Oregon to Texas
Earlier this year we decided to make a big move. Take our life and all of our belongings from Portland, Oregon, to Austin, Texas. We took six days to get down here, so the amount we had to drive each day wasn't outrageous. We even stopped by a National Park, along with a National Monument. Here are a few photos and favorites spots we visited.
Palm Springs
I've been interested in Palm Springs for a few years after working at the Ace Hotel in Portland and hearing a lot about the Ace in Palm Springs. We stopped there for lunch at the restaurant on their property, Kings Highway. I also heard about a botanical garden called Moorten Botanical Garden that sounded amazing as I love desert foliage. It was indeed pretty amazing.
Joshua Tree
After Palm Springs we stayed the night at a sweet Airbnb in Joshua Tree. The 1 bedroom house was perfect, everything was updated, the decor was wonderful and there was even a nice patio and yard space. It was located on the same road as one of the entrances to Joshua Tree National Park which was wonderful too. The town of Joshua Tree is pretty small, but it had a quaint charm. We drove about 20 minutes away to check out the awesome bar and music venue Pappy & Harriet's.
Joshua Tree National Park was super cool as well. The landscape feels like something from a time before and the combination of the unique trees, part of the Yucca family, and incredible rock formations made for an interesting landscape.
White Sands
White Sands National Monument was about an hour out of the way but totally worth it. The rolling sand dunes in a land locked state felt magical and the day we were there it was super stormy. Their was fairly constant lighting in the background as we roamed around checking out the interesting plants and soft white sand.
Marfa
Marfa is a town way out in western Texas. A place I have heard a lot about on blogs recently. With a population of only about 2,000 it has created an abundant art scene which has also brought in boutique business and the famous El Cosmico. We stopped by on a Wednesday and its the sort of town which seems like it would be more lively on the weekends. Many businesses were closed but we still found some awesome coffee shops and other spots.
