Joshua Tree

Last Monday, we left early for Joshua Tree National Park, where we would stay in a budget motel for two nights.  We passed through Borrego Springs, around the north end of the Salton Sea, over to the western park entrance at Cottonwood, and then through the park to the town of Joshua Tree.  We made many stops along the way.

 The yellow Brittlebush was spectacular coming into the Anza Borrego Desert and going into Joshua Tree N.P.

 The tall Ocotillo was also blooming.

 We had time for an afternoon hike on Monday off of the Boy Scout Trail. That is Mt. San Gorgonio in the distance.

There were many Western Side-blotched Lizards along the way.

 We really wanted to see a desert tortoise and felt we were close when we spotted these fresh bites out of a beaver tail cactus.

 Nearby was fresh tortoise scat - but, no tortoise to be found.

 You never get tired of looking at all the boulder formations.  That is an agave starting to bloom.

 This is the Safari Motel, built in the early 50's.  The place has had little updating but is clean and with a super nice manager and his wife.

Outside our door was the water saving fish pool.

After dinner at the Joshua Tree Saloon (recommended), we had time for an evening hike.  We wanted a high vantage point to see the sunset.

Sunset.

Tuesday morning, we decided to hike a different section of the park, Black Rock Canyon.

 We took the Panoramic Loop Trail which led to a ridge with great views.  Mt. Gorgonio again.  This area has a mix of Joshua Trees and Pinyon Pines which looked odd together.

That is Mt. San Jacinto with all the wind turbines at its base north of Palm Springs. Speaking of wind, it must have been gusting to 50 m.p.h. at this point.

The canyon's dark rocks were very contorted, hinting at huge forces at work in the past.

The terrain here is decidedly different than the sandy red rock areas of the park.

Delicate flowers abounded.

Next, we headed over to the more popular part of the park, and did some cross country hiking away from people.

 Antelope Ground Squirrel.

 Desert Spiny Lizard.

 Great Basin Whiptail Lizard.

 Phainopepla.

Another unusual desert plant with long hollow stems.

Wandering through lizard country.

Indian Paintbrush, the only specimen we saw.

I spotted a desert tortoise!  It looked just like one of the rocks - my eyes felt vindicated.

 Mojave Desert Tortoise soaking up some warmth.

 Passing by a few minutes later, it had moved a little further out into the sun.

Black-throated Sparrow

We got a kick out of this desert vehicle parked (permanently?) in front of the Saloon where we ate again. No Mountain House meals on this trip!

Our charming little patio area.

Wednesday, we got up at 3:30 A.M. to look at the Milky Way and try my luck at night photography.  The thick part of the Milky Way, the Galactic Core, rises above the horizon a couple hours before dawn this time of the year.  Luckily, the winds had died down over night.

 The Galactic Core, looking toward the center of our galaxy.

All business here, manually setting focus, ISO, mirror lock, timer, RAW image, etc.  The exposures were all 23 seconds, the maximum to avoid star trails.

 The Milky Way, hard to impossible to see in much of the world.

Gail took some pictures of her own - I like this one of a Creosote Bush.

You can see distant light on the horizon, I think from Calexico and Mexicali.  Dawn was also starting to show.  We were fortunate to have a new moon, and very few airplanes.

We went back to the motel where I slept another 2 hours, while a caffeinated Gail went back into the desert for an early morning stroll.  Later, we packed up and visited the remarkable Noah Purifoy art assemblages.  That display deserves its own post, soon to come.  We drove back out through the park, stopping often for lizard searches and a lunch stop.

 Another beautiful Great Basin Whiptail.

On one stop I spotted this male Western Zebra-tailed Lizard.  Normally you don't see them until they take off in a blur.  They are considered the fastest desert lizard.

 I saw one Zebra-tailed take off, probably a female, just before I saw this one.

 Interestingly, he held his ground and circled around us for several minutes until we left his territory.

He extended his red dew-lap a few times, too.

 Before taking off, they curl their tail up and run with it that way.

 Notice how he is cooling his toes by lifting them off the sand.

 A few feet away were these petroglyphs.

Globe Mallow and some yellow daisies.

Beaver tail cactus in its glory.

 A unusual green flower on this cactus.

 It is hard to capture the beauty of the Brittlebush, which is having a stellar spring.

Blooming ocotillo in Anza Borrego.

Unknown flower, but striking.   It was the only one we saw.