Paradise in the desert

Tuesday 19th November

We woke up to a dull grey sky this morning which matched our moods as we packed all the gear back into the car yet again and left Santa Clarita behind.

Today our destination was the Joshua Tree National Park or to be more accurate a VRBO (vacation rental by owner) property, which had been highly recommended to us by Nigel and Kimmen, situated about 20 miles to the north of the park.  As we headed east on 210 and contrary to the rather gloomy weather forecast, the sky brightened and the sun came out. We had not planned on stopping anywhere en route (apart from the mandatory Trader Joe visit to pick up provisions for the next few days and this we did in Redlands, a small town just north of San Bernardino National Forest, as we passed by) and we had a 2pm check in time so it was a fairly leisurely drive.

We arrived in Yucca Valley, the last habitation before our rather isolated destination, at 1pm and on impulse stopped at the C & S Coffee Shop for lunch.  Research on Trip Advisor had shown this unlikely looking cafe to have excellent reviews - it looked very ordinary from outside and I'm quite sure we would normally have passed it by without a second glance, but as we (by chance) drove right past it we did a U turn (Martin's speciality) and went in. It proved to be every bit as good as the reviews claimed and we had coffee and the best pancakes ever (a very healthy lunch option........).

Martin decided that it was my turn to drive now and it was the perfect place - lanes and junctions to cope with but not too much traffic.  I'm finally getting used to the fact that I have the majority of the car on my right hand side!!  We turned off on 247 heading north and were soon on Pipes Canyon Road which was the last paved road before we turned off onto the first of the dirt roads we had to negotiate to reach our destination. It was a bit like driving on ice as we skidded back and forth in deep sand, then juddered over the wash board and finally steered cautiously round some large rocks and pot holes before a steep climb up to our home for the next three days.  I was a nervous wreck by this time (every sentence Martin had uttered since we left the tarmac behind had started with "whatever you do don't........") and under no circumstances am I driving the car back down that same stretch.....

We were greeted by Sachi, a former Burmese monk and wife of Dave, who has owned the property since 1998, and their three cute dogs.  It took us a while to unpack and sort ourselves out and we were already feeling the tranquility and peace seeping over us as we explored this unique place.  Firstly the accommodation itself is lovely, very tastefully furnished and well equipped but the best thing is the 16 foot sliding window out onto a deck looking out onto.....nothing.  Just boulders, cactus, Joshua trees, sky and wild life. No neighbours, no roads, absolutely nothing.  I really can't write a description that does it justice and none of the photos that we have taken so far do so either.

We strolled around checking out all the angles and lovely places to sit - there is even an octagonal yoga/meditation "hut" about 100 yards away, invisible from the main building with an easy to miss entrance reached by sliding through some rocks - again beautifully furnished and completely private with lovely views from each of it's windows. The perfect place for me to do my daily core strength exercises!

The past 5 weeks of travelling long distances, packing and unpacking, staying somewhere different almost every night and doing daily hard exercise has left us feeling exhausted and we really need a few days to relax and recharge our batteries.  This is the perfect place to do just that.

All that remained for us to do was .............nothing.   We had brought plenty of food with us but the kitchen was really well stocked so we decided to save our supplies in case of future hunger and use one of the pizzas thoughtfully provided as an easy option. Coupled with a huge and healthy spinach salad and washed down with a shared Hanger 24 orange wheat beer it was delicious.  There was a huge selection of music to chose from, DVD's to watch and absolutely the best thing of all......half an hour soaking in the hot tub after dark. Unfortunately there was a full moon and a lot of cloud which meant that there were very few stars to watch but it was still the perfect end to the day.