I made this tree the subject of the rest of my pictures. It looks more typical as a joshua tree and it was much nearer to my car (it was freezing at 5 am in the morning).

The first tree I photographed.

This looks like any other sunrise-lit sky, or most others at least. Having a joshua tree in the picture changes everything, as one will see later.

This is later.

Like a mother and its little ones. Some of them tend to grow like that, though most joshua trees are typically spaced out to lessen competition for resources in the harsh desert environment.

The panorama function on the iPhone is rather fun. Not to mention versatile.

The park illustration says that one is supposed to be able to see the San Andreas fault from here. But not from my limited phone camera, no.

This is the view from the top of the Joshua Tree National Park. Salton Sea at mid-ground right.

First of three different hues this landscape is bathed in.

The second. Looks like Mars from this light. In fact the Mojave section of the Joshua Tree National Park looks like another planet altogether. Spectacular.

I was the only person at the summit. I was wondering why I was the only idiot who bothered to show up. I did not see the next person until past 6am.

I don’t think there was a person within a mile around me the whole time. Don’t think I have ever experienced such solitude.

The sunrises are probably more spectacular than the sunsets at this park, or in this region as a whole. The setting sun is obscured by the San Bernardino Mountains in the west.

The third colour the sun bestowed on this landscape.

One of the rare days when I was wishing for a real and better camera. Instead of a device whose day job is a telephone.

So many way one can photograph a joshua tree.

Finally managed to get a classic joshua tree silhouette shot. OK, many classic joshua tree silhouette shots to last me a long time.

A glimpse at the tree without its silhouette veil.

And finally, the view from the highest point of Joshua Tree National Park