Monday, April 16, 2018

Cottonwood Springs Road - Joshua Tree National Park


We continued our March 2018 visit to Joshua Tree National Park by driving 5.4 miles north on Cottonwood Springs Road from the Bajada Trail parking area (6.8 miles north of Interstate 10) to the Cottonwood Visitor Center. Below are scenes from a couple of pullouts along the route.

Brittlebush (Encelia farinosa) plants on the bajada and Cottonwood Mountains

Santa Rosa Mountains

Rugged landscape east of the road

Even other plants seem to keep their distance from this cholla cactus

Eastern bluff above Cottonwood Canyon

Creosote bush (Larrea tridentata) and brittlebush (Encelia farinosadominate the slope below the mountains

Overcast skies tease with a promise of rain

Palo Verde (Parkinsonia florida) and the Santa Rosa Mountains

Ocotillo (Fouquieria splendens), brittlebush, and creosote bush line the wash below the rugged peaks

Beavertail cactus (Opuntia basilaris)

Creosote bush (Larrea tridentata)

Entrance to Joshua Tree National Park requires an entry fee of $25 per passenger vehicle for a 7-day pass. Any of the America the Beautiful passes may be used instead.

The park website is https://www.nps.gov/jotr.

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