Even though Joshua Tree National Park is named after the trees reminiscent of Joshua pointing his arms to the heavens, there are other types of plants to see.
The spines on the teddy bear cholla cactus look similar to the hair on a teddy bear, except the former is poky. Do not pet the cacti!
The videos illustrates what the teddy bear cholla cactus looks like in the late afternoon.
Strange name for a cactus. It does look “bushy” but I would not want to “pet” it:)
I just wanted to warn people about the petting part because you never know what people might do without a warning :). I hear the name teddy bear cactus is kind of tongue in cheek in response to its furry appearance.
I like these photos, because they evoke a kind of desert beauty that I have not thought about in a long while. It’s not just the teddy bear cactus in the foreground but also the many Joshua trees and rocks and mountains in the background. It makes me want to visit there.
It is a fascinating and unique place to visit. People keep asking me “but what about the heat?”, except there were actually quite a few other people there, and it was not as hot as other parts of the desert. That is fine if people want to complain about the heat, but the summer weather has never deterred me from wanting to visit certain places.
At first glance, I thought I was looking at snow. A snowy teddy bear cactus. In your video, I could see tiny teddy bears.