Off to Joshua Tree for Jena's 1st camptrip! The 3 hour drive felt like 30 minutes with good tunes playing & even better conversation.
Upon arrival we wandered a short half-mile thru scattered cacti & Joshua Trees with gear in tow to our campsite.
Bellies grumbling, we quickly decided to start cooking. But first I had to figure out how the stove worked! After realizing I hadn't screwed the gas on all the way, we fired it up.
Like a loving couple of dirtbags we kicked back as the aroma of sizzling barbacoa & chorizo began to fill the desert air.
This was actually our 1st time cooking together. Oh the pressure! But really it was one of those movie moments. You know, the too good to be true feeling.
And of course we had to document it all!
Gametime! Meat cooked, assembly ensued. We topped them off with fresh mango, onion, cilantro, tomato, avocado, cotija cheese & mango salsa.
Capital YUM! Camping cuisine never looked so good!
Which means, taco cheers!
Beaming with post taco joy we basked in the fading rays of sunlight beneath a regal Joshua Tree. We had a habit of 'just talking', yet it felt like so much more.
Our Misadventure was already off to a supersonic start & the sunset only seemed to enhance the dreamlike aura.
The moon majestically rose as we gathered the last of our gear & layered up for a brisk night.
Moonlit wispy clouds at dusk emitted a deep oceanic hue. Simply dubbed, "The Blue".
"Wow" & "so beautiful" were uttered more than once. As we walked we'd look back, lock eyes & dorkishly smile like two people in love tend to do.
The blue carpet blanketing the sky was pure eye candy. Could the trip get any more perfect?
Back at camp, we promptly plopped down on a patch of earth to moongaze.
Wrapped in eachother's arms like a pretzel we sat for hours, metaphorically swimming thru a sea of serenity.
We seemed to talk about everything imaginable: childhood, let downs, the good times, our families, our goals, our dreams & so much more.
The lack of distraction from camping allowed us to learn so much about one another. We probably explored who we were as people more than we explored Joshua Tree itself.
Eager to jettison off to the dream world & snuggle up inside our nylon pyramid, we took one final astrophoto to document one of the most paradisical nights of my life.
Starry skies gave way to a sherbert sunrise, enticing us to at least momentarily abandon the warmth of our sleeping quarters.
And she's even cute straight out of the box (or the sleeping bag).
After enjoying the sunrise's painted skies, we wasted no time slipping back into those very sleeping bags for extra snooze time.
After sleeping in our minds were set on one thing, FOOD!
So we hiked back to the car to grab the missing ingredients for our special camping breakfast recipe.
One happy L.A.lien roaming the universe.
With the needed ingredients now in hand, we raced back down the ole' dusty trail to camp, framed between yucca leaves on what would be another picture perfect day.
The sun was warm, but not hot & coupled with a cool breeze it was pretty euphoric.
Slicin' & dicin'. The warm orange of the sweet potatos perfectly contrasted the royal blue 'Rogue Star' 80's fit cap. So yeah, we took a picture!
The sweet smell of chorizo began to fill the atmosphere, enticing a smile & an "I can't wait" sentiment.
Chorizo Sweet Potato Hash with a dash of cinnamon & a dollop of maple syrup.
And since we were curious what a sweet potato & chorizo taco would taste like, we made one too!
No description needed. A meal like this while camping really made the experience next level. It gave us something to create & consume together. It even sparked a love of cooking for us.
Aside from food, snuggles were our primary focus.
We lingered at camp for hours sippin' sours, watching the clouds roll in. Overwhelmed by the perfection of the day I maybe (no, definitely) shed some tears of joy.
Mere hours before sunset, we finally broke down camp to go search for a paved lot so we could.....
Take a trip to funky town!
United under the groove we pulled out the quad skates & Jena started activating her discotoe.
We thought it'd be cute to start a new photo series documenting all of the crazy places we skate at.
It was even radder than I imagined it'd be. It was like being in our own movie, surrounded in dramatic scenery & filled with the purest of excitement.
We skated around the parking lot giggling like children.
We know, we're kinda cool.
After our impromtu roller disco we laced up our boots & took to the trail.
We wandered about searching for viewpoints & vistas in the hope that we'd be treated to a prime sunset showing.
With the trail entirely to ourselves, there was a peaceful silence, only broken up by the occasional bird chirp & our laughter.
We'd intermittently stop anytime we saw a funky plant or cool rock formation. The Snuggle Cave was definitely our favorite.
The mood this entire trip was so lighthearted. Bouncing between endless conversation & more than a few jokes, we happily wandered thru the desert.
With heads on a swivel, we finally spotted a rocky perch to get a birds eye view.
But my battery literally died right here before I could take photos of sunset, but Jena came thru with this beauty! Clutch!
Give the people what they want: Pizza!
All great Misadventures end with a smile & some good food!
This pizza place just outside of Joshua Tree is the best I've ever had! So many unique toppings & a really cool vibe. Oh yeah, & the pizzas are HUGE!
As we ate we reminisced on the dreamlike trip & took a quick preview of our photos, already brainstorming the next Misadventure. Thanks for tuning in comrades!.