With Polar Vortex, part II finding its way across the upper Midwest, we decided to emulate our avian friends and fly south, this time to explore Joshua Tree National Park.
 |
| Mt Ryan, 5457 ft. |
Situated along the edges of both Colorado and Mojave Desert biomes, the park boasts a variety of terrain. In addition to the usual peak-bagging, the Ranger gave us a great tip on a vigorous scramble up Rattlesnake Canyon, and the valleys were dotted with piles of boulders just begging to be climbed.
 |
| bouldering in Joshua Tree NP |
 |
| the view Westward from Mt. Ryan |
It was also interesting to encounter so many new plants and animals, from the iconic Joshua Tree (a few of which were already beginning to bloom) to the scrappy little cholla cactus.
 |
| Joshua Tree |
Another brilliant hike is the 49 Palms Oasis at the north end of the park, which we began just at dawn. As the sun rose, the thermals carried the sweet smell of desert flowers while a plethora of birds, lizards and insects scurried around this little island of life.
 |
| 49 Palms Oasis |
 |
| chunky chuckwalla sunning |
 |
| crossing paths with a circus beetle |
 |
| side-blotched lizard, blue morph |
 |
| side-blotched lizard |
The drive we chose out of the park through the Little San Bernadino Mountains was, to say the least, challenging. So the following day we let the Palm Springs Arial Tram do most of the hard work up San Jacinto, and took a long walk through the fresh snows at the top.
 |
| Palm Springs Arial Tramway up San Jacinto |
On our way back to Phoenix to catch the return flight home, we swung down to the Salton Sea, a veritable treasure-trove of birds. We also toured the "forests" of 100+ year old giant cacti at the Saguaro National Monument.
 |
| Saguaro, much bigger and older than you |
 |
| Thousands of birds along the Salton Sea shoreline |
Just so cool ..
ReplyDelete