palms | The Phase Place

Here are 19 additional images from our trip to Joshua Tree National Park in southern California on February 12, 2015. Click each thumbnail to view the entire image. (The largest dimension of any image is 600 pixels, so these can be viewed on a tablet.)

: An interesting bush by the Cottonwood Entrance Visitor Center, JTNP.

: Colorful flora in the morning light at Cottonwood Spings, JTNP.

: Even after a plant has died interesting things remain Cholla Cactus Garden, JTNP.

: I see a monkey face, do you?

: Linda stops for a moment as we hiked through this boulder field in JTNP.

: Skull Rock, of course. JTNP.

: Skull Rock. Even the “nose” has a nostril. JTNP.

: A view of distant rocks as we hiked near Skull Rock in JTNP.

: JTNP includes two different deserts: Colorado (Sonoran) and Mojave. The NW part of the Park is in the Mojave and most of the Joshua Trees and rock formations are found here.

: The boulder fields of JTNP present an amazing otherworldly landscape.

: Is that Jabba-the-Hut in the upper right corner?

: A lone Joshua Tree amongst the boulders. There are other areas of JTNP with “forests” of these trees.

: Looking towards Mt. Gorgiano from Keys View in JTNP. (There is snow on the summit.)

: We spotted this lone coyote driving back down from Keys View in JTNP. It eventually crossed the road in front of our car.

: The trail to Barker Dam in JTNP. The dam was built many years ago to form a small lake to provide water for cattle.

: On the trail from Barker Dam back to the parking lot. Do you see a dolphin? I do.

: These petroglyphs are evidence of ancient human occupation of this area.

: The palms at Cottonwood Springs get their water from an underground source.

: The palms at Cottonwood Springs are very large.

I’ve been hunkered down writing an article for Bus Conversions Magazine on the recent Arcadia Bus Rally and Linda has been working on her counted stitch needlepoint, but both of those are activities from which we need to take breaks and go for walks. When we do, I usually take my camera along. Here are eight more photos of Williston Crossings RV Resort that capture some of the features of the park and the ways that residents make their sites uniquely their own.