By Rachel Schnalzer
From Los Angeles Times
This is not about Joshua Tree, California.
That’s not to say the trendy desert town isn’t worth visiting — it absolutely is!
But its skyrocketing popularity carries with it an unpleasant side. “We don’t want it to become Tulum,” one Joshua Tree tourist told my colleague Christopher Reynolds earlier this year, referring to the Mexican beach town overwhelmed by upscale tourists.
So, as we enter my favorite time of year for desert journeys, I thought I’d share a few slightly more off-the-beaten-path destinations across the Mojave.
What’s so special about the desert in late fall? The weather, for one. The fall can offer pristine hiking conditions; this month, highs have hovered around 70 degrees. And autumn tends to be a bit less crowded than the spring, when wildflowers begin their annual show….