One of the more scenic roads in Arizona is U.S. Highway 93, north of Wickenburg on the way to Kingman. There are Joshua Trees, all nature of desert scenery and these beautiful yellow cactus flowers we stopped to photograph in Wikieup, AZ. Click on the image to enlarge.
We took a day trip out to Maricopa County’s Lake Pleasant Park. It’s only 35 miles from our new home in Wickenburg, AZ. Click on the image to enlarge.
We visited the Vulture Gold Mine near Wickenburg, AZ today. Once one of the best producing mines in Arizona, it lies as a relic of those days in the beautiful hills near Vulture Peak. This is the building where the bars of gold and silver were stored before shipping to town. Click on the image to enlarge.
When we move to Arizona, we can have one of these beautiful ocotillo succulents growing as a part of our landscape. Photo taken in Wickenburg, AZ today. Click on the image to enlarge.
Found in sandy washes, open flats and roadsides in Joshua Tree National Park and other desert regions in California. I spotted this one growing in the Colorado Desert region of the park. Click image for big.
The reason we picked late March for our visit to the Joshua Tree National Park is because last time we were here, we asked a ranger the best time to see the Joshua trees in bloom. It seems to vary, but it’s a good bet that blooms will appear from late March to early April.
We saw a lot of them today on our way up to Keys View, a dramatic panoramic vista of the Coachella Valley and the Palm Springs area. From that vantage point, we could see the Salton Sea, Banning Pass and the San Andreas earthquake fault line.
The Joshua Trees seemed to thrive at around the 4300 foot level in the park. Many were in bloom. I took this image near some interesting rock formations which are plentiful in this area which is a domain of the Western Bighorn Sheep. Click on the image for a big view of the tree, the rocks and the inset enlargement of the bloom.
Wooo Saaah – time out from the anger and frustration over health care to stop and look at the flowers. This is a picture of the flowers on the desert senna. I took this photo near the visitors center at Joshua Tree National Park today. Click on the image for a closer look.
Digital Desert has this information on the shrub that grows these flowers.
Seeds of many desert plants do not sprout easily. Some need to be passed through the digestive tracts of animals before they grow. Some, like the Desert Senna, need to be soaked by a heavy rainfall and the scoured clean of its coated resin by the rocks in a wash.
If conditions are right, golden flowers will bloom in April and May but the plant will be leafless most of the year. The Desert Senna relies on green chlorophyll in its stems to manufacture food.