Day 18 – Lake Havasu to Los Angeles via Joshua Tree National Park

Lake Havasu - view as I woke up

Wahoo! Final night in a tent over and done with. I’ve really enjoyed this tour, but I’m not going to miss sleeping in a tent. First surprise of the day was finding out there was no water in the campsite. At least I’d already had a chance to go to the bathroom before it ran out, because I was up very early – repacking my rucksack so I could put my sleeping bag and blow up mattress right at the bottom. So I really hope that the hostel I’m staying at don’t ask me if I have one.

A gecko

Michaela, our tour guide pointed out that running out of water does happen when you’re in the desert.

A Joshua Tree 

We also had the opportunity to eat up and take as much food as we wanted because it was her last tour of the season. Everything dry that was left would be donated, but the refrigerated goods would need to be thrown.

Then we were off. Los Angeles is surprisingly far away and it was going to take the best part of a day to get there, with rest stops in between and obviously a good stop at the Joshua Tree National Park, which would be our last stop of the trip before Los Angeles.

Joshua Tree was so named because explorers thought that the branches of the Joshua trees resembled the upstretched arms of Joshua leading them to the promised land. However, a Joshua Tree is not actually a tree, but belongs to the Yucca family, which also includes succulent plants and shrubs.

As well as the Joshua trees themselves, the park is characterised by its rock formations and stark desert landscapes. We went on a short walk to explore, adding yet more contrasting photos to my already contrasting portfolio! 

Then we hit the road again. Next stop, El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles del Río Porciúncula - town of our lady the Queen of Angels of the River Porciúncula, this was the original name given to Los Angeles, although this was later shortened to Los Angeles and is now commonly abbreviated further still to LA.

Sunset on Venice Beach

It was weird saying goodbye to everyone, although I was actually staying in the same hostel as a few others and we went to watch the sunset on Venice Beach that evening. I'm looking forward to a few quiet days to explore the city and a relax a bit before heading back to cold, rainy England.