Category : Nature

This was the perfect view of Eagle Point at the west rim of the Grand Canyon.  Now I understand why hikers and rock climbers get such a trill after reaching the top of a climb.  I wish everyone has a chance to visit the Grand Canyon at least once in their lifetime.  I felt a sense of peace and calm.

 

The white line on the rock is the result of the 1983 Colorado River floods when the water level was at it’s highest.

 

There were thousands of these Joshua trees on the way to the Grand Canyon.  It’s really a beautiful and serene experience traveling through the desert.

 

 

via Wikipedia:

“This monocotyledonous tree is native to southwestern North America in the states of California, Arizona, Utah and Nevada, where it is confined mostly to the Mojave Desert between 400 and 1,800 meters (1,300 and 5,900 ft) elevation. It thrives in the open grasslands of Queen Valley and Lost Horse Valley in Joshua Tree National Park. A dense Joshua tree forest also exists in Mojave National Preserve, in the area of Cima Dome.

The name Joshua tree was given by a group of Mormon settlers who crossed the Mojave Desert in the mid-19th century. The tree’s unique shape reminded them of a Biblical story in which Joshua reaches his hands up to the sky in prayer. Ranchers and miners who were contemporary with the Mormon immigrants also took advantage of the Joshua tree, using the trunks and branches as fencing and for fuel for ore-processing steam engines.

Joshua trees are fast growers for the desert; new seedlings may grow at an average rate of 7.6 cm (3.0 in) per year in their first ten years, then only grow about 3.8 cm (1.5 in) per year thereafter. The trunk of a Joshua tree is made of thousands of small fibers and lacks annual growth rings, making it difficult to determine the tree’s age. This tree has a top-heavy branch system, but also has what has been described as a “deep and extensive” root system, with roots possibly reaching up to 11 m (36 ft) away. If it survives the rigors of the desert it can live for hundreds of years with some specimens surviving up to a thousand years. The tallest trees reach about 15 m (49 ft). New plants can grow from seed, but in some populations, new stems grow from underground rhizomes that spread out around the Joshua tree.”

The rain and winds of Hurricane Sandy keep me indoors all day yesterday.  I finally got out of the house today, partly because I getting a little stir crazy, but mostly because I’m in love with my Canon 40mm pancake lens.  I’ve had it for less than a month but it has become my walk-around lens.  I love that a can get up close to the subject and really play with depth-of-field.

The lawn in front of my building is covered with fallen mostly brown wet leaves.  The red and green leaves got my attention.