With any and every skate road trip, the first steps are usually deciding “where’s the most spots with the least amount of security guards”. As it goes, in Southern California, those spots are few and far between, and when you only have two days, Joshua Tree seemed our best bet. There’s no traffic, it’s beautiful, and everyone loves the desert, right? We called Arcade team riders Zach Doelling, Reggie Kelly, and Christopher Hiett, hopped in a van and off we went. First stop, anything skateable!

The Yucca Valley is a place with lots of interesting and curious people. Almost every spot we skated, a little crowd would gather to just watch, which was refreshing compared to how some of the crowds that gather in other cities and areas react to the sound and act of skateboarding. People seemed less annoyed, and more joyful. It was a nice and welcomed change.

Back at the house once we were tapped out for the day, we cooked dinner, played video games, and just laughed. It truly felt great to be back in the mix of a real skate trip with one of the best crews you could imagine. Everyone got along so well, and we all have very different styles, backgrounds, and upbringings, that’s the beauty of skateboarding. All walks of life, no matter what your age is, doing one thing we all love more than anything else. Skateboarding builds a community of friendships that lasts lifetimes, all because of a piece of wood and four wheels. It’s romantic, it’s real, it’s raw, and it’s beautiful.

On day two we all slowly crawled out of bed and cooked some breakfast, then made the short 22-minute drive to an amazing mini ramp in Yucca Valley, CA that’s owned by the amazing Cory McMillin (thanks so much for letting us skate Cory, we owe you some belts). The sun was bright, the wind was blowing, and the dust was just as you’d expect in the desert. We swept the ramp and then the fun began. From Reggie shredding everything in sight shirtless, to Christopher skating a pole jam in the dirt, to Zach being the absolute technician that he is, to our master lensman Kevin Marquez zipping the drone by everyone’s head to get the perfect shots, and finally photographer Will Owen’s making sure everything was visually pleasing.

Once the sun began to set, we all cracked some beers in the shade, (except Christopher, he’s smart and doesn’t drink) and reflected on the trip as a whole. My Dad used to say, “what a difference a day makes” and boy was he right. If you wake up today and it’s tough, just try your best to get to tomorrow and it’ll be brighter, then try again. We have a lot to be thankful for in this life, and I’m thankful for my friends, my family and skateboarding, and can’t wait for the next road trip. Safe travels!