Posted 10/9/2021 – Nicole had heard about this place near Joshua Tree National Park on a podcast where the owner, Toa, was interviewed. She wanted to see the night sky with the milkyway. The place we stayed had multiple trailers just outside of Yucca Valley. The owner lives in his boat. I stayed in the short, blue school bus while Nicole stayed in the canned ham, tear drop trailer. Most of the nights we had a clear sky illuminated by planets and the milkyway.
Our first full day we hiked the Black Rock Canyon Trail to Warren Peak with about 1200 feet of elevation gain. The visitors center was closed for lunch. Nicole was looking at the signs posted outside the door and noticed a photo of a woman who has been missing since June. Nicole looked up the story of the missing woman, Lauren Cho, and discovered she had gone missing from the AirBnb we were staying at. She was friends with the owner, and she and her boyfriend were fixing up a food truck to start a business. Lauren never left her pet parakeet more than a day and disappeared leaving her parakeet behind.
Joshua Tree National Park is the only place in the world where joshua trees grow mainly in the Mojave Desert at elevations between 2,000 and 4,000 feet. The first hike we went on to Warren’s Peak is in the very northwest corner of the Park. We didn’t have to pay to get in there. The Black Rock Nature Center and campground is located there. Joshua trees are not on the endangered plant list, but some park service personnel have tried to get them on the list. They are affected by drought from climate change.
