19 – 21 Jan 2016
I arrived in LA at 6am. My uncle and I were messaging….He was already upset of the LA traffic jam. He was able to pick me up almost 4hours after my arrival.
He came and we drove to first, La Quinta for lunch and for his micro-brewery beer tasting. We then headed to Mecca, CA. and checked out the Painted Canyon and the Ladder Canyon. We decided to continue on and walk the big loop the next day.
He decided to take a parking spot and he knew that there would be our night’s accommodation. Late, his jeep was the only vehicle in the area, therefore, we were the only people in this humongous open desert open space in the middle of sand mountains. I was imagining wolves and snakes or witches coming out of nowhere while I was peeing. Uncle set up the tent while I learn. I honestly had no clue how to set up my own tent. I never owned one..He patiently taught me. He prepared dinner too while I ate almost a whole bag of Doritos away.
Despite so much worries about snakes, I slept soundly. What’s new? Haha
I woke up, uncle was already busy preparing stuff, coffee and all. We had breakfast and headed up to the Canyon loop. View was amazing, not only on top but also along the way. It was my first time to go for a proper “Canyoneering”.
We followed the trail signs made by people. We had lunch there too. After finishing the loop after lunch, we drove to Joshua Tree National Park. Another natural desert wonder of California. For me, the most remarkable site while heading there was the Cholla garden. I’ve never seen so much cacti under the same family in one place. It was surreal. Like in fairytales! Haha
We headed down to a campsite hear the Skull RockTrail. That’s what we would explore the next day before heading back to LA. Uncle prepared the tent (Yes, I was still of no help)and dinner while I watched the sunset. It was again a freezing night. We had to into the comforts of our sleeping bags early because of it! I could hear owls singing in the back ground. They sounded so close. I wished it wasn’t cold and troublesome to get in and out of the sleeping bag. I would have met them.
Morning came, our tents were frosted out and uncle’s icy inside! We just had a quick breakfast and we began exploring the natural rock and sand formations and mountains of Joshua Tree NP. By the way, Joshua tree is not a person but a type of cactus that could grow as tall as trees. It was abundant in that area. The rocks and the formations were things I’ve never seen before. It was fresh for me and exteremely beautiful! I was in awe! BEAUTIFUL!
fooling around Skull Rock Trail Joshua Tree NP
Unfortunately, we had to drive back to LA. I was half asleep passing through the mountains and manifold of windmills. I was impressed. According to uncle a few years from now, most of California would be using alternative energy source for electricity.
Traffic wasn’t at all bad, hence, we reached LA in time for lunch. We ate in a Mexican restaurant then drove back to our proper accommodation that night, at Best-Western Airpark Hotel. I took a long shower as soon as we arrived and didn’t anymore go around except to get our Subway dinner. The next day would my and uncle’s flight. My flight home and his flight to a vounteering job.
The next day, he had to leave earlier than me. I would still be meeting a highschool friend for breakfast. She came to the hotel. She drove me to check in for my flight and headed out again to have breakfast near the Sta Monica Beach, Urth Caffe. We had a very brief encounter and I just couldn’t believe that people whom I haven’t really spoken to in a long time could welcome me and do things like that for me. I am truly blessed with great people around…all the time! I mean, most of the time!
We walked along the beach for 2 minutes and she drove me back to the airport. Flying back to Singapore was like dragging my feet to get out of a quicksand! It was hard!
Flights were uneventful!
A Woman in Search 