Joshua Tree National Park, California

We started the day in Joshua Tree National Park.
(Yes, that funny thing you see is my camera strap - oops!)

A Joshua tree and me.

A cluster of Joshua trees with an interesting
rock formation behind.

It was 78 degrees in this part of the park and extremely dry.
In the background a cooling mountain peak teases us.

From a high vantage point we viewed the
San Andreas fault as it slowly splits the valley.
You can see it in the middle of the picture from
left to right. It appears as a small valley.

The fruit of the Joshua tree.

As we moved from the high Mojave Desert to the
lower and hotter Colorado Desert we passed
through a transition zone. The cholla is a cactus
found here.

A close up of a cholla that appears soft and fuzzy,
but beware! Its spines are painful and difficult
to remove. They can even puncture sneakers.

Another cactus in the transition zone is the
ocotillo. I was pleased to see this one in bloom.

This is the Colorado Desert on Interstate 10.
We hit 100 degrees here.

My first look at a saguaro cactus. Bill promises
me I will see many more over the next two days.