A Visit to Joshua Tree National Park (Day 2)

Day two included  a morning drive south on Pinto Basin Road to Cottonwood Spring.  Loved this drive, the basin, the views, and the area around the spring.  I'm particularly enamored of the Cholla Cactus.  Lucky timing for me, many of the cacti were in bloom, also the Ocotillo.  After driving back north I headed west to take the Geology Tour road, an unpaved journey that takes you out to a loop road through Pleasant Valley.  Gorgeous views, some nice informational stops, all around a fun road to drive with an appropriate vehicle.  With still a little daylight left, I parked at Jumbo Rocks and hiked over toward Skull Rock.  Last stop before the campground was a visit to the Live Oak.

Sacred Datura bloom. Some of my favorite flowers, these.

Cholla cactus garden.

Cholla bloom.

The cholla easily drop sections, which litter the ground in this area.  We dubbed them the Common Desert Tribble.

Another cholla bloom.

Still more blooms.

Close up of a dead cactus trunk structure.

Really liked the morning light on these.

Ocotillo close up

Yucca bloom close up

Yucca bloom.

Near Cottonwood Spring on the trail toward Lost Palms.

Beavertail cactus blooms.

California Barrel Cactus blooms.

The trail.

A cool find.

Cholla blooms.

Beavertail blooms.

Ocotillo blooms.

Ocotillo blooms.

Ocotillo and Yucca along the trail.

Lizard, unsure of exact species.

More desert scenery.

California Palms at Cottonwood Spring.

Pinto Basin.

Cholla.

This is the kind of sign that indicates a great place for an adventure!  The road was actually in pretty good shape.

Along the Geology Tour road.

Joshua trees and monzogranite.

Love the shapes weathered into the granite.

Monzogranite.

An old dam.

The road stretching into the distance.

I have an affinity for unpaved roads.

Yucca close up.

On the trail from Jumbo Rocks to Skull Rock.

The eponymous Live Oak.