okay so!

Yesterday Collin and I went on a research mission to find cones on the mormon tea. Picture 1 and 3 are the tree that I thought was a mormon tea. Really I wasn't paying any attention to it at the time. Turns out it is more of a tree with bark that is closer to acacia or mesquite; it is not green. The spines or foliage or the plant are robust and sharp. I have some seed pods and blooms to inspect. I dunno what the name of this plant is though. I don't see these often. Not sure if thats because I don't identify them as unique or if they're rare / not native.

The second picture is another unidentified plant that has cedar or juniper type scales on the foliage. I have seen these before. I think they might get purple blooms.

Another interesting fact is that I am surprised there are at least two plants I can't identify.