The average fantasy for getting away in the winter involves equatorial islands, umbrella drinks, and at least one set of snorkeling gear. Each trip is no more than a five-hour drive from a major city, and no farther than two hours from an airport.
Winter is long.
Your weekends should be, too. THE WEST Desert Oasis Come to Joshua Tree. Get some sand on your hands. If you head southeast on Pinto Basin Road through the center of Joshua Tree National Park, you drop down into Wilson Canyon, the seam between the Mojave and Colorado deserts. For about a mile, high-desert junipers crop up alongside lowland ocotillo and creosote bushes.