May 9, 2005: Morning in Joshua Tree National Park, which might be more accurately called "Giant Stacked Boulders National Park".

There are Joshua Trees all around, to be sure -- but the park's real attraction are the boulder-hills that make it a mecca for rock climbers. If you could imagine Maine's coastline turned into a desert, this would be it.

The Joshua tree's unique form is an adaptation to help minimize exposure to harsh sunlight.

This is Keys View , where you can get a birdseye view of the badlands below.

Presence of Joshua trees is a hallmark of the Mojave desert. This park is where the Mojave meets the Colorado desert, which is shown on the next few pages.