23rd Annual Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest Travel
Pines to Palms

In the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains of California, the windy roads lead to Palm Desert. The landscape is so surreal because it seems that it stretches endlessly in every direction, dwarfing the highway until it resembles a ribbon.

Photo Detail
Date Taken: 06.2024
Date Uploaded: 11.2025
Photo Location: Palm Desert, California, United States of America
Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark III
Copyright: © Valeria Marinova