Joshua Tree Loop

My buddy and I rented a truck and took it on an adventurous loop from San Diego to J-Tree.

Traveling on 8 E the rental guy called us because he saw us leave without shutting the tailgate X(. Luckily nothing was lost, which gave us that feeling that nothing could go wrong. I popped open a Boochcraft and made us sandwiches. the cooler was packed. We both had our cameras, camp gear, & devices for light painting.

the 1st stop we made was in Brawley for the best carne asada tacos I've had to date. It was my 2nd time there at El Canon Mexican Food and over a year later that title held true. It's a perfect stopping point to fill up and eat because we were traveling one the 111 and we about to take the 78 east to Glamis. We decided not to gas up on a quarter tank left and made it to slab city on fumes. "it's not fun if there's no risk" was the quote I'll remember when we were deciding to continue one or drive back for gas when we realized it.

()!
()![Slab City Truck.jpg]

Algodones Dunes was the next spot we stopped at and the took back road that takes you through Slab City & Salvation Mountain. The back road is called Ted Kipf Rd and a truck, or 4 wheel drive is ideal. My buddy wanted to drive and he was hitting trenches at 40mph. He'd gun it everytime he saw another jump, lets call it, because he was trying to get airborne. I was glad he was driving because I would have drove like a grandpa to save gas and not damage the car. He tried to trick me saying the gas pedal was stuck to which I accepted without worry and said, "oh well" because I was having fun.

Took us an hour to get to Slab city and wow is it exactly like it's name. It was tempting to stop at the 24hr library and when we saw there is a hostel we decided we were going to stay there in the future. It seems like it can be a nice way of life; simplistic and free, but a lot of my friends have horror stories coming from there, which also doesn't surprise me.
()

Around the corner of Slab City brought us to Salvation Mountain. My buddy had been wanting to see this spot for years, so we stopped and explored the 150ft manmade mountain in the 109degree desert heat. http://www.salvationmountain.us/history2.html
()![Ivan Sand Dunes.jpg]
!

J-Tree was finally up next. We went through the Cottonwood entrance and stopped at the Cholla Cactus Garden to visit my favorite one I named Frank. It almost looks like he's flipping you the bird, if you look closely.
()[astrophoto3.jpg]

Jumbo Rocks campground is a must see and was where our camp sight was. I am really into astrophotography and light painting and always come here to try and capture its essence
()

![dune buggy.jpg][Frank.jpg]![Ivan Salvation Mt.jpg]

the rest of the trip had no more picture, but I'd recommend taking the 62 to the 10 then following the Salton Sea to which ever mountain pass you'd like to see before getting back to San Diego. We took the route to the 15 because it was the quickest and my friend had work.

If you haven't seen the desert, and are around the LA/ San Diego area, this is a great route to take

Thanks,

-Ru