joshua tree {LA}
by LALA
{joshua tree} for me seemed to be a place of mystery and intrigue, and upon hearing the name memories of time spent listening to the U2 album as a teenager popped into my head. in actuality, this national park is a fascinating desert land located in twenty-nine palms, california. just east of palm springs, and a short two-hour drive from my home in pasadena . . . we recently made a day trip to hike and explore this vast area. during our visit to joshua tree we came across an assortment of beautiful plant life, a variety of critters, and a collection of unexpected “ruins”. it is truly an awe-inspiring adventure.
the national park is celebrating its 75th anniversary throughout 2011, and if you live in the area or plan on visiting southern cal soon, i would definitely recommend making the trip. bring lots of water, sunscreen, and insect repellent, and then head out to explore joshua tree. . . you will not be disappointed. check out some of the photos from our journey!
kissmylala.wordpress.com 
a great collection of photos. the desert is truly amazing!
thank you petalpusher! so glad you found us… we enjoyed your site and photos very much!!
Beautiful photography! Can’t wait to get out there and see that part of the country!!
These pictures are beautiful. You have really captured the desert wonderfully. Thanks for sharing!
Very nice photos! Congrats on being FP!
wonderful photography! great pics! (:
Fantastic – love your layout! I was lucky enough to go visit Joshua Tree back in ’98 on a day-trip from Los Angeles, where I was couch-surfing with friends while ‘living the dream’. Back home in Toronto now, but have a ton of great photos from this trip – haven’t looked at them in a while, had forgotten how moon-like some places in this park can be; we were subjected to a sudden and rare lightning storm while we were there and had to get shelter in a rock cave.
Thanks for posting!
thank you so much for your kind words. joshua tree is a truly awesome place! hope you pulled out some of your old photos!!!
Nice picture sequence adventure! 🙂
Joshua Tree is spectacular … as are your pix!
Simply beautiful — thank you.
🙂
Thank you for sharing your photographs of such a beautiful place, and congrats on Freshly Pressed! 🙂 All these holiday ventures on WP are really injecting wanderlust into my veins. Argh too bad I’m living too far from these national parks to make a trip anytime soon!
I bet the energy of the site was inspirational, I defiantly need to feel and see it for myself! Great photos by the way.
We visited Joshua Tree about 6 years ago. Absolutely stunning and one of the few places we plan to go back to. Enchanting. Haunting. Silent. Just magical. Did you see any rattlers ?? Thanks for posting this and bringing back some happy memories. Well done on making the Front Page !!
@single malt monkey – we didn’t spot rattlers at joshua tree, but we did see some last time we were in antelope valley! lots of birds, lizards, and bugs though! glad we could bring you back to your trip! thanks for stopping by!!!!
I love desert, scrub and rocks, a left over from my south Texas days! The pics are great! Congrats on Freshly Pressed!
Chris
Gorgeous pictures! I’d love to visit Joshua Tree some day!
Beautiful photos of a beautiful place. Makes me miss SoCal. Congrats on being Freshly Pressed.
Amazing photos! Thank you, great sharing.
Wow, it looks incredible! Are you allowed to camp out there? I really want to take a trip out to America with my boyfriend and do lots and lots of camping and travelling across the country!
Your photos are incredible! Congrats on being FPd 🙂
@sarah – thanks so much, and yes you can camp at joshua tree.
check out this link: http://www.nps.gov/jotr/planyourvisit/camping.htm
[…] {joshua tree} for me seemed to be a place of mystery and intrigue, and upon hearing the name memories of time spent listening to the U2 album as a teenager popped into my head. in actuality, this national park is a fascinating desert land located in twenty-nine palms, california. just east of palm springs, and a short two-hour drive from my home in pasadena . . . we recently made a day trip to hike and explore this vast area. during our visit t … Read More […]
amazing photos of a place i want to visit so badly one day. thanks for sharing and cngrats on the freshly pressed!
You’re a wonderful photographer! Beautiful pics.
I don’t think people often appreciate how uniquely beautiful the desert is.
These are beautiful photos! I’ve been to most of the parks in California. Sadly, I’ve never gone to Joshua Tree. I’ll make that my top priority the next time I’m in the southern part of the state. Over the years the desert parks of California and the American southwest have become my favorites. Something about their stark beauty, the resilience of the native flora to cling to existence, and the way the colors of the landscape stand out against those deep blue skies lends these dry parks a special transcendent quality. Thank you for posting these and for sharing your experience!
@adamsofthought- i would definitely put J-tree on your list, it is truly unbelievable! i love the way you describe the desert parks, spot on! thanks for stopping by!
What a great idea for a blog! I could definitely hang out with you girls.. mine’s a pitcher of strawberry margaritas, please…lol. I used to live in S. California and Joshua Tree was always my favourite place to get away from it all….such rugged beauty!
@i made you a mix tape – we will take a margarita any which way 😉
Beautiful photos. Thank you so much for sharing. I will definitely be heading up there soon!
*Congrats on being Freshly Pressed! Visit my blog, http://www.theburst.wordpress.com, to talk about stuff we are all afraid to talk about.* 🙂
Can’t wait to go back… what a great time! Congratulations to my lala.
Just extraordinary.
beautiful! i’ll have to make the trip.
Great photos–thanks for sharing. I made a trip to Joshua Tree once and can fully concur with your observations and conclusions about the magic and mystery of the place. I was there a bit earlier in the spring and saw some terrific displays of wild flowers as well. Alas, I did not have a camera with me on that unexpected trip as I headed home from a business meeting–thanks for sharing these photos. Cpngrats on being FPed!
Wow! What a truly wondrous place!
I spent a lot of time in Joshua Tree when I was about 5 years old. Nothing but good memories and perhaps a starting point for my love of cacti and all succulents… you’ve successfully captured the beauty!
Great photos! This place brings back memories. Summertime is a nice time to visit Joshua Tree National park–a good roadtrip destination for those in Southern California.
Great reminder of how beautiful our planet is. If we all remembered to connect to the outdoors as often as possible we would be healthier and happier. Just looking at the photos make me feel great. Thank you, Debra
I also think of the U2 album when I hear the words “Joshua Tree.” Your pictures are amazing and really make me want to go there. Thanks for giving me a taste of what’s at Joshua Tree Park.
wow.. you did great a good job! botany mixed with mystery.. nice job!
Beautiful – brings back memories. We were in Joshua Tree National Park in March 2007, during the 2 weeks a year that the joshua trees flower. Simply gorgeous time of year, if you are up for a repeat visit. What I loved about the park was the constrast between the two desert its straddles, and how different a different desert could be! Thanks for sharing.
I visited Joshua Tree NP in January 2000. Spectacular park, loved seeing it.
Your photos have truly done it justice, and thanks so much for sharing them with us.
My blog (On The Boardwalk)is on Freshly Pressed today also.Congrats to you!
visit my blog at:
http://www.spikeymom.wordpress.com
beautiful place
Joshua Tree always had an otherworldly feel to me. I loved going camping and hiking there when I was a scout growing up. Thanks for the trip down memory lane.
I would love to go hiking and camping in Joshua Tree. thanks for the great photos. Any suggestions for good routes?
These photos make me feel nostalgic! I used to go to Joshua tree with my cousins. Definitely, the best part is finding a notch in the rocks to sit & rest after all that scrambling around
Hej from Sweden,
Oh my goodness! I raised my daughter in Palm Springs and for her 4th grade field trip we camped out at Joshua Tree. I have an entire photo album dedicated to that trip. Then we ended up house sitting for a woman in Morongo Valley, in the high desert. These photos bring back so many wonderful memories. Thank you!
What beautiful photos and you have captured the magic of Joshua Tree so well.
I am no longer in California. You can read about my life in Sweden at:
http://gullringstorpgoatsblog.wordpress.com
@gullringstorpGoatgal – sounds like a great trip…hope you pulled out those old photos! we are definitely headed to check out your blog. thanks for stopping by and for the kind words!!!!!
very pretty…
Congratulations on being Freshly Pressed! Thank you for sharing your fabulous photos! They’re amazing!
There are many reasons Joshua Tree has an “other worldly” feel to it. Dr. Steven Greer has been doing nighttime field research and training sessions there with CSETI for years. If you’d like to see some of their photos and read about their adventures, here’s their link: http://www.cseti.org/reports/joshuatree09.shtml
Thanks again for the great blog.
Incredible! I’ve wanted to visit since falling in love with U2’s album years ago. Planning a road trip now.
it is seems a very wonderful trip! i hope i can travel there one day!
Love the pics! As an aside, how did you get the pictures to align nicely spaced like that? Are you using a plugin?
@jonathan – being in the architecture and design we field we have a lot of programs for layouts and editing. i primarily use photoshop or indesign to create the layouts for the photos and then insert as one (or more) jpegs.
beautiful places!
Awe-inspiring!
Great snaps! I love the texture of the photos. Good job on being FP-ed!
nice pics…I especially like the photo j tree_1 because it looks so enigmatic and somewhat surreal…
Truly beautiful place. The photos are so real, captured everything there and brought me an amazement. Cool.
wow! thanks to everyone for the awesome comments. it is so amazing to hear everyone’s stories. hope ya’ll stop by again soon!!!
Oh wow. The photos are just amazing. Makes me feel like I’ve visited this place as well. I love the last photo the most.
Great place! Thanks for sharing. I went camping there…..it was a fun time.
The location is just stunning…and your photography simply adds to its beauty!
thanks for sharing 🙂
@divyatrungta – thank you for the kind comment. joshua tree is a stunningly beautiful treasure. hope you stop back by {LALA} soon!
Photos are gorgeous! I live in Riverside CA and have never been here. My aunt and cousins went camping here and was told it was gorgeous and worth checking out.so seeing your photos i see why. Thanks for sharing!
@pauline – so glad you liked the photos. joshua tree is a truly unique and stunning site to see. hope you get to check it out soon!!!
nice pictures!!
http://rodposse.com/
thanks pause! hope you stop back by soon!!!
[…] in pasadena catching up over vino and planning all of the things we wanted to do. we decided {joshua tree} was a MUST. so, we headed out early sunday morning for the desert. here is a sneak peek from […]