Joshua Tree National Park 2018

Monday, May 7, 2018

Hey there friends and family,

Day one of our trip is complete! This morning we left sweet Blake with my (Michelle’s) parents in Columbus and flew from Atlanta to Los Angeles to begin our trip. Thankfully everything went smoothly and we arrived at 10:00am, picked up our rental car (hybrid, which is ballin’ for the gas money side of things) and got going toward Joshua Tree National Park.

We’ve been there once before, but we liked it and it happened to be on our way to the Grand Canyon, so we decided to spend a half day there again. It was about mid-afternoon, sunny and 90 degrees. Nothing like Georgia heat, though. I could actually walk around without feeling like I was in a sauna and my insides were melting with each breath.

 

We thought we’d take a 30-minute trail before leaving, but it turned into an hour long trail. I saw my lifespan dwindling with each hot trek up a rock, but I kept on going. “For Maggie!” I told myself. We ended up surviving it, and it was worth it, but I did realize that pregnancy can make you feel like a seal on land when hiking at five months along. We’ll take it a bit easier than planned at the Grand Canyon tomorrow.

We decided to get a head start on the drive to Grand Canyon National Park and stay in a hotel tonight, so we’ve stopped midway in Kingman, AZ. Showers are much anticipated! And we’ll be rested for the Grand Canyon tomorrow. We stopped at Walmart today to get a cooler and some snacks, and plan to stow away, if you will, a good number of bagels and yogurts tomorrow from the free breakfast buffet. You probably know that this is how we roll from previous trips.

We are so thankful for those of you who help us go on these trips by watching Blake or encouraging us to take some time away! And thank you for reading these posts as well. If we quit writing for a few days, you might want to check in to make sure I haven’t passed out from another hike. Fingers crossed!

Love,

Taychelle