Desert Moonscapes~

Carve impossible vistas.

Jumbled and stacked.

Boulders perch, tossed like balls.

Cracked spines.

Desert ice cream cones.

Joshua Trees twist in tortured poses.

Mother Nature’s iconic artistry.

A gift to treasure and protect.

Joshua Tree National Park encompasses almost 800,000 acres and straddles both The Mojave and Colorado Deserts in Southern California. Joshua Trees are not trees at all, but a variety of Yucca, sculpted into bizarre shapes by desert winds. The eerie rock formations were formed eons ago by cooling lava, that cracked and split from fault uplifting, and eroded over time by wind, water and sand.

100’s of species survive in this harsh desert landscape, despite summer temperature that reach well above 100 degrees fahrenheit. Native Americans inhabited this region for thousands of years and their artifacts remain scattered throughout the park. Be careful or you will walk right by them! We encountered this metate, or grinding stone, on a hike.

Cheers to you from Joshua Tree’s stunning and fragile ecosystem~

Native Plants of the Mojave Desert~

DSC07011

Please Click to Enlarge for Optimal Viewing! These are the air sacks and flowers of the unusual Paperbag Bush or Flower Sage.

DSC07012

This beautiful plant creates multi-colored air sacks that contain nuts. Purple flowers extend from the air sacs creating a reamarkably beautiful sight!
DSC07014

Please see this link for more info and this interesting plant. I do have more photos for those interested,.
http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/plants/shrub/salmex/all.html

DSC06943
Dehydrated Prickly Pear Cactus, waiting for rain to come so they can engorge with water!

DSC06956
Joshua Tree seed pods.

DSC06944

The twisted shapes of The Joshua’s!

DSC06930

Yucca flower remnant.

DSC07026

Jumping Cholla cacti. They are called jumping because they easily detach when brushed and dig right on in! Ouch!

DSC07025
Cholla catctus flowers.

What beauty there is to behold in every season in the living desert! Cheers to you from Joshua Tree National Park and The Mojave Desert!

Joshua Tree National Park~

DSC06963

Just arrived at Joshua Tree National Park and I had to fire you a few preliminary shots! (Please click to enlarge!)

DSC06992

The geological formations here formed over 100 million years ago. The outcrops of rock are called Monadnocks.

DSC06925

Joshua Trees are native to the south-western United States and live mainly in the Mojave Desert where the National Park is located.

DSC06882

The geological formations in the park are some of the most interesting in California.

DSC06931

I have lived within a three hours drive of this place all my life and have never been here. Obviously, having gotten my first look today, I can not imagine why I never came here before! It is gorgeous!!

DSC06910

Joshua Trees scientific name is Yucca Brevifolia and it is a member of the Yucca family.

DSC06873

They are blooming now and I’ll show you this beautiful sight soon. There are lots of plants here I have never seen before and I will show them to you soon too!

DSC06988

I named this formation the dinosaurs spine because this is just what it looks like to me!

Cheers & more to you soon from this amazing place! I am jazzed to be here!