I was shooting the Cholla Garden in Joshua Tree when one of them jumped up and stung me.  I got the whole thing on video.  It's not a good memory.  You can see that I try to grab it with my hand at first, it stung my fingers.  Then I have to pull it out of my leg by pulling on my pants.  It went right through and the needles dug into the skin!  Then I grab a rock or something and pry it out.  All the time it feels like a thousand needles injecting poison.  Afterward, I just sat (on more needles that were already on the ground!) and held my leg as tears came down from the pain.  I swear I didn't kick it or even brush it.  That thing jumped.  It was a beautiful morning though and even more special because of this memory.

Enjoy my pain.

Tony

Click here to watch the video.