one of my goals was to visit joshua tree national park on my next trip to california. in may of this year (2015), it happened! an overnight stay in the town of twenty-nine palms and a couple of visits to the park made me want more! but, i did have a schedule to keep…

after leaving l.a. in the early afternoon, i reached joshua tree by around 5pm – i didn’t think it would take that long, but that snarly l.a. traffic ensured that i was behind schedule right from the get-go… nevertheless, after a quick bite for dinner, i headed to the park via the north entrance and drove along park blvd., taking in the almost surreal scenery at that time of day. having relegated ‘arch rock’ to a visit the next morning, i proceeded to my first stop: skull rock.

“it began long ago when rain drops accumulated in tiny depressions and started to erode the granite. as more rock eroded, more water accumulated, leading to more erosion until, as time passed, two hollowed-out eye sockets formed and the rock began to resemble a skull.” – national park service

this photograph can be found in the following gallery: parks & gardens