We returned to Joshua Tree National Park for one reason....to look for desert lizards.
Cottonwood Spring is located on the southeastern edge of the park. The elevation is lower and the habitat is different than the northwestern area where the Joshua trees grow.This area is the region of the Colorado Desert instead of the Mojave Desert.
The first lizard we encountered was this awesome Desert Spiny lizard. Colors, expression...he ranks up there as one of my favorite!
The Zebra Tailed lizard prefers to be in the sandy wash area. They blend in so well that it's hard to see them unless them move. The are extremely fast. When these lizards had enough of us, they curled their tails over their body like a scorpion and then, dashed off.
We especially wanted to see the Chuckwalla - One of the biggest lizards of the desert. They are late risers compared to the other lizards. We saw this big guy as we were hiking out. As we sat and watched him, we could see his skin start to change colors as he soaked in the sun.
We would have been content with all that we had seen but then this brightly colored lizard caught our eye. Turns out he is a baby Chuckwalla. Lucky day for us! We saw some great looking lizards!
