The theme of this trip was COOOOOLLLLDDD!  The low was 23 with a “feels like” 15 degrees, and very windy! In our pop up we used a propane heater and we were so glad to have it! On the first night there was even snow flurries! We stayed at Black Rock Campground (Site 68) which is just outside the Park. Being a National Park there are no hookups, but there are flush toilets and the bathroom was very clean. I’m sure we’ve mentioned it before, we do have a porti-potty inside our pop up, but we try to only use it at night. When we arrived we went straight to the Visitor’s Center closest to the West Entrance, then went to the campground to set up.

We were also celebrating my stepson’s 13th birthday. I attempted a Pinterest “Campfire Cake” which actually turned out pretty good except for the fact that the frosting wouldn’t spread because it was so cold!  haha!

His Dad asked him what he wanted to eat for his birthday dinner. He asked for lobster and shrimp! He’s a really easy kid and doesn’t ask for much, so Dad was all in. As I’ve also mentioned before, my husband really loves to cook when we’re camping. He even loves the planning process.  He did an AMAZING job and everything was DELISH!  He also made PB&J French toast…so Good!

Since we were only there for the weekend, that left just one full day, but we squeezed in as much as possible. We drove the park and stopped at several different places. Even stopped at one pullout and watched some climbers going up and repelling down. There were a lot of trails where dogs were not allowed, so Mickey & I strolled around while the guys hiked. It was still very nice. We also stopped at Key View where there are majestic views of the Coachella Valley and desert cities (Palm Springs, Palm Desert, Cathedral City, etc.)  It was really beautiful. If you only have time for a short visit to Joshua Tree, you can still get a have a great time.

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