Joshua Tree National Park is approximately 800,000 acres of land in the Mojave and Sonoran Desert in Southern California. It is surrounded by mountains, located on fault lines, filled with amazing geological rock formations and Joshua trees, for which the park is named ,are in abundance.
Even if you are not a rock climber, the boulders are fascinating. It looks like giants played there own version of "Jenga" here in the desert.
From the trail on Ryan's Mountain, you can get a better perspective for the vastness of the land.
On our recent visit, some of the cactus were still blooming. This is the Beavertail Cactus.
Early Native American presence can be seen in petraglyphs. Most of it is hidden from sight.
In the 1800's, cattle rustlers hid cattle they had stolen behind these boulders. Louis L'Amour wrote about rustlers of the area in his book Mojave Crossing.
Keys Ranch is a reminder of the days when people lived in this remote place.
While walking along a trail near the ranch, we passed this Bighorn sheep skull. Images of the "Wild West" once again brought to life.
