The Golden State welcomes you!
As I journeyed further West, my next stop was the desert town of Twentynine Palms. Home to one of the largest military bases in the world, and perhaps the site of the most strangely located Naval Hospital in history. Dry and barren, except for the Joshua Trees, the desert really is a neat place, if you know where to look.
But first, you have to know the rule: don’t go out in the middle of the day. It’s brutally hot. Morning and dusk are your friends.
If you remember that, you’ll be fine. The temperature actually falls to very pleasant levels during the evenings.
I came to this dusty land to see my Uncle Jay, Aunt Shelly, and Cousin Jeff. My uncle is in the Navy, and currently posted at the Robert E. Bush Memorial Hospital. It’s quite interesting to find a Naval Hospital in the middle of the desert, but historically, the U.S. Marines have always used the Navy Medical Corps for its healthcare. The Robert E. Bush hospital is named for the Medal of Honor winning hospital corpsman who defended his company at the Battle of Okinawa while simultaneously administering critical care for his wounded patients, including holding up a bottle of plasma in an exposed position while fighting off a counterattack.
It’s pretty impressive stuff, and very cool to understand the history of the place while having the opportunity to see Marines performing maneuvers in helicopters and vehicles.
But while the Marines have to go out during the middle of the day to prepare themselves for the worst of conditions, I had the opportunity to go out in the evening and try out another type of specialized desert vehicle.
Dirtbike!
Yes, I got a chance to ride around the dry desert lake bed, and I have to say – motorcycles are fun. Now, I know what all you moms out there are thinking: ‘Don’t kill yourself!’
Well, as you can see, we were very cautious. Full protective gear. And the advantage of the desert flats is that the risk for injury is much lower. I didn’t wipe out, fortunately, but even still, without the risk of sudden stops or other traffic, and dusty, soft ground to land on, the whole exercise was much safer than riding around on a street bike.
And the bikes are definitely fun. We rode around a couple times during the evenings, and had a great time doing it. And although you won’t see me popping any wheelies anytime soon, I did have the chance to get much more comfortable on the bike and learn some of the tricks to good control.
Yeah, I want one…
Earlier in the trip, I mentioned my Uncle Jon had an FJ Cruiser. Well, my Uncle Jay has one, as well, and we took it out into the country for a spin. We had a great chance to appreciate the beauty of the Joshua Trees at sunset, and a blast bouncing around the trails.
The Joshua Trees are odd looking, but enchanting.
My Uncle is driving. Janelle and Jeff are on the roll bar.
Twentynine Palms is about an hour away from Palm Springs, so we also made an excursion down there for a day. Although the shopping itself really wasn’t for me, we did have a great lunch at the famous Parker hotel. It’s well known for being a secluded spot that celebrities frequent, and features some really outlandish decor.
The dish before me is some incredible lobster mac and cheese. Not only was it loaded with lobster, but the mac and cheese had a really different and delicious spicy kick to it. It was also massive and very filling – which is always a big win for me!
Delicious! And the dish is deeper than you think…
To wrap everything up, we made a quick trip to Joshua Tree National Park, completing a nice hike, and getting a chance to see the San Andreas fault.
Janelle at fault. As usual.
It was great to see my family out in Twentynine Palms, and I certainly wish I had more time with them, but LA called. With my sister remaining in the desert with my Aunt and Uncle, I headed for beautiful ocean city of Corona del Mar. See you there soon!
