A Fun 24 Hours In The Desert
Before we headed to LA to attend Create & Cultivate, Ash and I drove out to Palm Springs to spend a quick 24 hours in the desert. To be honest the only thing I really knew about Palm Springs before going was that Coachella is held there every year. I didn’t really have any interest in that, but I did know that I wanted to visit Joshua Tree National Park. Growing up we drove for all of our vacations, and went all over the U.S. visiting many national parks. I think it would be fun to check off all 59 of them!
Palm Springs itself is pretty small, but does have a lot to offer. As we were driving in we passed through downtown which is filled with all of the shopping and amazing restaurants you could ever want. Unfortunately because we were only in town for 24 hours we didn’t have much of a chance to experience that side of Palm Springs. We will just use it as an excuse to go back someday!
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We stayed at the Ace Hotel & Swim Club, which we highly recommend. Again, we weren’t able to spend a ton of time there but I really wish we could have. The rooms were quirky and fun. There were fireplaces scattered around the property that you could hang out in, as well as a very nice pool area. There was also a bar, and a restaurant which we decided to have dinner at. We loved it! Ashley couldn’t stop talking about her carrot tacos with date molé sauce!
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After a quick nights sleep we were up and ready to head to Joshua Tree. It is still about an hour drive from Palm Springs to the park, but it was so worth it. So, obviously we were in the desert so we didn’t think that it would be cold. Boy were we wrong. It was 30 degrees farenheit in the park with a 20% chance of snow. Ashley was wearing Birkenstocks, so you can understand the issues we were having. We weren’t ever planning to truly “hike” but with the weather that was a complete no go. The great thing about national parks is that you can very easily drive through all of them and get out to explore and take pictures whenever you want. We mapped out everything we wanted to hit including the skull rock, hidden valley, and the cactus garden. If you are ever in the area you have to visit Joshua Tree!
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On our drive back to Los Angeles there were a couple of stops we wanted to make. I had read about the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway, but didn’t do a ton of research on it. I assumed it was just like the tram we rode in Bergen, Norway. Well, this one was waaaaaaaay bigger! Head on over to our vlog to see the whole thing in detail! If you are scared of heights you might not like it!
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The last and final stop we made was at the Cabazon Dinosaurs! They are iconic to stop at on your drive between LA and Palm Springs Yes they are cheesy, and it was extremely windy, but it was still fun nonetheless. You just have to stop and take a quick picture!
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Palm Springs was so much fun! I can’t wait to go back someday and just relax in the city or at the hotel without all of the running around! I am really glad that we checked another national park off of our bucket list though. What is your favorite national park you have ever been to? Let us know in the comments!
Have a great week!
-Shelbs xx