This is the lower reaches of Palm Canyon at Anza Borrego Desert State Park in Borrego Springs California. As you can see, the desert landscape is littered with palm trunks that have, over centuries, washed down from the oasis above. In the dry desert air, they last just about forever. The number of them lying about might be a matter of concern to anyone hiking up the canyon…can there really be any palms left standing at the oasis?…but I can testify that the grove is healthy. This seems to be a completely natural accumulation of trunks.

There is a stark beauty to the Anza Borrego landscape. The mountains, practically bare, well broken, deeply eroded yet still sharp, rise up imposingly on either side of the canons…the reddish tones of the stone contrasting sharply with the blue blue sky.

Canon SX50HS. 24mm equivalent field of view. In-camera HDR Mode. Recorded exif: f4 @ 1/1000th @ ISO 80. Processed in Lightroom for intensity, clarity, and sharpness.