In the waning hours of my two–week “2014 Winter SoCal Adventure” last month, fate offered up a gorgeous southern California Christmas Eve Day hike. Barely 20 miles up the interstate from my condo in Indio, I found exactly what I was looking for once more in the fan palm oases of Joshua Tree National Park.
On my recent “Winter 2014 SoCal Adventure,” I found myself in a dilemma. Should I pocket an easy $100 and burn some morning daylight by sitting through what should be no more than a one–hour time–share presentation, knowing that pigs would fly before I ever bought into anything? Or, should I just forget the quick cash and head for the hills of nearby Joshua Tree National Park? For a summer seasonal park ranger and barely employed geology adjunct, the decision made itself.
