out and about: joshua tree.

We’ve had a decidedly indoor series of days and so, I thought, it’d be nice to live vicariously through photos of a few decidedly outdoor days that we passed earlier in the month. We headed out to Joshua Tree for the last two days of our trip to California, and I don’t think I’ve ever been happier about a travel decision. I haven’t spent much time in the desert. By which I mean, I’ve never spent any time in the desert. I couldn’t anticipate the way that the air would smell. Or the way the sun would hit the mountains in the distance. I couldn’t quite conjure the images of the jackrabbits or the scrubby cacti—even though I knew they’d be there. Even now, there’s no way to adequately describe the way the sun rose over a straight horizon and lit the sky up in shades of lavender and pink.

To Stay:

We stayed at the beautiful desert home of friends whose #flattopprojects is the dreamiest little homesteader cabin I’ve ever seen. (I haven’t seen that many homesteader cottages, but still! Trust me at least with the fact that Lily and Peter’s place is a dreamland! Just, A+++.) (If you’re interested, here’s a characteristically lovely post from Lily about their decision to buy their desert home.)

To Eat:

We visited at the beginning of a week when a lot of the local joints are closed for business. We made meals at home and jotted down notes for what to do when we come back.

Joshua Tree Coffee Company: Lily and Peter had a bag of this stuff on their kitchen counter and I got pulled in by the pretty design on the label, so we did a little search and found a bag of our own (plus one to bring home).

Joshua Tree Health Foods: A quirky, incense-filled spot to get a dozen fresh eggs and ceremonial sunflower seeds (which, of course, we did).

La Copine: Recommended to us by every single person that we met. Alas, alack this spot it open only Thursday-Sunday so we missed out this go-round, but I couldn’t resist sharing such a sweet spot. If I ever return, I’m high-tailing it thataway for the Grits & Greens.

To See:

For sightseeing, we probably would have been content to stay in Lily and Peter’s house and watch the sun move across the sky, but there was a National Park to visit and so we did. The Joshua Trees were blooming during our visit and we caught a few other flowering specimens on our ambles around. My best description of the park is that it’s a place on Earth that doesn’t feel a bit like it. Otherworldly and then some.

And now, back to facing Monday.

For the curious:

I’m wearing this favorite fleece;
my favorite overalls;
these canvas sneaks; 
and my Alma.
Faye’s in our favorite linen pants
and sweater;
and sneaks.
(Same lightweight carrier that we used in Venice.)
(Favorite black Junes bag for stashing shed jackets and hats.)