Only 2.5 hours from LA is one of California’s nine national parks known for its unique looking trees. It’s a perfect destination for a short weekend trip. The park is located at the junction of three deserts: the Colorado (didn’t know there was a Colorado Desert before this trip :), the Mojave and the Sonoran. Each desert has its distinctive ecosystem. Joshua trees are more prevalent in the Mojave section on the north side.

Ocotillo plants and “jumping” cholla cacti are characteristic of the Sonoran desert in the south.

We entered the park around midnight through the south entrance. I’ve never seen such a bright night. The full moon was casting shadows on the ground!

Joshua trees don’t grow branches until they bloom. So this must mean that the Joshua tree in the picture below was pretty old when it finally decided to bloom. The tree is 40 feet (12 m) high and it’s estimated that it’s over 100 years old.

After the rain we had a few weeks ago, I was hoping to see more flowers, but the blooms were few and far between.

This park is a favorite destination for rock climbers. We didn’t do any climbing, but I sure used the rocks as backdrop for tree portraits at sunrise 🙂

We are so lucky to live in a state with nine national parks. Quite a few of them are only a couple of hours of driving away. This one is definitely worth a visit.