It is all about the view.  We wander through an amazing stand of Joshua Trees on Teutonia Peak trail.  The trees are huge and beautifully branched more like a maple or an oak than a yucca plant.  It seems that Cima Dome, a smooth even bulge in the desert that is about 10 miles across, provides the perfect habitat for these odd plants.  From our perch on rocks near Teutonia Peak, we gaze at rugged mountain ranges in the distance with the carpet of Joshua trees at our feet.  It is worth the walk, even at a chilly 45F and strong winds.

Since we are out, we head for Rock Spring Trail where a natural spring provides year-round water, a very rare thing in the desert and a great place to look for wild life.  It means more rough dirt road but we get there fine and I love the rock house at the trailhead.  Check it out….it needs a bit of work but would be a pretty cool place to chill out.  It is a nice walk out to the spring, more of a seep right now, but no critters to be found.  Perhaps it would be better near evening but this place is a little to difficult to get around in to be out wandering after dark.