One of the highlights of our time together is getting out on
the desert to look for wildflowers, and Joshua Tree National Park is a prime
destination. Here the Mojave and Colorado Deserts converge. My folks and I checked the Wildflower Viewing link on the Joshua Tree
National Park web site, and learned that the best blooms were near the West
Entrance (WE) Station. We packed our lunch bag, cameras, binoculars, maps, and
flower guides into the car, and headed up highway 62 toward the park. The day
was overcast and slightly cool.
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| Joshua trees with few blossoms |
We stopped at the Joshua Tree Visitor Center on Park
Boulevard, just off Highway 62 near Joshua Tree, for maps and recommendations
from the park service staff. The Visitor Center was teaming with like-minded
people, all eager to see beautiful flowers! Our tip was correct – the West
Entrance of Joshua Tree NP had the best blooms!
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| A good showing of yellow Desert Asters |
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| Mohave Aster |
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| Apricot Mallow |
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We didn’t see the mass displays of some years, but we found a
scattering of blooms representing many different flower types. This was a happy
surprise, and we added many new flowers to our plant list—Paper bag Bush, Mojave Aster,
Indigo Bush, and Desert Pincushion to name a few.
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| Joshua Trees suffering from lack of water, but still producing new sprouts |
Still, the
plants are suffering from the extended drought. The Joshua Trees had few blooms, and the blooms they had were small compared to previous years. Some of the Joshua Trees were slumped over from lack of water, with their arms draped to the ground. We were intrigued with the conservation
strategies plants use–few blossoms, miniature plants and blossoms, or even no blossoms (the
usually faithful Brittle Bush had no blossoms yet).
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| Keys View of the Indio Hills and Coachella Valley |
From Keys View, at 5,185 feet elevation in the San Bernardino mountain range, we could see Interstate 10,
the San Andreas fault, and the communities of Palm Springs, Cathedral City, and Palm Desert. Mount San Jacinto in the distance was snow topped from the recent storm. The hills were very dry, but I love seeing that sweep of land and sky. Toward the south, we had a fairly clear view of the Salton Sea (toward Anza-Borrego Desert Park). This got us thinking about a return trip to Anza-Borrego - maybe next year!
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| Desert rat |
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| Cholla skeleton |
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We strolled through the Cholla Cactus Garden. Chollas are very appealing - they look almost soft in the desert light; in reality their strategy is to drop their pups, which hitch a ride on any unsuspecting person or animal that gets too close! The Chollas were close to blooming. A little desert rat scurried boldly among the Cholla pups, and lizards
stretched out on the rocks.
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| Exploring the Cholla Cactus Garden |
We had a great day together, exploring the desert floor, snapping pictures, and catching up on family news and history.
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