It really is a mind-blowing experience, the central desert of BC. I cannot recommend it enough for people curious about succulents and their extreme lifestyle. It is one day's drive from the border.
Each time I go back, I see more things that I missed before. This time around I finally got a name for the orangey stuff growing on the torotes pretty much everywhere. It is a parasitic plant (no chlorophyll) which gets all of its energy and nutrients from the host.
