate the experimental creativity. I am thinking this artist is NOT a perfectionist. I can learn from his audacity to mess around and create. Not every creation has to come out golden. It's the doing that must move him, I think to myself.

We continue to explore the area for all its quirks and even try two different coffee shops to choose my favorite coffee. (VERY important). In between explorations - we check in with the news of the tight elections and notice how our hearts start beating a mile a minute. A friend messages me frantically, wondering what I think will happen. 'I am as clueless as the rest of us', I say. And I am back to my escape, exploring the neighboring towns and even venture into the set-like town of Pioneertown. For a photo op, of course. 

We end our day in a mineral hot spring in Desert Hot Springs, followed by devouring a German Souflle in Palm Springs as if we won the elections. But we haven't yet, and I am back at home now, glued to the live stream and stressing out with every passing minute.

My desert adventure is over, for now, but we shall meet again.
A third date is on the calendar already...
​Meanwhile, I have a date with the NEWS. And it better be a GOOD ONE.