Back to comment: You found a very scenic location for a landscape challenge but the composition of this image is very busy. There are two main subjects in this image competing for the viewer's attention, the vast expanse of desert with the mountains in the background and the dead tree in the foreground. The mountains are by far the more interesting of the two subjects but the leading lines of the foreground make the dead tree the dominate subject. And to honest, the dead tree isn't all that interesting to look at. For keeping the colors looking natural in an expert editing challenge, I gave this image a 7.
Looking at the shadows, it appears that this was taken at nearly high noon. The foreground dead tree is very interesting. With some unique (late/early day) lighting that tree (and this scene overall) would be really cool. Good luck in the challenge.