“Super Bloom” Rocks At Joshua Tree National Park

For the past five years, California has been suffering from a drought. But over the past few months, we’ve had tremendous amount of rain, which has led in turn to something that’s been dubbed the “Super Bloom.” There are sections of California’s desert that have been blanketed with wild flowers.

My friend and fellow travel blogger Ryan Waters and I took a Super Bloom tour at Joshua Tree National Park, which led to an amazing afternoon. It’s an easy spot to find. From Los Angeles or Palm Springs, just input “Joshua Tree National Park” on your GPS and it should point you to this picturesque park. Most LGBT folks are familiar with Palm Springs, right? Well, Joshua Tree is only a roughly 30-minute drive from Palm Springs or a two and a half hour drive from Los Angeles or Orange County.

A tip: Try to visit after 3:00 in the afternoon when it’s cooler, and you can also watch the big rocks turn red as the sunset hits them. But it’s also easy to spend a few days here just to enjoy and explore the different rock formations along with the flora that surrounds it. Entrance to the park is a very affordable $25 per vehicle.

Joshua Tree National Park is located in Southeastern California. It is named for the Joshua trees native to the area, which are in abundance everywhere the eye can see.
It is a huge park that covers a land area of 790,636 acres — an area slightly larger than the state of Rhode Island.

Enjoy new highlights of travel photographer Edwin Santiago’s journeys each week.