My first time venturing out to Joshua Tree was with three guys, two tents, couple of guitars, a bottle of The Glenlivet and a shotgun.

Friday night found us discussing how we'd never been to that part of the desert. We parted ways in agreement that we'd set out in the morning. I was concerned it was the beer talking but in the morning I was glad to learn everyone held to their commitment. A stop for provisions and we were off. We winded around dusty roads enjoying our desert surroundings and decided that a traditional campsite with other adventurists wasn't for us so we spent the majority of the day searching, off the beaten path, for a place we could call home. We found a hill of rocks off the side of the road and pulled off to check it out. Not far from that was a big rock cluster that appealed to us and upon further consideration we decided it was the perfect spot to hide a fire from the main road and we set up camp.

The hot dusty road winding through the desert.

Tents were set up in perfect locations for a picturesque sunrise. Chairs were set up around the flickering fire providing warmth. It was finally time to eat dinner.

So there we were after dinner with Glenny, that bottle of bourbon I mentioned. A few passes and pulls atop a rock watching the most amazing yellow moon rise in the distance as a nice buzz came over us. This buzz had us up and hiking the rock hill in the light of moon. We clumsily made it to the top and picked our favorite rock for some star gazing. Don't know how we all managed unscathed but the next memorable thing was waking up so we could continue our road trip to Joshua Tree.

We made breakfast fireside and hit the road. Pulled off to fire the shotgun, since you can in the desert, and we were off again. The vegetation quickly began to change from rough desert to more green and boulder formations. We pulled off again for some bouldering and found a spot to hike with a little lake.

All in all it was an awesome time in the desert with good people, great food, amazing atmosphere and a handful of memories. Can't wait to go back!