You stopped too soon! Traffic would have thinned out soon, and you always have idiots who think they are invincible and do stupid things.

Lost Dutchman State Park is a great place to hike, and likely was the destination of the idiot. I "camped" there in '07, but ended up sleeping in the car because my campsite got washed out by a monsoon. Camped there a couple days with my brother in '13. Glorious time hiking.

One of my favorite places.

Might be rabbitbrush. But this time of year all the little bushes look so much alike it is hard to tell.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chrysothamnus

Some species of hedgehog cactus (genus Echinocereus ). Closest I can come is "dead."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Echinocereus

Maybe to make digging less, they buried them in sitting position? :-)

Actually, Lorenzo was honored.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sitgreaves_Pass

It is some species of prickly pear (genus Opuntia) and possibly Opuntia macrorhiza, but I am not sure. According to the site below, there are about 90 species...

https://www.opuntiads.com/

Looks like crucifixion thorn.
https://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/95110/#b

Love how that America song pairs so perfectly with the video .. what a landscape!

I was tempted to put in the comment, "Wow!" on almost every photo .. but I'll just give today's collection a collective "Wow!" How lucky we are to live in a country big enough to escape from the gnarl of suburbia into such awe-inspiring beauty.

Love the shot of the Ravens, too. I was wondering what critters you might hear out there. In the absence of birdsong, have you heard any chirping insects?

What a harrowing experience! And so totally beyond the pale. So glad you both made it back to the Blue Whale physically unscathed.

Yikes! I know there are good places to ride in the USA but I hear too many stories like this. Not exactly the same, though, yours, Scott, is a a new and terrifying one.

I find lichens quite interesting! The variety on a single rock is mind boggling. Like yours, my photos include a lot of lichen shots.

Don't let the smooth look of a beavertail cactus fool you! It is full of millions of irritating barbed spines! Each tiny wart on every pad is packed full of them. They are tiny and difficult to remove. I found out as a 10 year old when we moved to Mojave... the hard way.

https://www.desertusa.com/flowers/beavertail-cactus.html

Thanks! We don’t get many portraits, and when we do one or the other of us manages to spoil it somehow. Lucky this time.

They’re pretty amazing, alright. This whole loop is great, especially if you’re at a time of day when no one else is out on the road.

Those colors!