Joshua Tree

Because of Minerva Hoyt’s dedication, and love for desert vegetation, a beautiful desert had been born again.

It started back in the late 1920’s when Minerva moved to Pasadena. She was a professor’s wife who had a strong, growing passion for gardening and was particularly intrigued by desert plants. Joshua Tree, Minerva’s neighboring desert, at the time was destroyed by those who dug up and burned a majority of the plantation. She devoted her time and energy in hosting exhibits and charity events to raise money and awareness to conserve this run down desert.  Later, Minerva created a proposition to establish Joshua Tree as a National Park. And in 1936, President Roosevelt did just that by signing a presidential proclamation establishing Joshua Tree as a National Monument. Minerva Hoyt’s zealous enthusiasm to preserve and protect Joshua Tree in its poor conditions, is what made it a mystical desert land of growing adventures for us nature folk.

This year will commemorate 75 years of preservation, a newfound respect for barren regions, as well as the commitment made by Minerva Hoyt to conserve this beautiful desert that has become the National Park that it is today.

Thank you, Minerva! Your strong spirit will live on through the beauty of this wasteland where I am more than privileged to find restoration in its brilliance. This weekend I will walk the desert grounds, climb boulders, and breathe in inspiration from Yuccas along with the rest of Joshua Tree’s surroundings.