I forget exactly why we stopped here.  John seems to be picking cactus spines out of his arm (mental note: wear long sleeve shirt next time), and Andrew appears to be removing foreign substances from the interior of his boot.  In any case, this photo is representative of what day 1 of the hike was like - rock scrambling, cactus dodging, and brush crashing.   The scenery was spectacular in the bright desert sun... and yes, the sky was that blue... no photo magic needed.