A Little Walk Down the Canyon in Morongo

We'd always wanted to take this walk and our friends were in town, so we all said 'let's do it!'  We drove out to Big Morongo Canyon Preserve and took the 'Canyon trail' that heads down toward Desert Hot Springs. It's a beautiful trail, with all the Cottonwoods and grasses just beginning to leaf out. You walk down through the canyon with the stream on your left,  and gradually come to a small pond, where you cross over the stream and then continue on, as the canyon heads west. We only went about 2 or 3 miles, where we found a nice lunch spot under a palm tree (how'd that get there?) and after a nice repast, headed back up the trail. I couldn't stop taking pictures the whole way down and back, it was so beautiful. Here are a few from the day.

Snow in the Park!

I got up early the day after we had a rare snowfall in the Park and was lucky enough to be able to drive around and shoot for a couple of hours before they closed the Park to further traffic. What a beautiful sight it was and so good for all the plants, especially the Joshua Trees. We only get snow every three or four years, so this was a real treat.

Pine City - A Beautiful Stroll

Valley View

Rock formations

Margie enjoying the view

The trail homeward

Ancient Pine

Big horn sheep spirit

Free Spirit

Rocks and dykes

We went out to Pine City the other day, a nice winter hike. You head out to where the 'Geo Tour' road is, between Ryan and Jumbo rocks, and instead of turning right, you turn left toward the hills. You drive down a dirt road and mid-way along, you'll see the 'Lucky Boy' turnout on your right, continue on to the end, where there's a parking area. There are two hikes from here. On the right, as you enter, is the 'Desert Queen Mine' hike and on the left is 'Pine City'. There's a potty here, so you can 'take care of business' before heading out. It's about 2 miles out to the rock outcroppings where we usually stop for lunch. The day we went, the light was kind of flat and my color shots didn't come out too great, so I decided to do them in black and white. I did a few 'pinhole' shots as well and gave them some special treatments which I think made them more interesting. (Click on pictures to make larger)

Lucky Boy Vista Hike-A Nice Ramble

Lucky boy trailhead

The Old Gate

Interesting rock formations

Queen Valley View

Past tense

Rock Pile

Ancient one

This is a nice hike, not too strenuous and there's lots to see coming and going. You take the Pine City/Desert Queen mine turn off and about half way in, on the dirt road, you'll come to a small turnout with the single signpost pictured. The trail leads off across country and up an old mining road, past the gate, and up to the vista point where you'll find some old mine shafts (Don't fall in...) Up top, there's some nice spots for lunch; a little wine, a little food, a little nap.... my kinda hike. On the way back, you get a nice view of Queen Valley, easy breezy. Pine City is also a nice hike. More on that later.

Hiking Ryan Mountain in Black and White

The weather has been pretty gloomy and wet lately, but today the sun broke out along with some wispy clouds. We figured it was a good day to hike Ryan, so after chores, we headed over to the park and up we went. Boy, haven't done that in a while and it showed. We were huffin' and puffin' by the time we got to the top, but the view is a satisfying payoff. We found a nice spot for lunch and luxuriated in the 360 degree view. The worst part was the trip down, I knew my legs would be all rubbery the next day, so a nice, hot bath was in order when we got home. This is one of the best hikes in the park, particularly if you're short on time. It takes about and hour and a half to get up and about an hour to get down, so plan accordingly. Best times are early morning or late afternoon so you can catch the glowing light across the Wonderland of Rocks in the distance.

The Last of the Fall Colors at Big Morongo Canyon Preserve and Covington Park

One last look at the fall colors at Covington and the Preserve. It was a pretty good year. I was able to get over to photograph on several chilly mornings and capture some beautiful moments. Now, on to winter.

Fall Colors at Big Morongo Canyon Preserve and Covington Park

The view of the marsh

Fall colors of the reeds

A golden sweep of color

The overlook of Covington Park and the Preserve

Last Saturday we went birding at Big Morongo Canyon Preserve and had a great time. We walked over to Covington Park first to see what activity there was and saw some Western Blue Birds, a Sharp Shinned Hawk, a couple of Kestrels doing, what looked to be, some sort of mating dance in the air, Ruby Kinglets, White Crowned Sparrows, you name it, we saw it. It's always fun to go with the groups on either Saturday or Wednesday mornings at eight, mainly because you just see more birds. There's always a couple of folks who bring scopes, so you can see the birds up close, which is always a treat. While we were walking, I noticed the fall colors starting to unfold in the Cottonwoods in the area and got some nice shots, which I've included here. This area is such a great place to go, because it's the only place you get that 'Eastern' sense of fall here in the desert. We took a walk through the marsh area as well and enjoyed the fall colors amongst the reeds. All in all, a wonderfully relaxing walk and a great way to start the day. After birding, everyone heads over to the Morongo Cafe for their classic, home cooked breakfast. Don't miss it while you're here!

Wonderland Ranch Walk

We thought we would meander in the wash behind Wonderland Ranch the other afternoon and what a nice walk it was. All dressed in pink, the ranch was one of the many homesteads in the park. Some folks say it was even a health food store at some point. It's midway between Bill Keys place and the Wall Street Mill where Will Bagley took a shot at Bill Keys and paid for it. Those were exciting times.

Wonderland Ranch

Our lunch spot view of the rocks

View of the canyon

One of the cattle tanks to capture water

Margie entranced with the view

Fall colors

Highway 62 Art Tours-Join the Tour!

THIS WEEKEND-Saturday and Sunday, October 29-30
You can go to the Tour Site here: www.hwy62arttours.com
There's lots of great art this year and the Tour Booklet is the best ever.

Spin will be showing at JTAG Joshua Tree Art Gallery in downtown Joshua Tree, so come on down. 61607 29 Palms Highway-Suite B (Next to Red Arrow Gallery).
www.joshuatreeartgallery.com

Follow Along On Our Summer Travels

Jardin de Luxumbourg-Paris

The Pyramid, Louvre-Paris

Two Streets Together, Santiago de Compostella

The Cathedral, Santiago de Compostella

Luarca Harbor-Spain

This summer we spent two weeks traveling from Oporto, Portugal up to Santiago de Compostella and on to Bilbao, San Sebastian, Spain and Paris, France. Here's a sampling of photos from the trip. I'll be posting on a regular basis, so stay tuned to my Flickr site: www.flickr.com/photos/drewreese