This gallery contains pictures from my first couple of visits to Joshua Tree National Park, and I have no recorded notes of where I went or where I stopped. One visit was in the spring and one was in the fall. Joshua Tree became a national monument in 1936 in large part because of the efforts of a woman named Minerva Hamilton Hoyt (1866-1945) who came from Mississippi to settle in South Pasadena and became enamored of desert flora in general and the joshua tree in particular. She founded the International Desert Conservation League and lobbied Congress and President Roosevelt to protect the area. In 1994 Congress passed the California Desert Protection Act, and Joshua Tree's status was elevated to that of a national park. Slightly larger than the state of Rhode Island, the park consists of 795,000 acres of rocky desert vegetation straddling San Bernardino and Riverside Counties. Two distinct desert ecosystems exist side by side, the Mojave Desert to the north at higher elevation and the Colorado Desert at lower elevation to the south. Two highways more or less encircle the park, Highway 62 along the northern side and Interstate 10 along the southern side. The iconic joshua tree is a common resident of higher elevations, while creosote bushes and ocotillo populate the lower. Hiking, rock climbing and stargazing are popular activities in the park, while the 800+ species of plants draw devotees of flora like me. Despite its hot desert climate, snow is occasionally seen at places like Keys View. The highest elevation in the park is Quail Mountain at 5,816' and the lowest 536' along the southeastern boundary. The park is famous for its bouldery landscape long sculpted by strong winds and occasional torrents of rain, and its hundreds of thousands of acres of designated wilderness provide endless opportunities for exploration.

Brandegea
Brandegea bigelovii
Cucurbitaceae
[Named for Townsend Stith Brandegee, 1843-1925, and John Milton Bigelow, 1804-1878]

Thick-leaved ground-cherry
Physalis crassifolia
Solanaceae

Wide-leaved rock goldenbush
Ericameria cuneata var. spathulata
Asteraceae

California barrel cactus
Ferocactus cylindraceus
Cactaceae