Southwest sampler

I've finally hugged a Joshua tree - Ever since I saw the tree on the U2 Album I've been fascinated with these desert trees. On our way back from Australia to Georgia USA this March we did a ten day road trip to sample the south west of USA. We headed out on Highway 10 from LA to Palm Springs and spent the first night at Indio. The following morning we drove through Joshua Tree National Park then onto Arizona. We got our first glimpse of the Colorado River at Parker. We stayed a night at Lake Havasu City before moving on to Las Vegas, Nevada. From there we went to Zion National Park in Utah then back down to Arizona for the south rim of the Grand Canyon. We traveled through dusty desert Navajo country. After one night in the Grand Canyon we went down to the beautiful red rock city of Sedona. From there we went to Gila Bend before heading to San Diego, California on Highway 8. Scenic highway 101 took us to coastal Carlsbad where spent 2 nights to recover before flying back home to Georgia.

It was a fabulous trip. Majestic landforms, powerful rivers, beautiful native American arts and crafts, scrumptious food, diversity of landscapes and a host of recreational activities. But there are two important sad points to note: the poverty of life on Indian reservations and the plight of illegal immigrants as they attempt to cross the border through the harsh unrelenting desert.