This was my first stop off at Joshua Tree National Park. Having never been to Central Australia, where our deserts are, the concept of an oasis was still foreign to me. After a cruisy 45-minute trek, in 20-degree weather, I turned the corner on the trail and there it was. In the middle of the dry and barren desert appeared...

The Zion-Mt Carmel Highway links the east section of the park to the southern entrance and Canyon Junction. The landscapes are drastically different. The eastern, or Mt Carmel, section is more up on the plateau. It's a slightly more 'lunar' landscape, whiter sand, flatter terrain and more desert-like. The main feature on this side of the park is...

The big kahuna, the might one, the Grand Canyon! I hit the north rim, the less visited area and much more convenient to my Utah locale.