People have already started asking me if we’re doing the Joshua Tree Gathering again in 2010. The answer is, “You bet!” The date is March 5-7, 2010.
If you haven’t attended the Joshua Tree Gathering in the past, a few words may be in order. First of all, Joshua Tree National Park is our own national park her in Southern California. It’s named after the impressive Joshua Trees that grow there. These trees are a member of the yucca family and are found growing only in the high desert.
Another distinctive feature of JTNP is the outcroppings of granite. They seem to boil up out of the ground and are reminiscent of of lava lamps. They attract climbers from all over the world, especially this time of year.
But JTNP is not only high desert. The southern entrance to the park is in the low desert so there’s a fascinating diversity of climate zones in the park along with the different flora and fauna that inhabits both. This is the home of the cholla gardens where cuddly looking cholla cactus grow in profusion and the ocotillo patch where these Dr Seuss like plants raise their spindly and spiky branches to the sky.
And if that’s not enough, JTNP was the place where fascinating early history played out with ranching, gold mining, cattle rustling, murders, Disney movies and more.
So what does this have to do with the Joshua Tree Gathering? Well, simply put, JTNP is a great place for photography, a great place to explore and March is a beautiful time to just be there.
How does it work? We’ll gather in the Jumbo Rock campground Friday. We’ll try to camp around campsite 19, the one with the photogenic Juniper tree growing behind it. We’ll gather on Friday and make our plans for photography and exploration the next two days.
Those that like to camp can do so. We’ll have several campsites pre-reserved so we can camp together. Those that think that a Motel 6 with a green carpet is their kind of camping can stay in the Motel 6 (or other motels) in nearby Twentynine Palms. Oh, the Motel 6 doesn’t have green carpets through. Sorry.
And what does all this cost? Not counting the entrance fees for the park and possible camping fees, the cost of attending the gathering is to bring a dish to the Saturday Night pot luck. And if you want to show off just a little, all the better. The pot luck this year was definitely one of the highlights of the gathering.
So, mark your calendar for March 5=7, 2010 and make your plans to attend. We’ll have a great weekend of photography, phun and phellowship.