Joshua Tree National Park

I just got back from a visit to Joshua Tree National Park. It's about two-and-a-half hours from Pasadena, mostly through the LA basin. Joshua Tree itself is very fascinating - the park is much more about the geology and plant life in the desert than wildlife or scenic views (at least not in the conventional sense). There is supposedly some wildlife, but for whatever reason I didn't see anything except a few birds (mostly crows or crow-like birds).

However, the landscape is just completely different than anything I've ever seen with strange rock formations that complement the even weirder Joshua tree. In fact one of the major "attractions" is the Geology Tour Road - an 18 mile dirt road through various geologic formations for which 4WD is recommended (although my car never needed it).

Photography there wasn't easy - I'm still not quite sure of how to photograph it and the lack of good sunlight or a good sunset didn't help. In addition, I didn't find the supposedly amazing wildflowers until fairly late in the day. However, I wasn't too impressed with them, but that may have just been the lack of light.