Dream Beneath the Desert Sky...

What an amazing evening I just spend, driving through the park, through the more remote Bighorn Pass Road and back on the Queen Valley Road. I was all alone on the dirt roads, it was marvelous. There were clouds today, the first I've seen this trip, which made for a spectacular sunset.

Earlier in the day, I drove down to Palm Desert with a ranger to buy supplies for my visit to a local school later this week to teach art. We managed a quick stop at In and Out Burger, always a treat, something I miss from my couple years living in Palo Alto. I always love driving into the Coachella Valley, it's beautiful. Today there was significant moisture coming over from the ocean, and a strong haze, likely a contributing factor to the amazing sunset.

While out in the park, I saw several cottontail, birds, and lizards, but the wildlife highlight today was a red tailed hawk perched at the top of a Joshua Tree. I wasn't quick enough with my zoom lens to catch him before he flew to a far away tree.

As I sit in my room tonight, the only sound is that of the howling wind...

A short hike on the Cap Rock Trail this afternoon.

Along the Cap Rock Trail.

Cap Rock Trail.

Likely rhizome growth, all these little Joshua Trees.

Monzogranite boulders.

A deceased tree.

A boulder pile near Cap Rock Trail.

A downed branch, that's still managing to live.

Mistletoe on a juniper. Mistletoe is a parasitic plant that absorbs nutrients from the host plant through its roots, choking off the branch beyond and eventually causing its death. Enough mistletoe on a tree can cause the whole tree to die.