Our family seems to function best when we have a strong sense of where our next adventure lies. We take semi-regular trips to visit our extended families, whether it be on the east coast to visit my family or to Costa Rica to visit with the in-laws. In between these vacations though, we like to schedule little getaways that lie within a car drive of our SoCal homestead. These jaunts are usually three to five day mini-adventures to explore some of the many famous and not-so-known gems of the area. As much as the “city” of Los Angeles can feel inconvenient, impractical and impersonal to me given my east coast sensibilities, it’s impossible to argue with the amazing variety of spectacular that SoCal affords those who are willing and able to explore.

Joshua Tree National Park is an international treasure, known for its high desert climate, randomly-placed boulders that are rounded and smoothed like giant river rocks, coyotes and roadrunners, starry, starry nights, and of course, the ubiquitous Joshua Trees. What is less known about the area is that it plays home to a bi-annual music festival located at a private retreat just outside of the Park. Part of the reason it has stayed below the radar despite 14 years of relative success is that the Festival organizers seem to make a point of inviting world-class musicians who are not hugely popular in the United States. The resulting lineup is a cadre of amazing world music artists alongside up-and-comers and niche players in the U.S.  The more important result, to my mind, though is that the festival is about good live music and not the attendant hype that often surrounds hot bands and concerts. That distinction is borne out in the design of the stages that allow festival goers to wander back stage in and among the artists. One of the music areas is called “Vibration Station” which holds workshops where musicians playing the festival offer interactive classes to teach about their music and culture. On Friday night, an electric act from Zimbabwe called “Mokoomba” played the Festival on one of the main stages, but earlier in the day, Mokoomba was at Vibration Station offering instruction on African dance. Then, after playing the festival that night, they offered a class the following day on specific African instruments and rhythm patterns. In that same space, my 2-year old son Sebastian took a Kazoo class there where he learned to play the Beatles’ “All You Need Is Love” on the Kazoo! It was as adorable as it sounds. Check out the 5th Beatle below:

Meanwhile, my daughter Jade was a very active participant in all of the festival goings on.  Fortunately for her and us she had her good friend Jellie (Angelique) there to play with while we got to hang with her parents, Alan and Jen.  Our family had actually gone to this event two years ago and had told Alan and Jen about how it was a transformative few days for our family.  They were enthralled with the description and decided to come themselves the following May, and have been to every May and October festival since!  We actually hadn’t been back in that time so it was effectively a new experience for Sebastian, who was only 8 months old when we took him the first time, and for Jade as well who is now fully feeling her oats now at the ripe old age of five!  Together, Jellie and the newly-minted five-year old had a big time getting to know other kids in the Kidsville section of the camp.  This area had a face painting station, parasol painting, kids yoga, a braiding and glitter station, and was the pick-up and drop-off spot for the “boat” that rode around the pond.  Check out a video of Jade and Jellie driving the boat here. 

Jade also ended up meeting a few adults that she would later introduce us to as well, including a group of young women who were offering body paint and glitter to festival-goers.  Jade had been admiring them at a distance since she saw them on the first day, but by Sunday she was sitting with them during the Palenke Soul Tribe set getting her glitter on.  Check out the pride in her eyes right after she got her face painted by the glitterati here.

We were also fortunate to have other good friends there to share the experience with.  Arturo and Meri had travelled up with our friend Matt on Thursday ahead of us, and had set up the entire camp area (including our tent) by the time that we got out there around midnight on Thursday.  They had even set up a lighting system and kitchen area that was powered by portable solar panels.  Frankly, I’m not much of an outdoorsman even though I continue to acquire skillz, so it was nice to have friends out there who were able to fashion some of the creature comforts for us in advance of our arrival.  

The beauty of Joshua Tree is there for the world to see, and the magic of being connected to a like-minded community through music and interaction alongside your children is truly awe-inspiring.  I recommend those of you considering doing something like this to give it a try.  On a grander scale though, this type of family magic can be found any time that you are willing to trade tangible stuff for effort and experience.  That said, the weekend wasn’t always easy.  The desert brings its unique sets of challenges for humans and animals of all ages, and those adverse effects can certainly be amplified in the toddler set.  But any discomfort was temporary, and part of my interest in writing this blog is to make sure that the memories and inspiration live on for us and indeed are shared with our community of friends and loved ones.  OK, enough hippy-dippyness for one day.  Thanks for reading!