On the Road is a weekday feature spotlighting reader photo submissions.
From the exotic to the familiar, whether you’re traveling or in your own backyard, we would love to see the world through your eyes.
I’m not exactly sure why, but when I look at the first few photos, all I can think of is Carmen Miranda! ~WaterGirl
dmbeaster
Many recent pictures of the Mojave have inspired to share just a few of the hundreds of photos I have taken in Joshua Tree Natl Park. These were in springtime, which is the ideal time to visit, but I also like Fall and Winter. Summer is hot but OK, and also a fun time for full moon walks in Hidden Valley, which are wonderful. Most of these pictures were taken in the Hidden Valley area of the park.
These are the blooms of the Joshua Tree in these next two pictures.
Beavertail cactus
Pencil cholla
A fun view of the teddy bear cholla patch, which is not in Hidden Valley.
Ocotillo blooms
Ocotillo stalk, which is normally stark, but with small leaves in Spring that only last a matter of weeks.
I have many rock climbing images, but this activity known as highlining creates more dramatic photos. This is so popular, and the anchoring requirements for safety rather serious, that setting up a highline is somewhat regulated in the park – especially if you want to use a bolt to anchor the line. https://www.nps.gov/jotr/planyourvisit/slacklining.htm
?BillinGlendaleCA
Joshua Tree, I may have heard of this place.
rikyrah
Gorgeous???
Mary G
I used to go to J Tree every April or so; the spring blooms are magical.
Baud
I’ll have to cure visit one day.
raven
Is a yucca a joshua?
JPL
Beautiful
StringOnAStick
I’m glad to see that the guy highlining is wearing a climbing harness and has a self belay line attached to the rope. He’ll get seriously jerked if he falls, but he won’t die. Once he gets closer to the rocks, he could smack into one of those pretty badly; confidence and skill are definitely required.
StringOnAStick
The Octillo with the ephemeral leaves reminds me of a house plant / tropical plant called Crown of Thorns. The latter is in the euphorbia family, I wonder if they’re related? Desert plants deserve huge respect for their ability to persevere under such extreme conditions.
Wag
Beautiful photos of the ocotillo I love the flowers mixed wither their spines
MazeDancer
Wonderful photos!
mvr
Thanks! Love the ocotillo flowers. I need to get there some day.
burnt
My nephew highlines on occasion.
J R in WV
There are a ton of ocotillo cactus in AZ, it depends upon altitude there to some extent. The blooms are on the ends of each spiny stalk, and older ocotillo have many more stalks than young ones. They sell ocotillo in the garden centers at Lowes and Home Depot. We have some native on our tiny place at 5500 feet. Bisbee, AZ, an old boom town with huge mining history has a ton of ocotillo.
The blooms look like bright red birds perched on the ends of the stalks..
Love the pics, hope to get to that part of the world someday. And I do see Carmen Miranda in the blooms. Would those blooms deep fry, dipped in corn meal batter? ;-)
ETA: Which is sharper, ocotillo or cholla? depends where you get the thorns stuck in! ;~)
Dmbeaster
@raven: A Joshua tree is a type of yucca. There are many plants in the yucca genus.
Interstadial
@StringOnAStick: I also noticed the resemblance which is uncanny. However, the plants are not related at all. It’s a great example of convergent evolution.
Dmbeaster
@StringOnAStick: They have very little relationship. They are in different Orders of plants. Ocotillo are pretty amazing as they are found in the harshest conditions in the Sonoran desert, and not elsewhere. They get particularly large down in Baja.