Heading west from Temecula, California, you climb and climb up a beautiful mountain road. At the summit there is a viewpoint. What you see from the viewpoint is the Coachella Valley, spread out before you. In the mountains you see in the distance lies Joshua Tree National Park, a desert park featuring scenery, rock climbing, hiking, wildlife, and cactus. And of course Joshua Trees.
I'm not going to attempt to name all the cactus for you. But I will say there are lots of them, and lots of different kinds. I think this is a Teddy Bear Cholla (pronounced "hoya").
I also saw two coyote, but they saw me first so I didn't get photos.
The Joshua tree isn't a tree, of course; it's a yucca.
Keyes View looks back onto the first photo of this series: Coachella Valley lies below, and the mountains in the background are the ones I was in in the first photo. (That may not be precisely true; there are lots of mountain ranges and valleys around here, but it is symbolically true at least.)
Some fellow tourists wanted their picture taken. They looked like a nice couple, maybe on their honeymoon. so I was glad to do it, and let them take one of me as well.
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