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Cactus

There are those who give with joy, and that joy is their reward…
Cholla Cactus Garden
by Sandeep Thomas
  • Khalil Gibran.

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Joshua Tree National Park was one of the first National Parks we visited after moving to the west coast. At the time, my location scouting was mostly based on google maps street view, and to be honest, and I was a bit disappointed with what I saw. The park didn’t look anything special other than its namesake trees. I was sure we could see everything that worth seeing in 3-4 days. I admit not a lot of planning went into the trip.

But boy, was I completely wrong. Joshua Tree NP is a park that sneaks up on you once you cross its boundaries. There are multiple valleys and at least two different desert systems within the park limits. So the scenery keeps on changing along with the plants and the rock formations. Here is also where I learned about the change in NP infrastructure design. While they designed the National and State Parks on the east coast, accessibility is a prime factor, and it's pretty common to be able to drive right up to a scenic view. It's not the case for parks on the west. Accessibility was not the prime concern; it was to keep the parks wild. You can see this change in thinking even in parks like Yosemite and Grand Canyon. Their famous and easily accessible sections constitute a tiny percentage of the park's total area. One of my biggest regret about Moving out of Socal was that we didn’t get enough time to explore Joshua Tree NP.

The Jumbo rock section of the park is the subject of today’s post. We did a small hike here called the skull rock loop. While hiking the short loop trail, we realized that jumbo Rocks is a location that can easily take one couple of days to explore and still go home with the feeling that you haven’t gotten all the possible compositions. Unfortunately, I could only afford a couple of hours here during our trip. I sincerely hope that one day I could return and explore the park a bit more.

Prickly Situation
Cholla Cactus Garden

Cholla Cactus Garden at sunset, Joshua Tree National Park, California, USA.

**This is a copyrighted image with all rights reserved. Please don't...

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A Dawn with Teddy Bears
Cholla Cactus Garden

After having a successful evening at McWay Falls, my energy levels hit the roof and decided to drive all the way to Joshua Tree National Park. It was...

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A Night with Teddy Bears
Cholla Cactus Garden

This is my second visit to Joshua Tree this month. Being totally in love with these Teddy Bears, I could not say no to visit this place again. But...

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Cholla Sunrise 2
Cholla Cactus Garden

I got to visit Joshua Tree National Park for the first time, recently. This California park contains features that make it feel as if you were in...

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Cholla Cactus Garden
Cholla Cactus Garden

I highly recommend this spot in Joshua Tree National Park for a sunrise shot. Best thing is you can have the whole garden to yourself and that...

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Thanks to all Phoide contributors to Cactus!
Most notably Sandeep Thomas.