Rainy Desert day

On Wednesday Dec 22 I drove from Twentynine Palms to the Phoenix area, most of the way through a serious rainstorm. In 29 Palms an inch and a quarter of rain fell overnight; Palm Springs was soaked by two inches, almost half their annual average! The rain filled the arroyos and sent water onto the roads in many places. Here, a normally dry arroyo in 29 Palms was roiling robustly in the morning.

There was a flash flood warning up for Joshua Tree National Park that morning. However, when I checked with the rangers they said there were no road problems. So, I drove through the park. Water was flowing over the road in only one place...right here, at high elevation near White Tank campground. It was only a couple inches deep...no problem driving through but ideal for photos. It was cool to see water in many of the arroyos.

The gray rocks of JTNP outlined against a storm sky.

Raindrops on paloverde branches.

Just southeast of the park, I came upon these desert mountains shrouded in scud. I've never seen this before in the desert! The arid lands don't get clouds similar to those on the Olympic peninsula very often.