Behind Dog Park

 Yes, a strange name for a post. But just behind (to the south) of the dog park of this high desert town is the border for Joshua Tree National Park. The area gets few visitors (certainly no tourists). It has an impressive diversity of desert plants. If you are a geologist or just like to admire rocks, you are in for a treat.

A pretty bunching cactus under a gorgeous sky.

 

 Close up of same cactus species, I think. It's common in this area, although relatively rare throughout the rest of the park.

A big, healthy red barrel cactus.

 

Cholla are common in the area.

 

I'm out walking with my cousin's daughter today. They are visiting from the Chicago area. I say walking because the plan is to walk up the wash for maybe 1/2 mile at most. As it turned out, our walk turned into a hike!

Before long, we came across this marker. It means we are entering Joshua Tree National Park. It seems odd having a designated wilderness area here. In theory, I could bring a tent and camp overnight! Turning around to face the other direction (photo below), you see the town of 29 Palms. I'm used to wilderness areas being out in the middle of nowhere, which is definitely not the case here!

 

Beautiful skies!

 

We came across a large area of beautiful spotted boulders. Of course, "spotted boulders" is not the proper geologic term. I believe the proper term is "alkali feldspar megacrysts", also know as "potassium feldspar megacrysts." I think I'll stick with spotted boulders!

 

This boulder is both spotted and striped! I'm sure a geologist could tell us more.

 

 

As you can tell from the photos, we make a spontaneous decision to hike a ways up the rocky mountainside. Look really closely and you can barely see Karrin (in orange) making her way up.

 

Steep & rocky.

 

Beautiful views was the payoff for the climb up the mountain. But I was happy when we made it back to flat land. I was wearing crummy shoes with slick tread, carrying no water, and my cell phone was just about dead. All novice errors that could get you into trouble, but like I said, we didn't plan for a hike, just a short walk. Famous last words.

 

Hiking back to the car, we passed this large structure under construction. It appears they are framing in what will become the basement (in CA, we call it a wine cellar😊). The property line goes right up to the national park. It should be a gorgeous property, but it makes me a little sad. Soon this area will be full of expensive properties, fenced off with no trespassing signs posted, and just a few privileged homeowners will have access to these hills. My days of hiking this area are numbered.

 

Thanks for stopping by!!

Linking with Skywatch Friday.

North of Lost Palms Oasis

 This is a hike I underestimated, and that can be a dangerous thing to do. On Google Earth, the area looked interesting, with some huge rock formations that called to me. I carefully mapped out my route and transferred it to my phone. I figured 4-5 hours should be plenty of time to explore the area, which turned out to be a significant underestimate. Join me as I explore the challenging terrain north of the Lost Palm Oasis trail.

I started at Cottonwood Spring where I picked up the Lost Palms Oasis trailhead. The oasis here is full of palms and cottonwoods. A very pretty oasis in the desert, and one of only a handful in the entire park!

 

Not surprisingly, Native Americans were here first. This mortar is at the beginning of the trail and is one of the deepest I've seen in the park. They say the deeper the mortar, the more it was used and the older it is.

 

Following the Lost Palms Oasis trail made for easy hiking at the start. The low elevation here means no Joshua trees, but the ocotillo cactus are an added bonus!

 

I veered off trail a few times to check out rock formations. This looks like the remains of a fire ring.

Giant cracks, as if something hatched out of this rock. Yucca Man, perhaps??!!

 

Once I left the trail and started exploring the rocks to the north, this is the type of terrain I was up against. Beautiful but challenging, and I woud often hit dead ends and have to double back. It made for slow going.
 

Can you spot that tiny little piece of the Salton Sea at the top of the photo? I was surprised to be able to see it from here. It's about 20-25 miles away.
 

 

 

Big nose!

 

Tiki head in profile!

 

So many interesting rocks to explore!

 

 

B&W version. Interesting textures and shadows.

 

Another Salton Sea view.

 

 

I did this hike back in December, and I took this photo at 4:12PM, with the sun starting to set behind the high boulders. If memory serves, sunset was about 4:45PM. To get to the places I had marked on my route would take at least another hour, probably longer. I vividly recall the feeling of urgency to leave. Head back now. I would be very lucky to make it back to the trail before sunset, and I did NOT want to be hiking back in these steep, rocky hills in the dark!

 

I was worried I wouldn't have time to get back to the trail before dark if I followed my route back the way I came. I needed a straight line "short cut" back to the trail. The problem is, with these huge rock formations and steep-sided washes, a straight line is impossible to follow. A "short cut" also increases the risk of getting turned around or lost. I decided to take a modified straight line approach and just do the best I could.

Hmm... Straight line through here? Nope, one of many detours.

 

What a huge sigh of relief when I finally stumbled upon the trail! Elation! This must be why people like to push and challenge themselves... for this feeling you get when you successfully finish the challenge. It was after sunset, but just enough ambient light to make my way. At this point, I stopped, drank some water, and put my headlamp on for the remaining couple of miles (on trail) I needed to hike to get back to the car.

 

Back where I started... Cottonwood Wash, with the big Cottonwood tree in the wash! 8.5 miles, but it felt like at least twice that distance. With a surprising amount of elevation gain (820'). Next time, I'll be careful not to underestimate the hike!

 

Thanks for stopping by and joining me on this adventure!

Linking with Skywatch Friday.

A Quick Trip to Morro Bay

 It's been years since I've been to Morro Bay, and I'd forgotten how very beautiful the area is. Unfortunately, it's a bit of a drive... 4 hours one way (that's assuming traffic is cooperating). From where I live, I need to navigate up into LA, and out the other end, which is never easy. If it weren't for that, I think it's a place we would visit often.

Checking into our hotel, this is the view from the lobby (taken through the glass window). What an awesome location! If you're not familiar with Morro Bay, it's located on California's central coast and is famous for this huge geological oddity called Morro Rock. The bay itself is beautiful, as is the coastline to the north and south.

 

 

Dinner at the hotel on our first night. I had totally forgetten it was St. Patrick's Day. I ordered a beer with my fish & chips and was shocked to see a green beverage served with my dinner! Family, a great view on the water, and green beer... doesn't get any better than this! We liked it so much, we ate dinner here again on our second night!

 

Cloud bank and light fog on our first night in Morro Bay.

 

On the morning of our second day, I walked down to the lobby around 7:30AM to grab some coffee and saw this pretty view (cell phone shot). I like how the sun is lighting up Morro Rock, and decided I would bring my big camera down to this spot a little earlier the next day and try to get a photo at the exact moment Morro Rock is first lit up by the sun.
 

Lilly & I rented a kayak. It was something we had never done, and turned out to be easy and fun. I'm sure it helped that the bay was perfectly calm with no waves or current! As we paddeled around in the harbor, I asked her if money were no object and she could choose any boat in the harbor, which one would she want??

Being a huge Taylor Swift fan, the decision was easy!

  

Dog beach (we had our dog with us), and a nice view of Morro Rock looking south.

 

A beautiful sunset on the evening of our second day.

 

I woke up early on the morning of our final day because I wanted to get that photo of Morro Rock at first light. Well, one thing about photography, you can plan all you want, but there are no guarantees!

It was so foggy, I could barely make out the boats in the water right in front of me! What a radical overnight change in the weather! That's OK, I rarely get a chance to take pictures in the fog. I cranked up the ISO on my camera and stated taking pictures.

This otter came cruising by in the fog.

Hope you enjoyed this quick getaway to a really pretty area on California's Coast!

Thanks for stopping by!!

Linking with Skywatch Friday.