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To the Desert

Palm Springs & Joshua Tree

By Luke Beard

January 1^st, 2018

SoCAL holidays

I lived in San Francisco for about 4 years and never made it further than Los Angeles into southern California, apparently it takes moving across the country to spur a visit* so this Holiday season we skipped all the traditional holiday routine and headed to Palm Springs and Joshua Tree national park to see the desert.

Since you are here I'll take this opportunity to say happy new year! I'll hopefully be publishing a lot more frequently and getting into to some shooting process.

*I moved to Atlanta in July of 2017 for those who may of missed that life changing fact.

The windmills around Palm Springs

First stop, palm springs

Mainly for the architecture.

To the Desert

To the Desert

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To the Desert

I'll take one of these please.

To the Desert

To the Desert

To the Desert

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Reservoir

Christmas day was spent slowly moving around Palm Springs and eating at Reservoir. We were mostly guided by this super helpful guide from Local Wanderer and the Reserviour came through with the best Whisky Smash I've ever drank.

Coming from the UK originally I don't think I will ever be not perplexed by the fact December in California looks like.

To the Desert

Good doggo.

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The best Whisky Smash

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Staying in Yukka valley

Our Airbnb was located in Yukka Valley just 20 mins by car from Joshua Tree National park. We arrived at sunset and woke up to some serious sunrise. The location was really something and even had a hot tub. The sights were as good if not better than the national park itself.

To the Desert

To the Desert

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Sunrise

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Book a stay

Rent on Airbnb 🏡

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Joshua tree

While we did not do any real hiking this trip Joshua tree did not disappoint was not like nothing else I've ever seen before. Highly recommended if you are down that way.

"Joshua Tree National Park is a vast protected area in southern California. It's characterized by rugged rock formations and stark desert landscapes. Named for the region’s twisted, bristled Joshua trees, the park straddles the cactus-dotted Colorado Desert and the Mojave Desert, which is higher and cooler. Keys View looks out over the Coachella Valley. Hiking trails weave through the boulders of Hidden Valley." - NPS

To the Desert

To the Desert

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Astro photography is pretty hard but I was please with this shot.

To the Desert

To the Desert

Textures of sunrise

To the Desert

To the Desert

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To the Desert

Footnotes

All photos shot with Canon 5D IV + 24 - 70mm and edited in Lightroom (Mac)

FootNotes

All photos shot with Canon 5D IV + 24 - 70mm and edited in Lightroom (Mac)

© 2026 Luke Beard

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