Photo-of-the-Week #198 Over the Mountains and Through the Desert, California, December 2014

There is something always intriguing to me about the desert. I'm not sure if it's the desolation, the unique scrub foliage, the vast distances with the mountains you know you'll inevitably reach or all of the above, but I really enjoy driving through the desert.

Sometimes the road is a flat, straight ribbon as far as the eye can see. Other times there are slight rolling hills, as in this photo. Sometimes there is a proliferation of cacti of numerous varieties. Sometimes it's just scrub brush and sage brush. I especially love the desert in the spring when it's in bloom with unique flowers seen only in the desert.

Whatever it is, here is another recent photo from the desert. This time the location is in California between the Colorado River crossing at Parker, Arizona and the southern extremes of the Sierra Nevada mountain range. At one point while I was crossing this expanse of desert I came upon a rest area and decided to stop and make lunch and just sit back and soak in the ambiance of this stark, yet beautiful setting.