"It's kind of chilly out here."
"I'm cold."
"I thought it would be warmer."
These were the first impressions I heard from my wife and three daughters on Day 1 of our spring break trip to Joshua Tree National Park in Southern California. Like most Minnesotans, they had wanted to travel somewhere warm for their vacation. We weren't sure about Mexico with twin toddlers, and Disney World was too expensive plus none of us like crowds. Joshua Tree was my brainchild. The idea of warm, sunny, wide-open places to run, hike and climb seemed like the perfect way to spend a week together. In my defense, it was warmer than Minnesota — maybe a dry 60 degrees on the day we arrived — but those who imagined frolicking in their swimsuit the whole time quickly made me the target of dissent.
We stayed in a hotel just outside the park and spent the first part of the day acclimating to our new location with a car tour, which some members of the family were clear to vocalize as way too long.
Once the dreadful drive was over and everyone was on foot exploring, the tone of the trip began to shift. We found ourselves in a prehistoric-looking wonderland of giant boulders, rocky slopes and mysterious flora. The topography was gentle enough that youngsters could find their way up and over the endless piles of stone but held enough challenges for big sister to be engaged on larger structures. Soon this was actually pretty cool. A couple of us drove back to town to pick up Chinese takeout for a picnic among the sand and stone and everything began to feel like a vacation.
As fun as the new landscape was, the seduction of the swimming pool back at the hotel became too much and small voices became more adamant in their need to swim before the day was over. Thank goodness the pool was heated.
The following days were spent in that precarious balancing act of visiting new places, doing new things and learning about this strange new environment while keeping the kids happy, fed and rested. Luckily with cool-sounding destinations like "Skull Rock" and a variety of other options outside the park proper, like an Old West ghost town, we were able to keep everyone in good times. In the afternoons we would always return to the warm waters of the beloved hotel swimming pool and the mindless luxury of cable TV. Sometimes a family card game or acrobatics on the hotel bed are just as important as hiking through natural wonders.
