Fascinating Rockpiles

Fantastic rock piles make Joshua Tree National Park a visual fest. Huge granitic rock structures are surreal among the more sombre and ancient gneiss.

I do not claim to understand the geological forces and the evolution of the landscape, but I can look and wonder and be part of it for a fraction of its story.

Tomorrow we walk the trails…..

"I Speak of Trees" - Dr Seuss, The Lorax

The fabulous Yucca brevifolia, the Joshua Tree - surprising, twisted, spiky, prickly, huge, spiny, tough, survivor, resilient, home to moths, birds, desert night lizards, wood-rats.

Like the Lorax we speak for trees, but often the trees speak to us - I love the Joshua Tree.

Joshua Tree National Park

The most distinctive, and perhaps the most impressive, characteristic of American scenery is its wildness.

John Muir

Fred's fabulous encounter with a coyote…

A desert lizard...

A lifer for me, the vocal and confiding Cactus Wren that calls the inhospitable cholla cactus a good place to nest!

Finding color, Joshua Tree National Park

The drought in California is biting hard.

It is as evident in the Joshua Tree National Park where rangers are hand watering key specimens to keep them viable.

Paying attention is part of a desert experience and I was able to find a hint of color as we walked.