Joshua trees
Twisted and spiky.
scotted400 — CC BY 2.0 · Sergiy Galyonkin — CC BY-SA 4.0 · John D. from Pasadena, USA — CC BY 2.0 · Laurens R. Krol — CC BY 4.0 · cappellacci — CC BY 2.0
Joshua Tree National Park is a desert in southeastern California scattered with huge piles of rounded granite boulders and strange Joshua trees with twisted, spiky branches. It is named after the Joshua tree, a yucca that grows only in this region and around it. It lies about 211 km east of Los Angeles. It was a national monument from 1936 and became a national park in 1994. It covers about 3,218 square kilometres, a little larger than Rhode Island, and joins two different deserts: the higher Mojave and the lower Colorado Desert. You drive the park roads, stopping at well-known formations such as Arch Rock, walk among the trees, and climb to Keys View for the view over the valley. At night the sky is dark and clear for stargazing. The park's mapped point is about 32 km in a straight line southeast of Twentynine Palms. There is almost no water in the park, so bring plenty.
Twisted and spiky.
Piled high.
At night.
Southeastern California, between Twentynine Palms and Indio
Almost none; bring your own.
Autumn to spring.