Last Friday, my parents and I visited Joshua Tree National Park in the desert east of Los Angeles. Unfortunately I don’t have any photos of actual Joshua trees, which are really yuccas and were named for the Biblical Joshua by Mormon settlers. But I took some photos on the 49 Palms hike we did.

California barrel cactus (I think)

Cactus-dotted landscape

Oasis in the distance, like the Emerald City

We made it!

Mickey Mouse cactus

Quail!

Cool rocks

Dramatic landscape

On our way out, we met a ranger with whom we fell to chatting, and then she pointed out on a rock some ways away a chuckwalla, which is a large lizard. We couldn’t see it that well, but it was pretty big. And later in another part of the park we saw some handsome ravens.