I'm tellin' ya. The desert and the ocean. In moments, similar colors, similar weirdness, similar awesomeness. That middle photo is pretty much what the bottom of the Coral Sea looks like. Really made me want to grab my scuba gear and hit the seas. But ohhhhh no - where did I head next? Los Angeles. Gross.

Speaking of gross, did I mention that I hate snakes? Well, I mentioned it to Kyle. Probably 50 times. I also declared that if I were a snake, I would absolutely want to come hang out right around this beautiful time of day, nice and cool.

And what do you know. Despite my tunnel vision to get back to the car without seeing one of those appendage-less creatures, I noticed something that may have been a serpent out of the corner of my eye. From behind me, Kyle yells, "Al! Snake!"

I think I did some weird cheerleading move to get out of the snake's path. Was it actually a snake? I don't know, ask Kyle.

Yuck.

Joshua Tree National Park at dusk.

5.3.12