Dome and the ranch: California's Joshua Tree national park – in pictures

In our weekly look at people’s travels through three of their Instagram shots, Robert Hull explores the Mojave desert at its wild and weird best

Main image: The Integratron, Landers, California, US. Photograph: Robert Hull

  • The tree and the tortoise

    On a trip to swish and stylish Palm Springs, I also wanted to sample the sights and outsider spirit of the “high desert”, so drove 50 minutes to the town, and national park, of Joshua Tree. The trees (real name: yucca brevifolia) are really plants, while the tortoise sculpture is a nod to one of the park’s many reptile species.• Follow Robert on Instagram. • Follow Guardian Travel on Instagram, use the tag #guardiantravelsnaps
    Joshua Tree sign and tortoise sculpture, Joshua Tree, California, US.

  • Rugged at the ranch

    The Mojave and Colorado deserts lie within the park’s boundaries, and there are many epic views, but for tales of dogged perseverance (and many clever inventions) a tour of Keys Ranch ($10) tells how hardy William Keys and his family carved out a life in this harshest of climates from 1910 to 1969.
    Keys Ranch, Joshua Tree national park, Joshua Tree, California, US.

  • There’s no place like dome

    In Landers – not far from Joshua Tree, and surrounded by desert scrub – sits the 38ft-high dome of the ‘acoustically perfect’ Integratron. Built in 1959 by UFO-ologist George Van Tassel (from plans given to him by aliens!) to facilitate time travel, it’s now used for “sound baths” and meditation.
    The Integratron, Landers, California, US.
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