JOSHUA TREE NATIONAL PARK, CA :: After my hike in Ladder Canyon, I drove through the south entrance of nearby Joshua Tree National Park. Honestly, there’s not much to see in the southern half of the park. There’s the cholla cactus garden, where I walked the interpretive trail (when photographing cacti with a wide angle lens, be careful not to jam your hands into its needles), but the northern half of the park is where you’ll find the Joshua trees and fascinating rock formations.
Here again I found myself entirely alone at the trailhead for Ryan Mountain. I think the summer heat keeps most SoCal residents away from the trails. Either that, or they’re all at the beach. Prime hiking season in the Desert Southwest is nearly opposite of the Pacific Northwest.
The trail to the 5,457′ summit is short and steep, climbing over 1000′ and back down in three miles. At the top, there are 360 degree views of the surrounding peaks and seemingly endless Mojave Desert. Thousands of Joshua trees dot the landscape and scattered rock formations appear like large fortresses rising above the level plains. Large puffy clouds made their way slowly across the intensely blue sky. It was a very nice place to spend an hour, enjoying the scenery and relaxing in the sun.
Here again I found myself entirely alone at the trailhead for Ryan Mountain. I think the summer heat keeps most SoCal residents away from the trails. Either that, or they’re all at the beach. Prime hiking season in the Desert Southwest is nearly opposite of the Pacific Northwest.
The trail to the 5,457′ summit is short and steep, climbing over 1000′ and back down in three miles. At the top, there are 360 degree views of the surrounding peaks and seemingly endless Mojave Desert. Thousands of Joshua trees dot the landscape and scattered rock formations appear like large fortresses rising above the level plains. Large puffy clouds made their way slowly across the intensely blue sky. It was a very nice place to spend an hour, enjoying the scenery and relaxing in the sun.
Hey-
Where do I find a place that will let me set up a website w/ photos that are descent quality? (like yours.
zac
Hi Zac,
If you’re comfortable setting up your own website with a hosting service and installing a server-side application/database, then the combination of MediaTemple and MovableType will work well. It’s what I use.
Otherwise, I suggest looking into hosted blog services, like TypePad, or any of the image hosting services like SmugMug or Flickr.
Good luck,John
Thankszac