Pioneertown was founded in 1946 by a group of Hollywood actors as a 1880s town for filming westerns. Some of the buildings are now artisan shops and others private residences. There were corrals in the back where RVs can dry camp although they do have restrooms. There was a saloon/restaurant, Pappy & Harriett’s, that has a story of its own but they also have music almost nightly. The Monday night we were there was “open mike”. This can be a good thing or deadly but we went and were blown away. Every act was great and musicians come from far and wide to perform here. It was so good, we came back 5 days later to spend our last night in the area.
Joshua Tree NP is part Mohave Desert above 3,000’ and part Colorado
Desert below 3,000’. Coming in on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving was still a
race for space but we were able to find a site at Ryan CG before it quickly
filled. Pictures best describe but there were boulder stacks, yuccas including
the Joshua Trees, assorted cactus and birds, rabbits and coyotes all of which
we saw along with mountain lions and snakes that were thankfully camouflaged or hibernating.
The temps were in the high 50 to 60s during the day dropping down to the middle
40s at night. Many of the campers were rock climbers (and tightrope walkers)
which made us wonder if this is what college students do when they have no
place to go for Thanksgiving. For our Thanksgiving meal, we brought along breast
of duck that grilled up beautifully – a new favorite!
I became braver with the imaginary cougar that follows me around
and hiked up to the 29 Palms Oasis and some of the hikes around the CG as well
as Hidden Valley and Barkers Dam. It’s a pretty cool place that grows on you!
Photos on the way to JT
Joshua Tree Photos
Photos on the way to JT
Joshua Tree Photos
