More photos of Joshua Trees.  These "trees" are actually a member of the lily family!  They start as a prickly-looking round bush and grow upwards like the bottom center photo after which they start sprouting branches.  The ranger at the visitor's center told us Joshua Trees do have age rings like regular trees, so there is no way to really tell how old a Joshua Tree is, as it's location (minerals in the soil, water, etc.) all play a roll in how quickly it grows or large it ultimately becomes.  Joshua trees only grow at a certain altitude and this is the only place on earth you can see them (the Joshua Tree National Park lines the Mojave desert, so you can technically see them on the skirts of this area too).

We saw very few trees like the two in the lower row which were so tall and full.    I have no idea who that fellow is in the lower right, but he and his two horses were all over town the couple of days I was there ... 

The sunsets are breath-taking to say the least, but they sure do happen fast.  I saw my opportunity to shoot the moon behind these mountains which when I left my hotel room running were still lit by the setting sun ... by the time I got there, the sun was set and the perfect lighting gone, so this is all I got.  The lower middle photo is our hotel at the same moment, when I turned to look behind me.

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