Joshua Tree National Park

 

October 11-12, 2025

We rolled out of our friends’ driveway bright and early at 8 a.m. to go check out a trailer. Not just any trailer, mind you, but a Bowlus. The Porsche of travel trailers. Sleek. Shiny. Aerodynamic. A rare opportunity, since they're only sold directly from Santa Barbara, and it's not often we are in Santa Barbara. You have to book an appointment just to look at one. Naturally, this made us feel very exclusive and fake at the same time. Like we were about to join some elite club of glamorous rich people, which we are not.

Except… the Bowlus wasn’t that great. Don’t get me wrong—it was beautiful. But for $138,000 (that’s the base model), it should probably tow itself, make you pancakes, and massage your back while doing it. The top-of-the-line version was $230,000, and while it came with “all the bells and whistles,” it still didn’t come with a personal driver. So, we passed.

Our brush with trailer luxury did, however, come with a side of humility. We parked across several empty parking spots at a nearby business we thought was closed on Saturdays. It wasn’t. When we came out, there was a note on the windshield. Our first ever “bad park job” note! But plot twist—it was actually polite. Firm, but kind. A woman after my own heart. I wanted to write her back and say, “Thank you for your constructive criticism and emotional maturity.”

The real price of this little Santa Barbara detour was having to drive through Los Angeles traffic back to our favored camping spot in Joshua Tree. It was Saturday, but it was still stop-and-go. And we couldn’t even use the carpool lane because trailers aren’t allowed. We entertained ourselves by blowing Hubba Bubba bubbles and spotting all the El Camino Real bells—the ones hanging from shepherd’s crooks that mark the old Spanish trail along Highway 101.  

On our way back to Joshua Tree, we did the glamorous, behind-the-scenes stuff that really defines the RV lifestyle: laundry and errands. If you’re ever in Palm Springs, I highly recommend Wash Time Coin Laundry. The manager deserves a medal. She cleaned nonstop and even helped a man fold his sheets. It was like watching a domestic angel at work. You just don't see that kind of work ethic very often. 

Meanwhile, while sitting there people watching while I waited for my laundry to finish, I learned something fascinating about men and bed sheets. Folding sheets is a challenge for them. I watched two different men attempt the task—both let half the sheet hang on the floor while folding. Seriously? I know the lady just mopped, but what's the purpose of washing them if you're going to drape them all over a public floor. I, on the other hand, managed to fold my clean sheets all by myself without letting them touch the ground. Of course, this shows my true colors. I just sat there in silent judgment, clutching my perfectly folded linens, while Laundry Angel swooped in to help.

While I was doing laundry, George ran errands. When you're together every second of every day, it's important to occasionally divide and conquer like that. Because when you get back together, you actually have things to talk about that the other doesn't already know. George's errand was to pick up a telescoping flagpole—but not just for a flag. This was also for our Starlink satellite dish. The idea was to raise it high enough to avoid tree interference (looking at you, Yosemite). 

Sunday was more peaceful. We stayed in Joshua Tree, went to church, and—highlight of the morning—I saw my first roadrunner. It was actually running across the road! Sadly, there was no Wile E. Coyote in pursuit, though I did glance up to make sure there weren’t any falling boulders.

That afternoon, we ventured into Joshua Tree National Park—towering rock formations, spiky cholla, and proud saguaro cacti everywhere. And of course, Joshua Trees. Fun fact: the campgrounds close in the summer but open back up in fall and winter. Another fun fact: the Mormon's nicknamed the Yucca Brevifolia plant, "Joshua Tree," because they thought the tree looked like Joshua with his arms raised for an extended period to enable the Israelites in their conquest of Canaan. 

The best surprise  of the day was running into Jake again—a young traveler we’d met back on the Channel Islands. Twenty-one, recently heartbroken, living out of his Honda Element, on a mission to visit every national park and mend his soul. We told him, “If we see you a third time, we'll know the fates are putting us together and we’ll exchange contact information.” I hope we see him again!

We ended the day at Keys View, watching the sun set over Palm Springs and the San Andreas Fault with half the park’s population.