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I am a retired English teacher and department head, the mother of three grand mother of four, and have been married to the same man for 52 years. I subscribe to Dr. PM Forni's concept of Civility. I was born in South Philadelphia and grew up in the 'burbs. I love soft pretzels and cheesesteaks, the Phillies, the Eagles, and San Diego. I love being Mom, Aunt Kathy, Nona Kathy, and Teacher. I spend a lot of time in my gardens in the spring and summer, and in the winter I plan what I'm going to plant. I also am an avid reader and photographer.

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Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Joshua Tree National Park

Joshua Tree National Park is several hours southeast of Los Angeles, close to the Arizona border.  Our visit this past month was a highlight of a lifetime.  Its approximate 790,000 acres contain a variety of terrains and some of the most beautiful sights we've ever seen.
 
A Joshua tree and many of its smaller friends.  Notice the mountains are not composed of hundreds of split boulders yet.
 
Outcroppings of granite, millions of years old, were pushed up from the earth and when they hit the cold air and moisture, the rocks split into  marvelous 'stacked' mountains.
Not Wilma and Fred, but Margie and David.  We're about to embark on a mile or so hike...


 Here climbers amaze us as we trip over the relatively flat part of the trail.

It looked to us as if the millions of boulders had actually been stacked there.
 One of the features of this high point of the park is the view below of the San Andreas Fault.  Hard to see because of the haze, but there nonetheless.
In the southernmost part of the park is the huge cacti 'garden' that actually looks over the Mojave and Colorado Deserts to the south.


17 comments:

Betsy Banks Adams said...

HI Kathy, Thanks for taking us to the Joshua Tree National Park... I have another blog friend who visited there not too long ago. They were camping.

Gorgeous place and your pictures are fabulous.
Hugs,
Betsy

Sally Wessely said...

Wow, these were really interesting photos. I have never been to Joshua Tree National Park. It looks like a neat place to visit. I'm sure I'd want to go in the spring though.

George said...

Thanks for taking us along on your visit to Joshua Tree. Those stacked mountains are amazing, and so is the cactus. It must have been a real pleasure to hike there.

Purple Flowers said...

The beauty of the Earth continues to amaze me. So glad you have these memories to share. Thanks.

Kay said...

Oh wow! Thanks for sharing this. That really looks like an amazing place to visit. Your photos are just awesome!

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the cactus fix. I always love seeing photos from the Southwestern U.S. It will always be home to me.

DI

happyone said...

So beautiful yet so different from what we are used to seeing.

Deb from WhatsInMyAttic said...

Amazing photos of an amazing place! Definitely on my list!

Anonymous said...

I can never get enough.. love this spot, visit it often. Glad you were there!

Linda Reeder said...

We thought about going there when we were in Death Valley, but it was just too far. I do love the desert. It's so different from the Pacific Northwest.

Lena said...

Stunning photos!! Thank you so much for sharing. I can't imagine being there in person.

Bilbo said...

Great pictures! Thanks for posting them...now I have yet another place to add to my bucket list.

Anonymous said...

Haze or not, what a great picture overlooking the fault. Such a great experience to have been able to share with friends!

Cobalt Violet said...

I have a picture of me and my best friend out there when we were four and six, standing in front of a Joshua Tree! Love it. You are inspiring me to go out there. Haven't been since I was a kid and now, looking at your wonderful photos, I think I need to go do some plein air pastels out there!
Thanks Kathy!

Barb said...

Hi Kathy, Your photos of Joshua Tree are marvelous - I've never visited there. The scenery looks glorious. I see we have some things in common - I was born and raised in Lancaster County (near Philly), I'm a retired teacher, I've been married to the same guy for over 44 years, I'm a grandma. Oh, yes, and the soft pretzel and cheesesteak part...

Kimberly said...

Very Cool!!!

Mage said...

I like driving through there on the way to a friends or to Vegas. Stunning stuff, dramatic and very worth visiting. Thanks so much for the pictures. :)