I feel almost bad posting pictures instead of writing about some of these places. I mean, let's face it, I'm no photographer. But in some cases the pictures just do these places more justice. Furthermore, it's impossible to take a bad picture when the area is so naturally beautiful.

So, because my words couldn't possibly explain all that these pictures can, here's a few of Joshua Tree National Park, which we visited after leaving San Diego. As you can see, the sky was a perfect blue - we couldn't have asked for anything better.

I'll also note that a few miles out of the park, when we started spotting Joshua Trees along the road (legend has it that Mormon pioneers named the trees after the prophet Joshua when they saw the trees' limbs outstretched, guiding them westward), J decided to put on the U2 album "The Joshua Tree," which he did without any formal announcement, just glancing over slyly at me from time to time to see if I got it. Yeah, I got it.