Joshua Tree National Park

Dennis Mammana, my favorite Night Sky Photographer offered a workshop at Joshua Tree National Park (JTNP, about 3 hours drive from San Diego) over the Memorial Day weekend. The workshop was on Saturday afternoon, followed by photographing the night sky inside JTNP and reviewing and critiquing the photos on Sunday morning. I will post the night sky photos later on. Since all of us had already visited JTNP couple of years ago, Sheila, Swetha and Shreya stayed back to do "shopping"  while I went "workshopping" :))

JTNP is just south of the Mojave Desert and spreads over 800,000 acres. The (in)famous "San Andreas Fault" runs through the south side of the park. JTNP is a nature lovers' paradise and offers plenty of hiking trails, camping lots, unique rock formations, rock climbing and unpolluted night skies. The national park got its name from Joshua Trees, which grow all over the park. Early explorers named the tree after Prophet Joshua because the tree branches seem to outstretch in supplication. The Joshua Trees grow with odd twists and turns and  look like as if they are praying with their hands raised :))

From the 2009 visit. If you can't identify the rock climber in this foto, check your eyes ;)

I had all my meals at this highly recommended, family run restaurant.
Yummy Kabobs, juicy Shawarmas and outstanding Baklavas (:-P...