How to Avoid the Crowds in National Parks

March 6, 2017 Deanna Jensen

Last spring, I went to Joshua Tree National Park and it did not go as planned. The weather and other factors conspired to cut our trip short, and my husband and I ended up only seeing a tiny little corner of the park, far removed from the well-trafficked areas with all the iconic rock formations and clusters of other-worldly Joshua trees. Now we have an adventurous baby girl (I was pregnant with her during our last trip), and couldn’t wait any longer to take on her first visit to a National Park. My brother was coming to visit us, and we decided it would be the perfect time to take a day trip out to Joshua Tree. What we didn’t realize, was that the day we picked also happened to be a national holiday, which naturally meant the park would be pretty crowded. Even better, it was one of this year’s Fee-Free days, making it one of the busiest days of the year.

I love the idea of fee-free days because it encourages more people to get out and experience the beauty of America’s National Parks, but I’m also rather selfish with my nature; I want it to myself. When I’m hiking, I want to encounter as few people on the trail as possible, and if a trail is too crowded, especially with hikers who don't follow good trail etiquette, it can really threaten to ruin the experience.

So we drove out eastward, over the mountains and into the desert toward Joshua Tree National Park. We knew as we approached the park that it would be a really crowded day, but we were excited to get to see the park’s iconic landscape, nonetheless.

And then the car started to overheat...

Seeking Adventure in Joshua Tree National Park

May 27, 2016 Deanna Jensen

“Seek Adventure.”

It’s an idea which seems to permeate western culture today. We see this sentiment - with some variation of the words “explore” and “adventure” - all around us, from ambiguous Instagram captions on photos of Icelandic fjords, to t-shirts, to the advertising campaigns of major recreational brands. At its most basic definition, to “seek adventure” means to try something new, something where the outcome is uncertain. This might entail great risk or small, a lot of uncertainty, or just a little. So whether you're going on a month-long road trip in a foreign country where you don’t speak the local language, or trying out a brand of art pens that you've never used before, you're seeking adventure.

Whenever we embark upon an adventure, there is always an element of risk, a possibility of failure or of something going wrong. In fact, there's even a saying that takes this thought to the next level, stating that "it's not an adventure until something goes wrong."

Val and I were firmly reminded of this truth on a recent trip to Joshua Tree National Park...

Guadalupe Mountains National Park: Devil's Hall Trail

November 6, 2015 Deanna Jensen

Guadalupe Mountains Devil's Hall Trail cover.2.png

The dramatic Guadalupe Mountains of rise up out of the Chihuahuan Desert in West Texas, harboring a surprising oasis of greenery in its valleys despite having virtually no water source. But the contrast between what these mountains are today and their beginning, eons ago, is a bit ironic. These rocky peaks were once a massive coral reef, teeming with marine life and cutting across a prehistoric inland sea. Even today, Guadalupe Mountains National Park is a favorite spot for geologists to study the limestone layers of this reef that once was.

Hiking in Guadalupe Mountains National Park

My husband and I just moved from Arkansas to California, so we wanted to break up the long drive by stopping at a national park or two, and we decided to head to Guadalupe Mountains National Park. We hadn’t even heard of...