Strawberry Moon

 I happened to be out in the Joshua Tree area during the nearly full moon in June (AKA Strawberry Moon) so of course I had to make time for some photography! I was a day or two early, but to my eye, the moon looked pretty full. There's a large rock formation out near Ryan Ranch called "Headstone Rock", and that was my destination.

Headstone Rock is hard to miss. It juts up high above the Joshua trees, and is just a short hike from the main road. It's a massive boulder, and the pictures don't do it justice (unless you get lucky and get a photo that includes a crazy rock climber in the process of climbing it). In addition to trying to get a picture of the moon rising next to Headstone Rock, I also wanted to scope it out as a possible Milky Way foreground.

 

I decided to make this my home base. I like the way the Joshua trees frame Headstone Rock. I set up my tripod and didn't move it for the rest of the afternoon and evening. I was hoping the moon would rise adjacent to and over the top of Headstone Rock. And if I had the patience, I could get some shots later in the evening of stars overhead.

 

8:45PM: Well, not bad, but as the moon rose higher, it also moved off to the right, away from Headstone Rock. I guess that's why they call them "plans"! In this photo the moon looks more like a sunburst for some reason.

 

 

 

 

The two photos above: Strawberry Moon, June 2024

 

Not my best selfie. Weird diagonal horizon!

 

 

The stars never really made much of an appearance. Should be no suprise, since a full moon will make the stars much less visible. So I decided to head home, feeling satisfied with my Strawberry Moon photos. Driving through the park, I couldn't resist a little detour. Have you ever wondered what driving the backroads of Joshua Tree National Park would be like at night in an open air Jeep with a full moon? If you answered yes, be sure to check out my video below. What the heck, go ahead and watch it even if you didn't answer yes! Oh, and I don't drive the back roads this fast. The video speed is set to 2X.

Linking with Skywatch Friday.

Thanks for stopping by!!