Joshua Tree National Park, July 2018: Hidden Valley Trail

The third stop on my summer road trip was Joshua Tree National Park. Like many folks, all I really knew about Joshua Tree before visiting is that it's a heck of an album. For instance, I didn't realize that it's only a little more than a two-hour drive from Los Angeles and thus a popular destination for folks looking to get out of the city. That helped explain why I ran into more other people at my first stop in the park than I had in my entire time at both Death Valley and Capitol Reef combined!

The Hidden Valley Trail is a one-mile loop that's only a short drive from the park's northwest entrance.  So it's a logical stop for people out for the day, and it's short distance and even terrain makes it an easy hike.

The Joshua Trees themselves are absolutely fascinating.  Like something out of a mashup between Dr. Seuss and The Flintstones.

These unique trees really command your attention.  Like snowflakes, it seemed that no two had the exact same shape.

Same tree, different composition.  This scene reminds me of something I would have emulated for an elementary school diorama, with the addition of a plastic dinosaur or two.

The grey clouds in the background of the previous images eventually moved to block the sun, so I switched to shooting more intimate scenes like this California Buckwheat ...

... and this Cholla cactus ...

... and this plant I can't identify, though I did find its foliage interesting.

Dead wood remains a favorite subject of mine, and I couldn't resist at least one shot of some.

The Hidden Valley Trail made a nice appetizer, but I was hungry for more!

Related Links:

• Joshua Tree National Park, July 2018: Barker Dam Trail
• Joshua Tree National Park, July 2018: Miscellany
• Joshua Tree National Park, July 2018: Cholla Cactus Garden