Camping Trip to Joshua Tree while 27 weeks pregnant - Jumbo Rocks

Jack and I had booked this camping trip back in January with friends and the knowledge of how far along I would be with the pregnancy. The only thing that would prevent me from going on this trip was going to be the heat and luckily we had perfect weather, low 80's and beautiful.

Campground and Site Specifics

• Jumbo Rocks Campground - on January 2nd, 2019 I went to Recreation.gov and booked two campsites for two nights

• Campsite #010 and #011 per the map and different research I had done previously. The sites were great and as if we were secluded from others with no one behind us or on our left or right.

• Behind our site were Jumbo Rocks that kids were playing on and were and easy path to walk on and explore a bit

• Vault Toilets

• Parking - only 1 or 2 cars per site depending on the site and tent/people limitations as well. Check the site for specifics on the site prior to booking

• Cooking - fire pits and grates for cooking on them were great

• Wind - it does get windy, even if it is not looking like it is going to be windy. Do yourself a favor and stake down your tent because it was and that saved us. I could barely sleep, but I knew that we were not going to have to worry about the tent.

Meal Prep

• With our group we basically have this down to a science in regards to who brings what. One group brings dinner for Friday depending on the time of arrival for the group. One group brings breakfast for Saturday and Sunday. One brings lunch for Saturday. Another brings dinner for Saturday night. Everyone pitches in for snacks.

• Our meal was marinated chicken that we had prepped days before. Brought bags of Caesar salad and tortillas and salsa for the chicken. Sometimes we do a "Hobo" style stew with steak but we decided to spice it up this time and went for something quick and easy.

• Everyone just brings chips and snacks to share.

Hikes

• We did a group impromptu hike by just wandering around and seeing where it took us. That made for some fun and great photos and only one casualty with our friend. He gauged his shin open and needed to be bandaged up a bit. Thankfully we all came prepared with first-aid kit.

• We had received a map upon checking in to the park and were able to research the different hikes in the area. We did a short one, Barker Dam (1.3 miles) because I am pregnant and we had an injured friend. It was a nice little hike, lots of people and nothing spectacular but quick. I will post the photos below. It was about 20 minutes from the campsite, saw huge Joshua trees, learned of the area that was constructed in 1900. There was a slight amount of water.

Packing Essentials

• I did not care about any judgement. I knew that I absolutely had to pack my pregnancy pillow. I was always a stomach sleeper pre-pregnancy, and I learned early on in the pregnancy to sleep on my side to make the transition easier as I progressed. It helped but that pillow is EVERYTHING, so I made sure to bring it.

• Since I would not be drinking, I brought a pregnancy activity book, catch phrase and a book to read in case I could not sleep.

Overall, great time and never let being pregnant stop you from doing something you love doing unless of course the doctor says otherwise. You know your body and your limits better than anyone and as long as you listen to it you should be fine.