Joshua Tree National Park

We spent part of a day in Joshua Tree National Park, located in the Mojave Desert, planning to go back later to catch the night skies.



A number of the Joshua Trees had flowers - nothing exotic, but fun to see.



We missed the height of the blooms in the desert, but were still treated to some of the flowering.



Yellows glowed under the blue skies.



The rock formations were as intriguing as the plants. This one is known as Skull Rock



This hooded creature intrigued me.



And the way life can take root in what seem to be hostile places



This felt to me like someone's leg trying to push free of the rock - forever trapped.



The Joshua trees were everywhere - I learned that you cannot tell their age when they are cut down. It is a member of the yucca family and instead of growth rings it has thousands of small fibres.



These plants survive in very arid conditions. This year there was a good rainfall in the winter.



A road in the park took us up to views of a series of mountains. The snow covered peak one of the San Bernardino mountains.



Even up here a Joshua tree manages to take hold.



As for our plans of returning to see the night skies... The winds whipped up and I received an alert on my cell phone

We travelled as far as a restaurant for dinner - with winds gusting. Local visibility wasn't bad, but the skies were somewhat obscured.