Brilliant Cactus Garden at Sunset

Adventures with Kendal and Photography in Joshua Tree

When I planned the trip to Joshua Tree National Park, this was one of the shots I had in mind.  The entire first day was designed so we would end up here right before sunset.  Despite that, this picture almost didn’t happen.  From late morning till a few hours before this moment the weather was constantly changing.  While on our first hike, beautiful clouds turned into rain, then hail and back to perfect broken clouds.  For lunch, we scrambled to the top of a rock formation.  The wind immediately picked up and by the time we were climbing down the rain started again.  On our next hike, light sprinkles turned into actual rain and then hail again.  These days are incredible!  They are beautiful to take in and make you feel alive!

 Even though I plan trips for days like this, they can be exhausting.  Per the plan, we left the park, got food and went to our rental house to cook it.  Both of us tired, we decided to scrap the plan.  We would make dinner and watch a movie.  Minutes later, Kendal was asleep on the couch.  At that point, I looked outside, and the big clouds were still there.  It hit me, “We came all this way…Time to rally!”  Warm dinner was packed, and we were off.  As we approached this spot, I was awe struck.  By the time I turned the car off I could feel the adrenalin.  Kendal and I jumped out, looked at each other and she said, “Immediately worth it!”

 After finding a cactus and getting the camera and tripod set, it was time to relax.  We ate a delicious warm dinner to this view. (Yes, after a day in the elements, every dinner is delicious!)  It was this gorgeous for a full hour!  Belly’s full, we wandered amongst the cacti.  We decided to take in sunset while driving out of the park. There was no need to stay here, I had exactly what I wanted!