Monday, December 6, 2021

More of Joshua Tree

 Hi everyone. Happy new week.

As I have a bit of time before T day arrives, I thought I would share some more photos of our California vacation. It is now almost a month since we left.  Wow.

This post is a bit long, and I apologize in advance for that.

I mentioned in last Friday's post (Joshua Tree)  that Joshua Tree National Park has  these interesting rock formations that are great for rock climbers. 


At several places around the park, we saw people climbing, and they were fun to watch.


I'm not a fan of heights so it isn't for me. Even though these rocks below don't seem that high, it is still too high for me. The climbers scuttled over these as though they were nothing however.


And then on to higher challenges.


I can see why these rocks would be great to climb.


This tight rope walking, called slack lining, on top of the rocks looks frightening, even if they were hooked on belays. Although in this next photo it is hard to say. Perhaps there is a flat area below the line.



I was able to get these photos with my zoom at 400x. 

Speaking of rocks, I thought these were really interesting.  I wonder if they were made from hardened vents or mudpots of some kind.


There were more climbers on this cool rock formation, but we didn't stop to take any photos. I took this through the car window, and the mushed bug on the windshield left that blob in my photo.


There was one spot in the park where you could hike up a small hill to get a million dollar view.





We entered the park on the north side and exited on the south side. We were staying on the south side, and figured a shorter drive was better at the end of the day. As you approach the south side of the park the landscape changes. This is because you move from the more northern Colorado dessert to the more southern Mojave desert. Ecologically they are separated by elevation and precipitation levels. Those 2 factors change the dominant plants growing in the area too. There's no more Joshua trees here in the south, as you can see in this next photo.


I liked this sign.







I believe these must be flowers, but I am not certain.



Instead of Joshua trees, the now dominant plant in the south part of the park is the ocotillo.



The negative part of traveling in November is the days are shorter, and by 5 PM it was  dark. We didn't have as much time to take a walk in the southern part of the park.

 Just as we left the park, I snapped this heading towards sunset photo.


It wasn't very far off.

We had a great day in Joshua Tree National Park. 
It is always surprising to me how different every park is, and yet they all have something wonderful to see and teach you.

Thanks for visiting my blog.







6 comments:

sheila 77 said...

This looks to be an amazing trip and you've taken great photos. Imagine the cactus being so dangerous - maybe it was a good way of making sure no-one touched them. The boys on the tightrope - aaargh! The rocks looked easier to climb than most and I would have scrambled over them in an earlier life but maybe not now (smile).

David M. Gascoigne, said...

It is a unique ecosystem and there is so much to learn about the diversity of life there. Whenever I have ever visited any of the regions of the southwestern desert my fascination has been endless and my learning curve steep. I think the rock climbers would be a bit of a distraction for me, but I think you should go back and do a little tight rope walking, Erika. Make sure someone is ready with a camera! Hugs. David.

R's Rue said...

What a stunning place. Thank you for sharing with us.

CJ Kennedy said...

The sky is so blue! I'll leave the rock climbing to the young people and forget about walking that tight rope. Nice that you drove off into the sunset. Have a great day today!

Valerie-Jael said...

The photos are fabulous, Erika, I would really like to visit there. Love the fantastic rock formations, a few years back I would have enjoyed climbing on them, but alas, no more! Have a great day, take care, and thanks a lot for sharing! Hugs, Valerie

Bleubeard and Elizabeth said...

I'm in total awe of these two different parts of the park. I have driven through areas that looked like both. I have seen Joshua trees, but never in the national park. I have seen those cholla cacti, too. I was warned to never get close to them, because they inflict severe pain when you try to remove the spines. If you get too close to some, it is like they reach out and grab you. At least that is what I was told. I wasn't about to take any chances, either.

Thanks for taking us to this lovely park. It brings back memories of the CA desert to me, too.