Flowers in Joshua Tree Still Blooming, Sept 28, 2025

I was back in Joshua Tree National Park on Sunday, September 28. Well, I was there on the evening of the 27th, as well, but mostly after dark, for astrophotography. Came back the next morning, for a better look at the flowers. The additional week has allowed the bloom to spread; while, last week, there was little on Park Blvd, this week had some pretty thick blooms west of the Pinto Wye.

I also had a bit of time to walk, so I parked at the Twin Tanks / Arch Rock trailhead, and took the California Riding and Hiking trail east and north, to Belle Campground. That's where I saw the best flowers, last week.

I also went briefly west on the California Riding and Hiking Trail from Twin Tanks. Good bloom that way, too. But less potential feature objects, like rock formations of Joshua tree, appeared that way, so I didn't go far.

After my brief hike (3.5 miles roundtrip), I drove out via Park Blvd and the west entrance. Some relatively thick patches of chinchweed near the Wye, ane scattered patches further west.

The previous night, I was at Ryan Mountain trailhead, trying to photograph Comet SWAN (2025R2). But I got there later than I wanted, and there were clouds along the western horizon. Took many photos, but no sign of a comet.

After I failed, I took some random shots, just because I was already out there. Took a quick shot of M51 (Whirlpool galaxy), as the clouds encroached. Wasn't well-centered, but by the time I could move it, the clouds completely covered it.

Also took some shots of M31. Not great, but just something to do, given I was already out there.

I had originally intended to go back early the next morning, to look for Comet Lemmon (2025A6). But my failure the night before discouraged and demotivated me, so I didn't get up early. In fact, because it was higher and rising higher towards dawn, the chances would have been better. I have been getting relatively more photos of Lemmon on my newsfeed than I have of SWAN. But I didn't feel it in the morning, and decided I'd just sleep in later, then look for flowers the next morning, which I did.

Fall Color in Joshua Tree!

Thanks to some seriously torrential downpours last month, there is a nice fall bloom going on in parts of the Mojave Desert, including parts of Joshua Tree National Park. These are from Sunday, September 21. It's mostly chinchweed, but some other yellows are also blooming, and some sacred datura.

Not really a hike, but I thought I would post, in case you're able to make it out there the next few weeks. If I did have time for a hike, I'm thinking the east end of the California Riding and Hiking Trail, between Arch Rock and the service road near Pinto Wye has some good potential. Undoubtedly other areas, but I did not have time to explore.

Not sure how long the bloom will last. It depends if we get another hot streak (definitely possible) or an early freeze (highly unlikely). With moderate temperatures, some cloud cover, and maybe additional showers, the flowers could last several weeks, for sure.

These were all near Pinto Wye, where the road splits between the North Entrace (towards Twentynine Palms), the South Entrance (Cottonwood Springs), and Skull Rock (continuing towards the West Entrance).

I only went as far as Twin Tanks Campground, but I understand they go quite a distance to the south. If past experience is a guide, there may also be some flowers further south, closer to the South Entrance. Very few flowers once I headed on Park Blvd, towards the West Entrance. May have been more further from the road, at lower altitude and with more soil.

Anyway, just thought I'd post, if you have some free time coming up soon.

Red Cliffs National Conservation Area, Leeds, Utah

Hiked September 13 and 14, 2025. Red Reef, Silver Reef, and Anasazi Trails. First trip was a very quick pop-in, just because we were already there, having visited Silver Reef Ghost Town earlier that morning. Second time was a slightly longer stay, to hike the Red Reef and the part of the Silver Reef trail near the dinosaur prints.

The "main attraction" near the Red Cliffs campground is the "waterfalls" up the Red Reef Trail, into the Cottonwood Canyon wilderness. It's the first photograph, here.

Not surprisingly, by late summer, the waterfall is often dry. There are two spots where steps are carved into the sandstone, to help you attain the next level. The second one goes above what was a pretty substantial pool of water, which psyched me out. Without a potential fall into water, it's an easy traverse. But I was afraid of mentally freezing and/or falling into the water with my camera and phone, so I waited below for an opening to photograph it.

Despite the relatively small number of people there, the wait stretched about 45 minutes, as some groups were very slow to traverse the six or seven steps, and some individuals posed repeatedly for pictures at the top, and one group just stood around talking at the top for about 20 minutes. When other groups were taking their shots, I moved back into an alcove to give them a clear view. When I finally had a break in the people, I spent about two minutes snapping my pictures, then headed back.

To me, I thought it was obvious, if a guy with a camera keeps peeking around, then moving back, he's waiting to take a picture. But either it wasn't obvious why I was loitering, or people just didn't care. I spent more than half my time on this hike just waiting. Gave me plenty of time to check my exposures, of course. :D

On the way towards the waterfalls (a bit earlier in the trail), there's a large alcove, at the canyon split. A pictoglyph is to the left of the cave, and a few other pictoglyphs are inside the cave.

Two other "attractions" in this area of Red Cliffs: Dinosaur tracks, and an ancestral puebloan ruin. The ruin isn't much to see; the residence was mostly below ground, so you're just seeing the outline of where the sticks and mud would have made a roof over the residence. The dinosaur tracks are pretty cool, though.

There may once have been more signed viewing points along the Silver Reef trail, but now there's only the one, quite near the start. It overlooks a campsite.

There are quite a lot of known dinosaur track sites in the St. George area. Big, protected one at the Johnson Farms Discovery Site. Outdoor one is the Warner Valley site. Another small one is closer to Washington (which I could have sworn I posted about, but can't find!). Also, some further north, at Parowan Gap.

The ancestral Puebloan ruins I found along the Anasazi trail, which was my expectation, with a name like that. Pretty setting and a nice, short walk, but with some inclines. Pretty becuase there are quite a bit of cottonwood growing along the dry wash. Their green stood out nicely against the red rock cliffs.

Because of that, I think this area might be interesting come October or November, when the cottonwood leaves change color. Not sure if I'll be coming back this way, though. Giving some thought to either southwest Utah or the eastern Sierra for my fall foliage trip. Also, there's a comet (not superbright, but might photograph nice) that, come early- to mid-October, might be a sight to see. Will have to decide in the next three weeks or so what I'm going to do.

For this trip, the only other post I'll need to make are for the ghost towns or Silver Reef and Grafton. Not much walking, but something different.