RHH's photos

Taken in Joshua Tree National Park the first night we were there (we stayed three nights). We found a campsite, did a short hike and watched the sunset at Intersection Rock. We had traveled to Joshua Tree from the Salton Sea and Redlands. We spent our time in the park, the third time we've been there, hiking some new trails, exploring areas we had visited previously and enjoying the sunshine and warm weather.

We left Joshua Tree National Park this morning and are now in Flagstaff, Arizona, hoping to see some of the Sedona area. We spent tree nights in Joshua Tree, did a lot of hiking in areas we had not seen before and enjoyed the warm weather and sunshine. The photo is of an area in the Tonto Basin where thousands of Teddy-bear Cholla grow, and which is known as the Cholla Garden. Tis Cholla is also known as the Jumping Cholla, since sections of the cactus very easily come loose and lodge themselves in arms and legs.

We re still traveling. We left Anza-Borrego Desert State Park last week Thursday and drove to the wildlife refuges on the south end of the Salton Sea. After some really good and authentic Mexican food and a visit to one of the refuges, we camped for night at Obsidian Butte, which more than lived up to its name, the butte formed almost entirely of obsidian, which, for those who do not know, is volcanic glass. The shoreline, which we explored, was littered with huge boulders of obsidian (inset). The high point of the two days, however, was the wildlife refuge, where we saw many different birds including huge flocks of Snow Geese and Pelicans. The stars were the Burrowing Owls. We saw quite a number of these small owls which live in burrows and are usually seen standing guard at the entrance, while driving around the area. We drove on to Joshua Tree National Park and are there now, though we drove out of the park briefly to collect emails. Tomorrow morning we are headed on to Sedona, Arizona, for more hiking and sightseeing.

We car camped a night at Obsidian Butte on the Salton Sea during our travels (we are now at Joshua Tree National Park). The place lives up to its name with obsidian (volcanic glass), often as huge boulders, everywhere. The result of this is that there is now limited room for sleeping, my wife having collected enough obsidian to furnish her own volcano. The water in the background is the Salton Sea, a sea formed in 1905 when the Colorado River overflowed and flooded the area.

We were in Anza-Borrego Deserrt State Park this past week camping and hiking (we were also at the wildlife refuges on the south end of the Salton Sea). The temperatures were wonderfully warm, a contrast to the -12C temperatures at home. Our two main hikes were this one, through the Slot, a narrrow canyon in the badlands of Anza-Borrego, and a hike up into Hellhole Canyon in the mountains, shown in the inset. Both hikes were fabulous and hikes we had not done before.

One of our hikes in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park this past week was up into Hellhole Canyon in the San Ysidro Mountains of southern California. The canyon is noted for its palm trees, the native California Fan Palm. We hiked and scrambled our way to Maidenhair Falls which were dry.

Photographed in the garden at the visitors' center fof Anza-Berrego. This is a Palo Verde tree.

This was the overlook at Culp Valley overlook in Anza-Borrego Desert Park..

Photographed in the botanic gardens at the visitors' center in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park.