
The scenery transformed so suddenly, we could hardly believe our eyes. The parched desert shrubbery we saw while slogging down the rust-colored powdery path did nothing to prepare us for what awaited us down in the Indian Garden.
We catch the first glimpse of the jagged peaks while driving up the windy road to the trailhead. Smothered in the late afternoon sun and a bit of smoke (California is burning again), they resemble a theatrical stage set for a Shakespearean play - majestic, distant, surreal.