Joshua Tree National Park 2018

We recently traveled to California for the holiday weekend to help my BIL celebrate his 60th birthday. His husband planned a surprise party just like he did when my BIL turned 40, but unlike that time, he didn't manage to keep the surprise. In hindsight, that was probably just as well. We're getting too old for that kind of shit.

There are five siblings in my husband's family. Add the spouses and children, and it can be a large group. On this trip, we had a handful of people attending. All five siblings plus their mother, two spouses, and three children. A fairly manageable group. We were spread out in my BILs' houses, one they live in and one they recently acquired, the latter a remodeling project. Thus there was minimal furniture, and as it turned out, a missing window pane that made for chilly evenings.

My SIL and my nephew wanted to travel to Joshua Tree National Tree Park, and, unfortunately for them, they threw that out into the family group chat, and before they could blink, we had three cars of people making the three-hour drive. I'm not much of a nature person, but I enjoy visiting National Parks, and someone needed to keep an eye on Grandma Mary Anne, so I hopped aboard.

The night before, I Googled what to do if bitten by a snake. I felt this was important, having learned via a newspaper article that you no longer suck out the venom. Those in the car with me that night got educated on the correct first aid treatment. It now amounts to CALL 911 NOW if suspecting the snake is venomous. Which, uh, yeah, California is full of venomous snakes. That I learned the next day while Googling venomous snakes in Joshua Tree National Park. While waiting for the paramedics, who will hopefully transport the victim in record time to a hospital with anti-venom serum, the first responder keeps the victim calm, applies a sterile dressing, and lower the wound below the heart. Also, take note and be ready to describe the snake in detail.

While traveling to the park in car #3, I mentioned how several of us had learned this information. Dave, my BIL, piped up that he was one that felt confident having been in the same car the night before. I quizzed him, and thank goodness I did because he thought he was supposed to raise the wound above the heart. Whew. We went over it again before we arrived, and then I did the Google search on venomous snakes in the park and learned that out of the million that roam the area, they all are either tan, yellow, brown, green, or red. Seriously. The only way to tell them apart is to literally get close enough to exam shapes on their bellies, between their eyes, or on their bodies. I was concerned about us before we even arrived.

It was in the high 80's and very desert-like. I've decided I'm not much for the desert. I'm a water girl, and while there were tons of cacti, I missed a good body of water. We stopped at the tourist center first, where a woman ranger scared us straight apparently gave us information, but I only heard the following:

Her: "This is a nice park for the family. Great time of togetherness. Until it isn't. Use sunscreen. Stay hydrated. It is hot. Take plenty of water. Watch each other. There are many hazards in the desert. It can turn tragic if you aren't paying attention."

Or words to that effect. Mostly, I heard "Death. Sunscreen. Water. Death. Hot. Death. Watch Grandma."

She did not bring up snakes, so I mentioned how several of us were prepared to provide first aid just in case. Then I asked her if the gift shop sold sterile bandages. They didn't. I bought my niece a wristband with a compass and a whistle. We wanted the one that also included some flint built in to start a fire, but alas, the bands were too big for our wrists. Hopefully, we would not need a fire. We loaded back into the car and entered the park.

It was packed with campers, tourists, hikers, and Memorial Day vacationers. We eventually found an area to park, and we got out and slathered on the sunscreen, unpacked our picnic supplies, and filled up our water bottles. Then those that wanted to hike miles got their backpacks together and set off. Four out of the group had heard my snake first-aid, so I felt comfortable letting them head off to climb the mountain.

That left Grandma Mary Anne, Tom's brother, one sister, and me to drive around the park. We did this while we ate our lunch. When we saw things of interest, we pulled over, got out, hiked, and then returned to the car. We visited high areas where the temperatures were tolerable with a nice breeze and then into the low places where it was dusty and hot. During the visit to the cacti garden, I lifted my sunglasses to photograph a lizard and seriously think I burned my eyeballs. One eye was red for twenty-four hours, and both hurt until I got to a sink to flush them. Again, the desert is not my scene.

We had another incident, but that will be tomorrow's entry because it deserves its own entry. Eventually, we went back to hook up with the others. We drove to another site to explore, and then two cars headed back to LA. The last vehicle stayed for more hiking and to experience the desert in the evening. I figured the desert at night would be a bit cooler and dark, so I closed my eyes and pictured that and climbed into one of the cars heading to LA. We stopped at a tourist shop to buy a shirt that said we had been there, done that, but it was a lot like Florida tourist shops; full of crap. So, we left without making a purchase and drove back.

We ended the night sipping wine on the back deck overlooking the city. It was cold, and there was a pool right there—perfection in my book.