Unexpected Adventure – Joshua Tree National Park

I’m calling our visit to Joshua Tree National Park an unexpected adventure because it wasn’t in our original travel plans.  I had selected another place to visit, but Jeff had already been to that place before, and said it really wasn’t all that interesting, and that I’d probably be disappointed.  So, I checked out the map to see what other potentially interesting spots lie along our planned route, and discovered Joshua Tree.  What luck!  There was truly a lot to discover about this park in the Mojave Desert!

Beautiful Boughs

First, of course, is the tree the park is named after – the Joshua Tree.  You may wonder where it got its name – I know I did.  According to legend, to Mormon pioneers, the branches of the Joshua Tree reminded them of the upstretched arms of Joshua leading them to the Promised Land.  In this image, you don’t exactly get that impression, I know.  It looks rather like an interesting version of a typical tree.  But, wait…..

Joshua Tree Branch

Let’s take a bit of a closer look at the Joshua Tree.  To some, it doesn’t really look like a tree, but more like a cactus, with its spikey “leaves”.  I think the texture of the branches gives it a bit of a shaggy look, a bit like an Old English Sheep dog or something.  But, it’s not a cactus – it’s part of the agave family.   Another interesting note – it doesn’t have tree rings inside.  Instead, it’s fibrous inside.  And, they can get to be rather old, with researchers thinking a typical lifespan may be 150 years.

Joshua Tree Landscape

I just loved the way these trees added some character to the landscape.  Also, in this image, you can see why the Mormon pioneers thought the branches looked like arms reaching up.  And, my old opinion of the Mojave Desert keeps getting revised.  This park is located in part of the Mojave Desert – again, a lot more there than just sand!

Joshua Tree Birdhouse

Altho by the time we visited the park, nesting season was over, Jeff did find an old abandoned nest in one of the Joshua Trees.  There are a variety of different types of animals that call the park home

Stand Alone

I really like this image of a Joshua Tree.  You can see that it’s in a sort of grove of trees, and I truly love the mountains in the background.  I believe they are the Little San Bernardino Mountains, and they really are not as close as they appear in this image.  This park is quite sprawling and nothing is truly as close as it appears.

Joshua among the Rocks

One of the things I found fascinating about this park was the diversity of the landscape.  Who would expect to find these giant boulders in the middle of a desert?  And, altho these rocks may look like sandstone, they are actually a type of granite, not all that different from what some of us may have as countertops in our homes.  But, more about those later, when I actually strolled among them….

Key Points View

It’s true that still waters run deep……and I guess that peaceful views contain deep turbulence.  This view is of the meeting of two geological plates, the Pacific Plate and the North American Plate.  I didn’t realize it at the time, but I took an image of the topography of the San Andreas Fault!  The actual fault is just outside the park’s boundary, but literally hundreds of smaller faults crisscross the ground upon which I was standing.  Yikes!

Enjoy!