Panorama of the San Andreas Fault, viewed from a scenic overlook in the Park.

I returned to Joshua Tree Park the day before the Vernal Equinox in 2010, this time visiting the opposite end of the Park. We had again had a nice wet winter, so things were uncommonly green. Unfortunately the north end of the Park wasn't quite doing spring flowers yet, but it was probably about as lush as it gets. Although there weren't any flowers, there were many other things to look at, and take pictures of.

Here are some really great views of the Coachella Valley, you can see the San Andreas Fault, surrounding mountain ranges, and in the early spring of 2010 there were snow-capped peaks. San Jacinto is in the Santa Rosa mountain range, and San Gorgonio is in the San Bernardino range. It is the highest peak in Southern California, and can be seen from all over the region.

Monzogranite rock, with Ken and Erika for scale, and at the top is a tiny dot of a rock climber. Below is a close-up view of the top, although the successfull climber is still pretty much a mere dot. Next to that shot is Ken taking a photo of the most famous of the rock shapes, Skull Rock.

The plant for which the Park is named: a nice Joshua Tree. I'm not at all sure it is a tree at all. The Flower Essesnce Society calls it a "tree-like species of Yucca" which sounds about right to me.

A group of plants, frontmost is a sage (I think), with creosote bushes around it, and an alien looking Ocotillo, with its bright green leaf covered branches, growing in the background.

Bloom at the end of a Joshua Tree branch-like segment.

Blooms almost ready to open at the tips of the Ocotillo branches.