Join a Limousine Tour in Joshua Tree National Park

Even if you're not an avid desert-lover, Joshua Tree National Park will impress and delight you. Not a chance of hiring a limousine here in the Mojave, so have your US Coachways limo gather you and your friends in Los Angeles or Barstow and plan to spend the whole day. Your limo will have a refrigerator and wetbar that you may stock with your own selection of beverages; bring along a well-packed picnic basket, too, as there are zero facilities or grocery stores in Joshua Tree.

It will be a few hours from L.A. to Joshua-- a little less if you leave from Barstow. You won't mind -or even notice- the time at all, because being in one of our fabulous, luxurious limousines is such an utter, absolute treat. Watch the view out your windows become more and more sparse as you rise into the high desert; Joshua Tree lies on the approximate border of the Mojave and Sonoran deserts. Notice the bizarre rock formations, called 'Inselbergs'; some appear to be profiles of long-gone desert prospectors. When you start seeing weird trees that look to be a Dr. Seuss creation, your limousine is getting close to your destination, these are the Joshua Trees after which this National Park is named.

For Gram Parsons fans, this limo tour may be a sort of pilgrimage; Gram died in Joshua Tree in 1973 and, a few days later, his road manager, Phil Kaufman, stole Gram's body from the Los Angeles airport, drove it out to Joshua Tree and immolated Gram atop Cap Rock, near the Joshua Tree Inn. Gram, as you may know, was a seminal influence on the country-rock genre, inspiring songs like the Rolling Stones' 'Country Honk', 'Sweet Virginia' and 'Dead Flowers'. You would do well to read Ben Fong-Torres' lovely GP bio, 'Hickory Wind' before your limousine tour to Joshua Tree; the trip will mean so much more if you do.

To a first-time visitor, Joshua Tree may seem to be in the middle of a harsh, hot wasteland but look closer, the High Desert is full of life, from lizards and snakes and jumping jerboa to sagebrush, creosote bushes and of course the fanciful, eponymous Joshua Trees. In the springtime this desert is awash in the colors of wild flowers and in winter it actually snows here. Bring your cameras, these are once in a lifetime shots you'll get on your limousine tour.

Your cool, air-conditioned, smooth-riding US Coachways limousine is the most comfortable way to get out and see the Mojave and Joshua Tree. Be quiet and still for a moment, roll up your limousine windows and just listen to the hickory wind.