Cottonwood Spring walk

We made our first visit to Joshua Tree this week. We discovered that you can never tire of the odd vision of the Joshua Trees and the subtle beauty of the desert plants. The weather was perfect for desert walks - apparently 10 degrees cooler than usual. Mid-70's up at the highest elevation. We even needed to wear jackets at times - I like it! Much easier to hike when you aren't fighting 90 degree weather.

We were told about a side trail to a small spring where there might be some interesting birds. I found lots of exquisite desert flowers to admire and the rock formations were beautiful. We had a phainopepla lead us down the path. (Don't you love the way that rolls off my tongue?) He flew from bush to bush all the way back to the main trail as if we were in a Disneyland movie.