Joshua Tree National Park
Joshua Tree National Park in southeastern California consists of nearly 800,000 acres located at the convergence of the Mohave and Colorado deserts. The Joshua tree, for which the park is named, grows only in the higher elevation Mohave desert in the western half of the park. A protected species, most of the world’s Joshua trees are in this park.
I visited Joshua tree in late December a day after a full day of precipitation. In the Colorado desert, the eastern half of the park with elevations below 3,000 feet, that precipitation fell as rainfall. But in the Mohave it was snow. Entering the park from the eastern side I started by walking in the sand through the cactus gardens. But a little ways up the road I was standing in 8 inches of snow amidst a field of Joshua trees.
Colorado Desert
Barrel cactus 
Silver Chola 
Mohave Yucca
Cholla Cactus Garden
Mohave Desert
off the leash 
Pretty cool, Ken. Hope to get there some day
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Kind of a freak weather day. Rare for them to have snow like that.
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Fascinating. What a contrast. I’m hoping to get to Joshua Tree National Park one day.
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Enjoyed this post immensely, this place is on our bucket list, hopefully with a visit in next two years. Although I’m sure it won’t be during winter months! 😉 So seeing your winter scenes is a delight, gorgeous captures, your last photo is stunning!
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An enchanting landscape, Ken. Perhaps, some day, I will get to see it with my own eyes.
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Very nice photos. the Joshua trees do grow in other locations, but what a fine thing that they (Clinton admin) declared the area a national park.
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What out of those cholla, they do not forgive small mistakes.
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Yup. Hands in pockets.
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breathtaking!
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A great collection of photos. Very beautiful.
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Ken, beautiful photographs! It is so otherworldly seeing this unique dessert landscape, especially in the snow! My wife and I recently traveled there in the middle of August….Not the easiest time to be there, but the beauty and majesty of the Mohave and Colorado Deserts made it worth it! I did have one forgettable experience: getting a cholla thorn stuck in my shoe….Just missed my toe!!!
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Hope I get back there some day, thanks for sharing
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