Joshua Tree National Park, July 2018: Cholla Cactus Garden

I had time to make one last stop driving out of Joshua Tree National Park -- the Cholla Cactus Garden.

I wanted to wait for better light, but had a long drive ahead of me to Saguaro National Park.  So I had to work with what I had.  I didn't do the best job.

I couldn't figure out how to capture how unique this spot is, with all these cacti looking like they must have been planted here.  They weren't, actually.

My close-ups of individual plants came out better than my efforts to try and capture how odd it was to see so many of the same plant in such a concentrated space.

I haven't done the place or its flora justice.  I needed to get down on my belly or get up on top of my car or do something to change my eye.  Seriously, if you're in the park you need to check the spot out.  And try and take better pictures than I did. :)

Related Links:

• Joshua Tree National Park, July 2018: Hidden Valley Trail
• Joshua Tree National Park, July 2018: Barker Dam Trail
• Joshua Tree National Park, July 2018: Miscellany

Joshua Tree National Park, July 2018: Miscellany

Two hikes in Joshua Tree National Park were enough for me. I spent most of the rest of my time in the park just driving around looking for interesting sights.

Two ravens in a Joshua Tree qualified as an interesting sight.  They let me get very close, but then my angle wasn't great.

I drove out to Keys View to take in the late afternoon view, which was magnificent.

I love how the ridges slowly get hazier and hazier as they extend into the distance.

I guess I technically took three hikes.  After setting up my camping site for the night, I walked out to Skull Rock.  This looks straight out of a movie like Peter Pan.

As the sun went down I played around with silhouettes.  This particular tree caught my attention.

I'd like the chance to go back sometime and try some more, but I'm fairly pleased with these initial attempts.

I got up the next morning for sunrise, and didn't get the vivid colors I hoped for.  But I did like the texture in these clouds and the composition with the foliage in the foreground and rock formations in the middle ground.

And with that, I prepared to head out for my next destination!

Related Links:

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

Joshua Tree National Park, July 2018: Barker Dam Trail

As I was researching my summer road trip, I found an unbelievable photo of Barker Dam in Joshua Tree National Park at either sunrise or sunset. Just a gorgeous image. So one place I knew I had to shoot was Barker Dam.

I wasn't there at sunrise or sunset, though.  Just late afternoon on an overcast day.  That made me a little skeptical that I'd get a similar shot.

Instead of the time of day, I apparently should have been more concerned about the time of year.  The water levels behind the dam were a tad low.

As I continued along the trail, the clouds at least moved on.  That started to give me some great light on the Joshua Trees.

Honestly, I was mesmerized by them.  Their shapes were completely fascinating to me like they had been on the Hidden Valley Trail.  Only now, the light was much better.

Every where I turned, I saw another composition that I had to capture.

After a while I started getting creative with the position of the sun.

I took an eight-image panoramic of the scene that didn't quite have the impact it did in person.

This tighter shot puts more emphasis on the trees, and as such I like it better.

A final shot of the silhouettes of these three amigos, and my time on the trail was done!

Related Links:

• Joshua Tree National Park, July 2018: Hidden Valley Trail
• Joshua Tree National Park, July 2018: Miscellany
• Joshua Tree National Park, July 2018: Cholla Cactus Garden 

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