A Non-Traditonal Thanksgiving

Sunrise in Joshua Tree

For my entire 56 years on this beautiful planet, Thanksgiving has always meant one thing - celebrating with friends and family gathered around the table laden with the traditional turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pies, and other delectable dishes.  It has always been one of my favorite holidays, embodying all that is best about love, family, and friendship, without all the commercial excess that accompanies the next big holiday on the calendar.  I also like it for it's simple theme.  There is so much pain and suffering in the world today, and we are all fortunate to have so many things to be thankful for, many of which we take for granted on a daily basis.  It is good to stop and reflect on how truly blessed we are.

We have friends who have a somewhat different twist on the Thanksgiving tradition.  They still observe the true meaning of the holiday, but they choose to do it camped in the beautiful surroundings of Joshua Tree National Park.  They have invited us to join them several times in the past, but the pull of tradition is strong, and I, especially, found it difficult to change.  This year, however, with a lot of our family making other plans, seemed like the prefect opportunity to explore this alternative celebration.

We decided to take the entire week off, and began with a visit with Ryan, Jacque and Joss.  Always a treat to see this little bundle of energy

Joss excited to play in some puddles, a rare event her her short lifetime.

In order to get in the proper frame of mind to deal with LA traffic, we stopped at Mt. Pinos on the way down, camping alongside a nondescript dirt road near the base.  The wind was howling, but we were nice and cozy ensconsed in the van.  Saturday morning we rode up the trail to the nordic center, the 8,000' elevation challenging our hearts and lungs. 

The November chill was perfect for riding uphill, and there were very few others on the trail.  After a rollicking high speed descent we were ready for whatever lay ahead on the freeways. 

We drove to the Beachwood Blendery in Long Beach, where Ryan was having a new bottle release, and sampled a few of his award winning beers.  The next day we were able to visit with Jacque's Mom, Mary, who is in the hospital courageously battling through complications arising from her recent bone marrow transplant.  Her husband Ron was there as well, as he is every single day, helping her get through this trying time.  Again, so many things to be thankful for.

Monday morning we said goodbye to Ryan and Jacque as he headed off to work, and we pointed the van towards Deep Creek hotsprings, nestled in the San Bernadino mountains outside of Hesperia.  This hot spring has been on our wish list for many years, but we seldom find ourselves in this neck of the woods.  But since it was basically right on the way to Joshua Tree, it seemed like the perfect time to check it out.

We camped at the private Bowen Ranch, right where the trail to the hot springs begins

The springs are alongside the banks of Deep Creek, a 2 mile hike and 900' descent from camp.  The river corridor provides a striking thread of color through the dry desert landscape.

It was still chilly and windy when we arrived in the middle of the day, but as we descended into the canyon the wind was blocked and the temperatures rose.  The springs were wonderful, and there were only a few other friendly people sharing them.  It can get quite crowded on the weekends, so we were happy to be able to experience them on a mellow weekday.  No pictures of the hot springs, unfortunately, as our cameras were off with our clothes somewhere on the banks, and we never made the effort to retrieve them.  Suffice it to say that it is a very picturesque locale, and very much worth the hike in and out.

Tuesday morning dawned clear and cold, with a blanket of frost surrounding our campsite.  The distant peaks were covered with a dusting of snow from the previous days storm.  After some yoga and stretching in the morning sun, followed by a hearty breakfast, we set out to explore the area on our mountain bikes.  The US Forest Service land here is crisscrossed by a network of 4WD and motorcycle trails, so we were confident we could find something fun to ride and get some exercise too.

Snow covered Mt. Baldy in the distance

Most of the riding was on dirt roads, but they were steep and fun.

A lot of the motorcycle trails went straight up and down the gulleys.  While they made for some fun descents...

They were often too loose and too steep to ride up, so we had a little hike-a-bike as well.

We did find a few sections of the moto trails that wound through the various drainages and were lots of fun to ride.  After working our way back to camp, it was on to Joshua Tree.  We arrived about 4:30, found our friends, and set up camp for the next few days.

Our friends Steve and Shannon, and Robb and Alex, have been coming to Joshusa Tree with some of their friends for Thanksgiving for 15+ years.  A tradition that started with childless couples now includes many kids from kindergarten through high school age.  Donette and I were the only couple without any of our offspring along. 

Donette and I both used to rock climb a fair amount, but over the years that sport has kind of fallen by the wayside.  Don't worry said Steve,  the climbing would be kid focused, and therefore "easy".  Not that it actually worked out that way.  For one thing, the older kids are darn good climbers, and the adults are also all good climbers who want to challenge themselves.  As a result, there was a dearth of "easy" climbs set up, and we got to jump right back into it.

Needless to say, an 8 year hiatus from rock climbing did little to improve our strength, stamina, or technique.  But we managed to thrash our way up most of the climbs, and it was a ton of fun.

Our group occupied this nice little cove in the rocks

Shannon teaching Rowan to belay

Jessa works her way up the rock

We all know it's a good idea to keep the kids well fed, so Robb set up a rope close to the table

Steve climbs one of the routes right in our camp

Solar powered Luci® lights illuminate our bounty

Part of the gang gathered around the campfire

Thanksgiving dinner was a potluck affair, with Charlie and Mandy cooking up the main course, some perfectly grilled tri-tip, quite an accomplishment on the rudimentary campground grills.  Prior to beginning our feast we all circled around the campfire and shared the things we were thankful for.  Some of the children spoke about how this was how they had spent every Thanksgiving during their lifetimes, and how it was the highlight of their year. For us it may have been a non-traditional setting, but the heartfelt sentiments and thankfulness expressed by ever single person present was as traditional and heartwarming as any Thanksgiving can be.