Have you ever gone "off the grid"? I always thought it was just disconnecting from social media and living a more private life. Well, I learned a lot and quite quickly when I experienced a night off the grid in Joshua Tree, CA.
I love working with new landscapes, and I have seen so many beautiful shoots taken at this cool desert national park. So, it was time to plan a portrait shoot there myself! I live about 3 hours north of Joshua Tree so it seemed like an easy day trip to make and get back late in the evening.
The beautiful and vintage inspired Vivian Sanchez and I had been discussing doing some portrait shots but they would require some new equipment that I needed to purchase, so we couldn't lock down a date for it just yet. I told her I was planning a trip to Joshua Tree to do shoot there and as a perfect adventurer - she was all for it!
Rather than driving three hours, shooting, driving three hours back home, she asked if she could book an airBnB for us and make it a weekend trip. Who doesn't love a weekend trip?! The answer was obviously a yes!
The AirBnb was an "Off-Grid Star Gazing Cabin" and we couldn't be more excited and intrigued for this experience, and what an experience it was!
It didn't take long to realize that if we wanted to have running water, that means no heating for the cabin, and also no lights! Gotta go to the bathroom? Use your cell phone flashlight.
The best and most memorable part of the night was needing to shower.. So far, we only got ice cold water through the faucet. Thankfully, after much effort to get answers, we got a hold of the host and she told us that we may need to run the water for some time in order for it to heat up. With no lights, and no heat, we turned the shower on and it let it run for 15 minutes. And praise the Lord! Hot water started to come out! It was probably the most quick and frantic shower i've even taken, not knowing if the hot water would stop but also the most appreciative i've been for the privilege of warm water.
We made so many memories that weekend that I will always look back on and laugh about, I wouldn't change that experience for anything.
