We drove from San Diego to Joshua Tree National Park this morning, and spent the afternoon driving through the park and taking a couple of short walks. Yesterday a snowfall caused the park to close down for several hours, but fortunately, the roads are now clear. It’s been a perfect day: the skies are vivid blue, the snow is decorative but not dangerous, the rock formations are very impressive, and the air is sparkling clean — no haze! The Joshua Trees for which the park is named are beautiful desert plants.
What is a Joshua Tree? According to the National Park Service info:
“Known as the park namesake, the Joshua tree, Yucca brevifolia, is a member of the Agave family. Until recently, it was considered a giant member of the Lily family. However, modern DNA studies led to the division of that formerly huge family into 40 distinct plant families. Because of these studies, Joshua trees now have the more accurate Agave family designation.”
We’ve checked into a nice hotel, and hope all will be well for our continued visit to the park.
Blog post © 2023 mae sander
Hello,
ReplyDeleteLove the Joshua trees! I would love to visit this park!
Is the snow following you around, it should be back in your home state.
Take care, have a great day and a happy weekend!
Oh, one day I would love to visit, too - maybe in the scorching heat with loads of water rather...
ReplyDeleteJoshua Tree national Park is a true delight. I hope you have an amazing time!
ReplyDeleteVelva
Joshua Tree NP is a great park. It's also nice to walk there as it's fairly flat. It looks lovely with the snow. When we visited it was 90 degrees and in November. Thanks for sharing. Hugs-Erika
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautifully framed shot!
ReplyDeleteYeah a lily designation for the Joshua Tree seems a little hard to believe. I'm glad they did the DNA study. It's neat to see these trees. ... and also reminds me of the band U2!
ReplyDelete