Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Things I Learned in Joshua Tree National Park - Part 1


1. Joshua Trees are Cool.

Joshua Trees are cool. They are also sharp and pointy and you could lose an eye, testicle or impale yourself if you're not careful. They are also very unique and undeniably beautiful. And they are fun to imitate!


Bad, tree!

Good, tree!

Praise the Tree!


2. Everything in the desert is sharp and pointy, as well as Joshua Trees. Cactus are prevalent. Pretty legs are not. Expect to draw blood and expect cuts, slivers and torn running clothes.

Barrel Cactus

Cholla Cactus

Prick-your-butt Cactus

Sea Urchin Cactus

**Note: Some cactus names may not be correct, but I'm renaming them.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hmmm, I need to get out there. Better wear my glasses though during the run!

Leslie said...

Hi Dave! You do need to get up there! That rain you got fell as a torrent in the desert too....

Danni said...

It's a good thing you don't have testicles!

CoyoteGirl said...

Wow! You came down our way and got out of the snow for a while? Joshua Trees are cool, wierd but cool.

Stuart said...

I love the desert like that, J Trees as pretty cool as are saguaro! Looks like you're having a blast defrosting for a while!

Connor Curley said...

I love running in the desert and coming back to camp with shredded legs! High desert in winter is best because you can get cut by the snow and ice then stabbed by the plants.

Leslie said...

Look at that! It's the trio of Californians. Hi Connor! I laughed when I looked up your profile, because I remember seeing you on the trails somewhere. I just couldn't remember where. It took me awhile to think of where, but it finally came to me! It was on WS Camp training weekend,the last day of running. I was running with Melissa Johnson and we stopped for a quick visit. Too funny. It's a small world.

HappyTrails said...

Now I want to go there, too! Too many great places/trails, not enough vacation time! :-)

RunSueRun said...

Hey girl, I was at JT *today*!! We climbed Ryan Peak on our way home from Arizona. Too funny!! :) Cool place, eh?

Connor Curley said...

Yea, those were actually MY trails for once. And I believe you ladies hassled me for my wardrobe choice.

Leslie said...

Danni - u so funny!

Hi Sue! We went up Ryan on Monday morning! The nice thing about the rain is it washed all of the pollution away so we got to enjoy some clear desert skys and incredible views. Back to Cali for your silly race in 3 weeks - whooooot!

Happy Trails - I totally agree. I would be the BEST lottery winner EVER.

Nooooo, Connor! We were LOVING your wardrobe choice! True story, today here in Banff while running up my local mountain - there was a shirtless Japanese guy running down the mountain. I was so shocked, I missed out on the photo opportunity. It was hovering around freezing....but STILL, his nipples could have been as deadly as the sharp things of the desert!