This visit to Joshua Tree came after a very wet spring, by desert standards, which caused a spring superbloom. A superbloom is a time when plants that can spend years dormant as an adaptation to survive desert conditions soak up water, send up new growth, bloom, and turn the usually tan and rocky desert landscape into a verdant green oasis. It was still hot, but I've never seen so much growth in a desert. Many places were covered in wildflowers, turning entire hillsides yellow.
I love this shot because you can see the tall joshua trees spiking up from the desert floor, even in the distance of the Lost Horse Valley near the center of the park. But between them you can see so much green that it almost doesn't look like a hot, shallow desert valley that often records blisteringly hot temperatures as hot air is trapped under punishing sun in the summer months. I was so glad to be there to see it.