In the Cholla "Garden"

This pic was taken in the well known cholla cactus garden in Joshua Tree NP. These cacti are known as teddy bear or jumping chollas. Both names are misnomers...the cacti may look soft and fuzzy, especially when silouhetted against the sun, but they're extraordinarily prickly and the spines are really sharp. They don't actually jump at you, but if you so much as lightly brush against the plant, a chunk of it will embed itself in your skin...very annoying and painful. One has to be very careful when walking around these things. But if you can stay unstuck, it's very pretty in a grove of teddy bears. Long ago, in 1973 I believe, I shot a fine and unusual picture of a full rainbow above this cactus patch.

I may have already blogged a closeup of the teddy bear, but the complexity of the spine design is worth another look. The cactus sprouts bright green flowers in spring, pretty but a little hard to spot from afar since they're almost the same color as the cactus. In late March, when this picture was taken, the teddy bears weren't blooming yet. In fact very few cacti were, with some dramatic exceptions...

This was by far the best blooming hedgehog I saw on my desert trip. It is located right in the middle of the cholla garden. This was the best pic I could get of this clump...there were several other photographers circling around the cacti, toting masses of expensive equipment, competing for space and the best angles. I managed to get off a couple quick shots with nobody's shadow in the way. If the cactus could talk, I reckon it would complain about all the paparazzi hovering over it.