Joshua Tree Photographs

I camped out at Joshua Tree for almost a week, taking long hikes on and around the rocks. The smooth, round shapes of the rocks made me think of people embedded in the earth, and I was constantly seeing likenesses of body parts in the piles of rocks. I took a lot of pictures of those rocks, so if you think they're kind of odd, that's probably why. But if you're adventurous and don't mind some nude rock pics (some of them are very explicit), by all means have a look.

The weather was fantastic during the day, hot and dry like a desert should be, nary a cloud in the sky most days, but there was also a constant cool breeze to keep me from overheating. The nights were sometimes a bit too cold for me; I ended up reaching my comfort level in three layers of clothes plus a sleeping bag and two blankets.

The people were all nice. Most of them were retirees in Winnebagos, and some were families in trailers, and some were twenty-somethings with rock climbing gear, and some were German tourists, and there was a mixed bag of everybody else, from yuppies to hippies (from dupes to nuts?).

I highly recommend visiting Joshua Tree, if you enjoy camping and don't mind a little sun. It's an extremely relaxing environment; the only loud noises are from an occasional jet overhead, or from your neighbors reveling from too much blood in their alcohol [that's a music reference for Jeff's benefit].

By the way, Joshua Tree got its name from some traveling Mormons, who when they saw some yucca plants like the one in the picture, thought it looked like Joshua, the prophet who led the Jews to the promised land. Don't ask me why they ended up setting up shop in Salt Lake City and not the middle of the Southern California desert.