Stanford Stories XXIX - Joshua Tree

After a brief stop in the hills of LA where we hiked up the Griffith Observatory, we continued our road trip leaving the Californian pacific coast towards the Mojave desert. Our first stop was Joshua Tree National Park which is a stunning desert oasis featuring the iconic Joshua tree which is actually not a tree, but rather a tree-like genus of the Yucca plant. Apparently, the tree got his name from a group of (dehydrated?) Mormons (or an Irish rockband) crossing the Mojave dessert being reminded of a certain prophet.

Personally, I have never been in a desert, so I was a bit unsure what to expect except dry weather, rocks, dust and a few thorny trees. Already on our first evening in the park, I was overwhelmed by the orange and blue colors of the afternoon light settling on the rocks and boulders of the high desert. At keys view overlooking the low desert, we could see a magical sunset before securing one of the last spots for dinner in the apparently famous “Cross roads cafe” serving classical American road trip food: sandwiches, burgers, fries … and something called a “french dip”. Derived from the French expression “au jus” (with juice) this is a hot sandwich consisting of thinly sliced roast beef in a baguette typically served with a dipping container of beef broth produced from the cooking process. A highly recommend dinner, after a day in the desert.

Joshua Tree National Park is also one of the best star gazing areas in the country due to its very low levels of light pollution and arid conditions. Unfortunately, we were “unlucky” because we were visiting during a full moon period. On the other hand, we were rewarded with a few spectacular views on a giant full moon rising above the desert.