This is crazy to admit, but I've lived in Southern California for thirty-eight years and this past summer was my first visit to Joshua Tree National Park. It took Dan, my British husband, who had visited Joshua Tree National Park previously, to get me there. It's a truth that locals often miss the best things in their own backyard.

We drove from our hotel, the Hyatt Regency Indian Wells, to the entrance on the Twenty-Nine Palms side. It took us over an hour to drive to the entrance and we stopped for a donut break at The Jelly Donut in Yucca Valley. The Jelly Donut is a great spot for a treat, but it also gets bonus points for being located across the street from the most amazing and enormous cactus. Our picture of the world's biggest cactus didn't turn out, so consider this a command to go check it out!

It was a hot day and Joshua Tree National Park was practically empty. We visited in late August, when the local schools were already back in session, so we missed the tourist season. I'm guessing the heat also keeps people away.

We spent a few hours driving through the park to the exit on the other side, closer to the Salton Sea and our hotel. The sky was a brilliant blue and filled with wispy, white clouds. Perfect for dramatic pictures. The Joshua Trees are amazing. I had no idea that they could bend into so many different shapes. No two looked the same.

We stopped at a look-out point with views of the Coachella Valley.

At the look-out we saw a bee warning sign. The California drought is so bad that the bees are dehydrated and desperate for water. They will try to drink human sweat. Yikes! We did see a lot of bees every time we got out of the car, but we didn't get stung. Be aware of this if you visit the park. The rangers recommend leaving bottled water (or any drinks) in cars and keeping car windows up.

Also, we found out the hard way that GPS does not work in a majority of the park. No cell coverage. We did get a little lost and it would have been a good idea to have a park map.

Joshua Tree National Park is stunning and a perfect half-day excursion from Palm Springs.

In 2015, we were lucky to spend two weekends at the gorgeous Hyatt Regency Indian Wells. Our first trip was in late August, when Dan and I decided to be spontaneous and run away to the desert for a romantic weekend. We loved it so much, that we brought Dan's parents back to the resort in September.

Indian Wells is a desert community located near Palm Springs. The Hyatt Regency is a sprawling property, with a golf course, conference center, spa, and enormous pool complex. There is little need to ever leave the property. It's a destination resort.

The photographs in this post were all taken during our first visit. Speaking of first, here was my first shots of the lobby, taken while Dan was checking us in. Pretty!

We had a standard room, which has a sunken living area. It reminded me of the Venetian/Palazzo hotels in Las Vegas. Spacious, tasteful, and very comfortable, especially the bed. Vacation snooze = mandatory

The view from our balcony was of the pool complex. The patio was a lovely feature, but too hot to use in summer, even at night. The desert heat is intense! Luckily, the pool was open late, so we kept cool in the water.

The only minor disappointment was the small bathtub, not worth a soak.

The Hyatt Regency Indian Wells has three restaurants, two located just off of reception, with patios facing the golf course. The breakfast burritos are amazing and not to be missed!

The best part of the Hyatt Regency Indian Wells, was the pool complex. It's vast.

At the entrance to the pool, they even have bicycles to borrow. In the heat, no one was taking them up on the offer, but it's a nice option.

The Roadrunner Cafe offers table dining and poolside service. Chips, guacamole and beer are mandatory pool food.

A large section of the pool is open to everyone, but geared towards families. There are pool toys and at night, kid friendly movies on a large screen. On the lawn adjacent to the pool, they have ping-pong and foosball tables. We found a mini-golf course and a volleyball net.

We kept walking and planted ourselves in the adult pool area. This isn't adult, meaning topless, it's just an area for over eighteen, meaning it should be quieter. I say should, because when we arrived on our first visit, we found drunk adults in a rowdy game of catch, with a nerf football that they stole from the kid's pool.

Beyond that first visit, we usually found the adult pool to be quiet. On our trip with Dan's parents, we even splurged on a cabana, which gave us some shade and a private patch of lawn. On a hot day, the cabana would be worth every penny.

The best part of the adult pool was the bean bag floats. These are the best pool floats ever.

Doesn't Dan look relaxed? Check out his view...pretty, swirly clouds.

This review wouldn't be complete without mention of the spa. Dan's mom and I, both got European facials. My skin was left glowing.

The spa facility is a separate building and it's fairly small. However, it had the most important thing that is mandatory in all spas; a quiet spot to read and sip cucumber water. When I was waiting for my facial, instead of checking out the steam room, I curled up with my book and a warm blanket. Heaven. They also had some amazing mini-scones. Double heaven.

The Hyatt Regency Indian Wells is my new favorite weekend getaway spot. I can't wait for pool weather to return, so that we can head back to the desert!