We left Las Vegas at 7 am this morning (it was already 82F) and drove 220 miles through the Mojave Desert to the Joshua Tree National Park. This is a slice of mountainous desert which overlooks Palm Springs and the San Andreas Fault. It doesn't have spectacular rock formations or canyons like the national parks on the Colorado Plateau but a wild dry terrain, very atmospheric. Its name arises from the variety of yucca plant that grows in profusion within it.
Once again there are musical connotations. Gram Parsons (Grievous Angel?) overdosed in The Joshua Tree Inn in 1973, then two of his friends stole his body as it was being transported to the airport and cremated in the national park . In 1988 U2 released their much acclaimed album Joshua Tree with a photograph of the band standing beside a joshua tree on the cover.
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