California Road Trip | Joshua Tree

Our first stop after L.A was one of our favourites… If you’ve spent anytime in L.A you will have heard of Joshua Tree. Palm Springs’ laidback, hippy neighbour, it’s a favourite weekend getaway for L.A natives who want to hike, have a sound bath, do some stargazing and generally escape the rat race for a few days. Heading east out of L.A, the city seems to go on forever with endless malls and Taco Bells rolling past the windows, until suddenly the city gives way to sand and you realise you’re suddenly in desert territory. Unlike Palm Springs, this isn’t the place for luxury hotels or fine dining; aside from a few cool motels and delicious, hearty restaurants, Joshua Tree is the place to rent a great Air Bnb, kick back and soak up the desert silence and inky skies. If you can find a great rental with a fire pit and a hot tub even better, as in true desert style, the temperature sinks during the night and there’s nothing nicer than soaking the day’s hike away under the stars.

We had picked up supplies at Vons in L.A before we left and spent out first night drinking wine and eating pasta in dressing gowns while playing records. One of my favourite nights of the whole trip. We woke up the next day and headed straight to the National park for a hike. We did a bit of googling and went for the Split Rock trail which is about three miles. Not to be a total nerd, but the rock formations are something to behold and I loved the Jurassic Park landscape. The hike was perfect in that we barely saw anyone else (kindaaaaa creepy if you’re a true crime podcast fanatic like me) and it felt properly remote and wild. After a morning rambling, we headed home for some downtime by the pool (the first time we’d stopped since getting to L.A) before heading to the almost iconic Pappy and Harriet’s for dinner and the biggest plates of food I’ve ever attempted to take down. Be prepared to wait for a table if you haven’t booked but I loved this Pioneertown spot for a dose of unpretentious Americana with live music and dishes on the menu like the ‘cowboy special’, ribs AND steak if you’re interested. After two nights, it was time to head to Arziona. We had the most delicious breakfast at Crossroads in Joshua Tree (don’t miss their banana bread, it was as thick as a 500-page tome, warm, toasted and basically the best thing I’ve ever had) which is exactly the kind of breakfast spot you want on an American road trip; old school, friendly, no frills, delicious food. A quick tour of the vintage shops dotted around and it was time to set off. We didn’t make it to La Copine (the opening times are kind of strange to me – basically just lunch) but the food is meant to be delicious. I could have easily spent three days in Joshua Tree but two was more than enough to get a good feel of the place and I felt like we had a great balance of soaking up the nature and desert solitude while also taking in some of the more buzzy places of the Yucca Valley. As always, it’s great to leave something for next time too right?

Next up, Salvation Mountain….

Zebra trousers | Isabel Marant 
Jumper | Creatures of Comfort 
Gold coin necklaces and rings | Lucy Williams X Missoma
Big gold hoops | Old Celine
Daisy slip dress | Paco Rabane
Metallic bag | Paco Rabane 
Bandeau top | Brandy Melville 
Grey jeans | Rouje
Slides | Birkenstock 
Scrunchie | Donni 
Chunky studded sandals | Isabel Marant 
Active wear (fleece and leggings) | Outdoor Voices 
Embroidered blouse | Vintage
Yellow snake bag | Chloe 

All photos by own.