Joshua Tree's Amazing Cholla Gardens
February 2006
Page 2 of 3
After seeing the amazing Ralph Stanley and the Clinch Mountain Boys at Pappy and Harriet's the previous evening, I decided that the only thing that would match that was spending the day in the beautiful Joshua Tree National Park. After a long satisfying hike around the Hemingway - Hidden Valley area, I drove to Cholla Gardens, featuring quite a number of of unusual cactus plants.
I should emphasize here that the Cholla Gardens is a naturally occurring garden, Mother Nature's garden, hanging on to life despite the harsh desert climate and the harsher smog-choked mountains of the Coachella Valley below. Some people think of the desert as a lifeless wasteland, but even the casual visitor would find it teeming with life.
I actually had more information about the Cholla Gardens, but gave the pamphlet back to the ranger on my way out of the park while in that sort of "Automatic Recycle Mode". I remember that some of these fine specimens are affectionately referred to as Teddy Bear Cholla.
I got to Cholla Gardens around 2:45 or 3:00, which for February is still a little bright for photography, but not too bad. I was utterly charmed by these odd cacti, and spent an hour here even though the trail is only about a quarter of a mile long at the most.
Cholla Gardens in Joshua Tree National Park.