Out on the Weekend

Last weekend, we drove only two hours away from Los Angeles to reach Joshua Tree National Park, one of the most drop dead gorgeous places I’ve ever seen in the U.S. It’s pure desert out there. Joshua trees are grotesquely shaped hybrids of palms and cacti that you would not be surprised to see in a Dr. Seuss illustration.

And the rock formations, too, are out of this world. Hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of years of earthquakes, erosion, molten liquid, and whatever else, makes for a very fascinating geologic landscape. But the highlight of the trip was a horseback riding tour we took with a cowboy named Dan. Dan regaled us with tales of his teenage years – when he would get so bored, that he'd climb a mountain with no shoes on – and his time as a front man in a Doors tribute band. That’s Dan’s one true passion: the Doors. Dan had a lot of stories to tell about the crazy 90’s and the dueling Doors acts in Yucca Valley, California. Sometimes Dan’s passions trailed off to rattlesnake hunting for his taxidermist friend, or pool and spa supplies, but he always came back to the Doors. We even got our own private concert when Dan sang “Five to One” and “Strange Days” for us out there in the middle of the desert.