Joshua Tree National Park:
A Religious Experience
Thursday, April 27, 2023
Day 1: In God’s Country
In 1987, U2 wrote an album that deeply resonated with me (…and 25 million other people). In 2023, I visited their spiritual land with its desert plains and highest mountains– Joshua Tree National Park.
Joshua Tree is a place for wandering and wondering. I was fortunate to visit the park in the spring, the season of renewal and rebirth. Spring is here again, along with its religious holidays, and is a perfect time to reflect and introspect.
My husband, Sean, and I arrived in the park at about 6:00pm on a Thursday evening in late April. As we traveled along Park Boulevard, I was struck by the expansive and seemingly inhospitable landscape of spiked trees and large boulders. Anticipating large crowds this time of year, I was surprised that we were the only car on the road for the twenty miles to Keys View.
The isolating drive, along with the bizarre and incomprehensible landscape, resulted in a first impression of the park that is best described as befuddlement. But as we pulled into the parking lot at Keys View minutes before sunset, those unpleasantries were washed away. Nestled into the side of the Little San Bernadino Mountains, a small crowd was already gathered to watch the sunset over the Coachella Valley. Through the hushed whispers of anticipation, there was a silent communion amongst us. Together, we watched the spectacular colors of the sun bleed into one. And even though we took the same lonely road out of the park, there were only feelings of contentment and understanding.
