The California Desert

I've never been a fan of the desert. In fact, the desert is the last place I like to visit. Give me green trees, waterfalls, babbling brooks, forests, lakes, and seas. But pleeeeze, not the desert!
I reluctantly agreed to drive through Joshua Tree with Melanie on the way home from our evening at the Integratron.

Hey, who said the desert is nothing but hot sand and cactus? I've been misled! The desert is actually beautiful! Above is a rock that people were rappelling on. There was a guy at the top. Above is a Joshua Tree. Strangely beautiful. They actually get as big and bushy as the trees we think of as trees.

OK. this looks like a nice picnic spot. You call this the desert?

Like I said, I like green. But hey, look at the variety here.

Yes, at times it was breathtaking.

Melanie and I found Skull Rock. It was very windy. I had to brace myself to take these pictures.









There were even flowers in the desert if you looked closely. Yellow, white, purple. I'm holding one of the yellow ones to take a picture because it was so windy.
Well, when I switched to Preview I see that the flowers disappeared! One of the problems that I seem to have frequently when I use this blog site. Anyone else have this problem?









We stopped for lunch in a Mexican restaurant in Yucca Valley before heading home.

The last shot is of the back of the Rocky Mountains as we head back home to the coast. Probably the back of Big Bear. I'll never think of the desert the same way again!