The Last Supermoon of 2025

 It was very much last minute when my wife alerted me about the last supermoon of the year. No chance to drive out to the desert, so I set up camera and tripod in my back yard. I did a search to find out the compass heading for the moon rise, and it looked like it would be rising in the middle of my neighbor's palm trees. That has potential!

So why do moon shots have to be so difficult, anyway?? By the time the moon was rising above the palm trees, it was getting dark outside and the palms were silhouettes (although my eyes could pick out more detail than the camera could). The moon was super-bright, and you end up with this blown out moon shot that looks terrible. It doesn't look like this to my eyes, but this is what the camera sees.

How to fix it? 

1. I put my camera on a tripod and framed the photo, trying to get a nice balanced composition.

2. First, focus on the palm trees (or whatever foreground you are using). If necessary, add a little light. I used a headlamp to light up the palm trees a bit, but a flashlight works too. Take the photo. If the light is too much or too little, adjust and take another photo. You have to be careful not to over do it with the light. I also had my fingers crossed that I wasn't freaking out my neighbors. They might have been wondering why the weirdo next door was shining a powerful light into their backyard at night!

3. Next, without moving the camera, adjust the focus and exposure for the moon. The exposure will be much, much less because the full moon is so bright. Focus will be at or close to infinity. Take a second photo.

4. Layer the palm tree photo with the moon photo in PhotoShop (or similar) and it should give you a nice image with everything in focus and a balanced exposure. It's much closer to what your eyes actually see. Kind of a bummer that you have to go to all this trouble for a moon shot, but it's the only way I know to do it.

Following steps 1-4, here's what I came up with. Look closely and you will even see a few stars! Had the moonrise been earlier in the day, I might have been able to get away with a single image. But when things get dark, the brightness of the moon totally overpowers everything else, and you are forced to blend two photos. 
 

Yesterday morning I noticed a very pretty sunrise, so I grabbed my phone and took a quick shot:

I'm spoiled because I'm usually taking these kinds of photos out in the desert, with a nice open sky. This was taken in my back yard and houses and trees often get in the way. A beautiful sky nonetheless!
 

Also from my back yard, the red hot poker plants are starting to bloom. I love their wild dayglow colors and that they bloom just before Christmas. They're shaped like little miniature Christmas trees!
 

Hiking in the local hills the other day, the moon was setting and barely visible. For these "blue sky" moon shots, a single photo is fine. It's plenty bright out so that the moon doesn't overpower everything else like it does when it's dark. These are iPhone photos.
 

I'll leave you with this video of a turkey vulture (I think?) keeping me company on a recent walk in the local hills. It's interesting to me because I can't remember seeing a turkey vulture locally before (although they are common in the desert).

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Out on a Ramble Near Geology Tour Road (Part 2)

 We had been hiking all afternoon under mostly grey skies and didn't have much hope for a colorful sunset. As the sky darkend and a few raindrops fell, we started angling our way back in the general direction of the car.

Split rock.

 

Heart rock.

 

This one reminded me of sliced bread, with mustard on the side. I must be hungry!

 

 

How can a seemingly dead plant produce these beautiful flowers??

 

Even long after Nolina blooms have lost all their flowers, they are still photogenic!

 

We finally had a few moments of golden hour sunlight break through the clouds. Mitch and I were focused on these rocks when Nadine said "Look behind you!"

 

Golden light was streaming under the cloud cover. For the next 15 minutes, we were spellbound!

 

 

 

 

 

Nadine hard at work getting the best possible camera angle!

 

 

As the sun set, the light shifted from yellow to pink.

 

A glorious way to end a hike!

  

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Out on a Ramble Near Geology Tour Road (Part 1)

 Cloudy skies, interesting rock formations, and flowers were the highlights of this hike in Joshua Tree National Park. I'll let the photos do the talking. Well, most of the talking!

 

 

Amaranth (purple) and Cinch weed (yellow). A nice combination!

 

 

A beautiful yellow carpet of Cinch weed.

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Like I said, just a little ramble. I love hiking on cloudy days!

  

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Surprise Tank at Night

 Surprise Tank seen during mid-afternoon is interesting, but as the shadows draw longer, the light becomes golden, and the sun begins to set, it nudges towards amazing. After the sun sets and the stars begin to rise, the setting becomes magical. Not many get to experience sunsets and stars because it requires an open desert hike back to your car in the dark, using a headlamp and GPS app to navigate. I definitely consider myself fortunate.

Just after sunset, the air became still and reflection off the water at Surprise Tank was better defined.

The top of the dam at Surprise Tank can be seen in the photo above. Built many years ago by ranchers to entrap water for livestock, it still catches water to this day. Somewhat of a secret location, there's no trail leading here and it's not marked on maps.

 

 

 

It was a totally dark, moonless night, and it was dead quiet. By about 9PM, the stars were out and the Milky Way was visible (photo taken 9.20.25). I used my headlamp to light up the rocks. You can even see stars reflecting off the surface of the water! Just a guess, but I'll bet there are very few (if any) photos of the Milky Way over Surprise Tank.

 

As I sat at the edge of this little pond with my headlamp on, pondering the universe, I thought I saw movement in the water. Sure enough, there were little critters swimming around! They seemed to be attracted to the light. I never would have believed there are shrimp in Joshua Tree National Park, but after a little Google searching, I'm now a believer. I think these are Fairy Shrimp. Their eggs (cysts) can lay dormant for decades, only to magically spring to life by adding a little water. Remember "sea monkeys" when you were a child? Yup, those were Fairy Shrimp. 

 

Hiking at night off trail can be a little unnerving. You want to avoid colliding with anything or stepping on anything sharp, pokey or bitey. You need to check your GPS app often to continue in the correct direction because there is no trail to follow and it's easy to veer off in the wrong direction without realizing it. It's surprisingly difficult to walk in a straight line in the open desert in the dark!

Things take on a different appearance at night. The dead fronds of a Mojave Yucca look like some sort of hairy creature!

 

After the hike back to the car, driving to the desert house, and grabbing a few hours sleep, I was up early the next morning and treated to a beautiful sunrise!

 

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Surprise Tank

 I've hiked to Surprise Tank a number of times over the years, but I've never been here at night. Being out here for the night sky and the Milky Way was something I really wanted to experience, but first, let's do a little exploring. I'll show you night skies next time I post.

With the recent rain, I was looking forward to getting out to the desert (and hoping to find water at Surprise Tank). As I entered Joshua Tree National Park, the Chinch weed was everywhere! It was like a yellow carpet that went on forever. It contrasted beautifully with the blue sky!

 

The rock formations around Surprise Tank are fascinating!

 

 

Perhaps the skull of a pack rat or kangaroo rat. How it came to be impaled on the spines of this Joshua tree is a mystery.

 

Nolina flower in the light, while everything around it is in shadows.

 

 

Nice view of Surprise Tank from the rocks above.

 

Surprise Tank in 2021 after a good rain or two.

 

Well, I got my wish... kind of! Surprise Tank with water, 9.20.25. Just not a lot of water, but better than nothing. Somewhere between a mud puddle and a pond. For 98% of the year, it's bone dry behind the dam, so anyone who has every hiked out here and seen water should count themselves as fortunate!

 

Above, 9.20.25. Below, 12.28.21, with a lot more water.

 

Ravens are very curious birds. This one sat on this rock, cawing at me for about 30 minutes while I explored Surprise Tank. I got the impression I was invading his territory!

 

Even a little water in the desert is magical!

 

 

I've talked to people who have said they looked all over these rocks for Surprise Tank and could never find it. Even when it's right in front of you, it blends in quite well! This is another of those wonderful "unofficial" locations in JTNP. No trail goes to it, Park Rangers don't talk about it (I'm sure many don't know it exits), and it's not on any maps. My favorite kind of place!

 

Linking with Skywatch Friday.

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