Prince's Plumes

This is one of my favorite flowers in the park. I actually shot these a few weeks ago, but just found them nestled in the Lupines folder. Well, summer is here and the weather is warm, so you have to get up early and get out to hike or bike. Stay cool inside during the heat of the day, take a nap, read a book, do some computer work, then head back out around 6 p.m. until sunset. We call it being on 'Mediterranean time'. 

Lupines Are Blooming

Well, like I said, there's always something blooming... I went in to the park the other morning and found a wash loaded with Lupines in the Hidden Valley area.

There Are Some Flowers...

Not quite the year we were hoping for, but down at Cottonwood, there are flowers to see. You just have to look for them... We drove down to the Cottonwood visitor station and then on through the canyon another 5 miles to the '10'. There were Chuparosa, Mallow, Yellow cups, Canterbury Bells, Purple mat, Sand blazing star and Prince's Plume to be seen along the road. We stopped at a wash in the middle of the drive and walked back up to have lunch in the shade and take some photos of the flowers that were there. Here are some examples. We even found a rock with some Petroglyphs, cool! And, this cute lizard at the Cholla Gardens, who had just come out of his hole, posed for us.
The flower displays haven't really reached up to the Jumbo Rocks, Hidden Valley area yet. Mostly, what we've seen have been Claret cup cactus, Indian Paint Brush, Desert Dandelions and some Mallow starting to bloom. There's usually a progression of flowers blooming throughout the Park, starting in the South and heading North. In essence, there's always something blooming! (Click on photos to make larger)

Bighorn Sheep Family Gathering

We were hiking out by the Desert Queen Mine the other day and happened upon this family of Bighorn Sheep. Upon seeing us, they got a little nervous and moved on down the hill. I wish I would have had a longer lens this time. I see 12, how many do you see?

The First Sign of Spring

Took a walk in the park yesterday and came upon this bouquet of Indian paint brush clustered amongst a yucca. A nice start to the season.

Spring Equinox-The Sword of Light

A friend took us in to the park the other day to a spot where you can see this light effect of the Spring Equinox. The light appears as a small sliver on the ground and then shapes like a sword, then inches foward, and into the hole of an old indian grinding rock. Cool eh?!

A Return 'In Time' To The Wall Street Mill

 The other day we took the walk out to the Wall Street Mill, Bill Keys old property. It's a nice easy walk, only about two miles or so. I love all the old cars and equipment out there and instead of printing them in color, worked with them a little, to give them an old time feel. Hope you like'em.

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.