LIVING DESERT

Last Wednesday we headed to the "Living Desert" in Palm Desert.  This is basically a zoo in a park- like setting with the walks between exhibits through desert plants and scenery.  It was a nice way to spend a pleasant afternoon and the following are some of the wildlife we saw.

An Ibis.  Beautiful fine white feathers. 

One ugly vulture.
Couldn't believe how big these birds are.  At least as large a an eagle. 

Canadian Snowbird.  
They wander about everywhere.  
Most of them are native to BC and Alberta however this one drifted over from Manitoba.  
In fact, after California license plates the next most frequently seen is BC 
and then possibly Alberta.  
Makes one wonder how much the population of Canada depletes each winter.  
Perhaps we should get a refund on our taxes as we aren't using any
 Canadian infrastructure and have to get medical insurance to cover any issues.  
Just a thought. 

Beautiful little pond with lots of birds in the brush.
Great reflections of the reeds in the water. 

This duck kept falling asleep but he opened his eye in time for my pic.

Look at the thickness of his neck needed to carry around those prodigious horns.
We also saw a bull in the Africa exhibit but couldn't get a proper picture of him.
He was huge, more like an ox.  The span of his horns, tip to tip, had to be 6-7 feet.  

Can't remember his name but looked and walked like a bit like a cat but his 
tail is over 3 feet in length, longer than his body.  

The colours on this one were amazing.  
Generally dark black but highlighted by the blue on his face and neck and
 the feathers on his body were a nice copper colour.  
They almost looked like pennies.

Murcats.  
Had to be the cutest and most intelligent looking creatures.  
If you look at their eyes you can easily imagine they are about to speak.
I nicknamed them Yoda. 

Beautiful baby blue breast.  
The tail was about 18 inches long but I cropped it out to get a 
better view of his body. 

The keepers placed the feeding station behind the tree.  
Not great for pictures however this one finally raised his head
 to play peak-a-boo and I caught him. 

For the most part the Zebra's remained prone, taking in the sun.  
This one raised his head to see what all the commotion was about.  
Just me snapping pictures. 

While not fast moving, once they get it in their mind to move they are very deliberate.  
I had to keep repositioning myself to stay ahead of him. 

Hard to try to get a good shot of these two camels through two rows of fencing.  
They were feeding at a trough and while it looked like they were kissing 
I think one was stealing food out of the others mouth. 

 Warthog.  Hands down the ugliest creature here and 
he had some tough competition. 

Too bad about the fence but if you can make out the expression 
on the kids face it is one of pure joy as he fed the Giraffe.  

Giraffe with a Kudu, I think, in the background.  

Now this was simply the best, hands down, model train exhibit I had ever seen.  
Covered the area of a city lot and as the pictures show it was very detailed.  
Trains coming and going from every direction.

Amazing detail in all the buildings.  
There were numerous little townsites like this plus sawmills, 
mining operations and of course train stations. 
Absolutely amazing. 

I'm having to do a little catchup in my postings as the RV Park we are in has been steadily filling up over the past month.  What started out as very good Wifi for an RV Park has deteriorated to Iffy coverage.  A trip to a Starbucks to get these blogs posted may be in order.

Thursday we spent the day at the Park, Lori did laundry and I attended a photography class that I signed up for.  $20 for 4 lessons focused on portrait photography which I always have found to be a daunting subject.   The instructor has been providing constant encouragement to take our cameras off of Automatic.  Like many other "pretend" Photographers, I paid good money for a DSLR with hundreds of fancy features and I set it up on Automatic, took reasonably good pictures, and never took it off Auto.
One of the real benefits of digital photography is that you can take thousands of pictures and it doesn't cost you anything.  A far cry from the days of film when you had to pay for the film and processing.  In those days I would be very judicious in my shot selection and seldom fill up a roll of 36 pictures in a days outing.  Now 200 pictures is not unusual, although I am trying to be a little more selective as I have found that on the flip side, one of the bad things about digital photography is that you can take unlimited pictures at no additional cost, except, as I'm finding, for time.  When I get back to the trailer, download the pics I am left with the decisions of which are keepers and which go to the trash bin.  Then there is the time needed to process the pictures.  Even with my very basic iPhoto processing program the choices for adjusting the picture can take some serious time.  When I finally do bite the bullet and buy a real program like Lightroom or Elements I'm sure the choices will expand exponentially.   One thing about viewing pictures on a computer screen is that due to the low resolution and small screen size, tablet or laptop, the difference between a simple snapshot and a true photograph is subtle at best.  That all changes if you ever decide to start printing the pictures, especially in larger sizes.
 2 years ago, after some tips at another photography class I attended I quit taking pictures in Jpeg format and went entirely to RAW and saw the benefits immediately.  This year I have left the comfort of Auto for the slightly more adventerous format of Aperture Priority in an effort to learn how to have better control of depth of field.  I will continue to experiment with Manual however  with most of my pics, being landscapes and taken on the move, the safety net of the camera making some of the decisions is very comforting.
One of the benefits of being retired and now no yard work back at home is the one thing I have in abundance is time.  Well at least until the "honey do" list starts to buildup.

Arial Tramway

Wednesday we took the Palm Springs Arial Tramway up to 8500 ft.  Each tram can hold up to 80 people and the floor rotates so you get to see a full 360 degree view during the ride to the top.  The departure point is at about 2500 ft so you ride the tram up about 6000 ft and it only takes about 10 minutes.

The temperature was about 60 degrees when we left the RV Park and 53 degrees at the departure point.  A sign told us the temperature at the top of the tram ride was 35 degrees with snow packed and icy trails.  I was wondering if I had bought enough layers.

We hiked a couple of the shorter trails but given the ice and snow on the trails every foot step was carefully planned lest we end up flat on our derriere.  The views of the valley and the mountain tops were worth the trip and the $27. ticket price although if we ever did it again I would ensure that the trails were free of snow.  After a couple of miles of hiking we were exhausted, partially due to the elevation but also due to the care we had to take to avoid falling on the ice.

We stopped for lunch at the restaurant and then took the next tram down.  

As you would expect.  Great views at 8500 ft. 

I'm posting this blog from the Starbucks at Barnes and Noble.  We have had 2 days of rain with up to 2 inches falling in Palm Springs.  That is their normal annual rainfall and they got it all in one storm.  Today, Saturday, it is sunny but cold and very windy in Sky Valley so we took a drive over to Palm Desert where its sunny, low 60's and no wind.  There are 2 more storm systems coming in over the next few days with plenty of rain in the forecast.  Following that the forecast is cool but sunny so perhaps we can get out on some more trails.  Till then we will try not to go completely shack-wacky.

Later.

Palms to Pines

Tuesday we decided to go for a little drive on the Palms to Pines highway.  Its leaves Palm Desert which is just a few hundred feet above sea level and heads up into the mountains.  If you stay on Hwy 74 it will take you all the way to the Pacific ocean.  We turned off at Mountain Centre and continued on to Idyllwild which is at an elevation of around 6000 ft.  We started to experience snow at around 5000 ft.  We then continued on and headed down the other side of the mountain range to the town of Banning and back through San Gorgonio Pass to the Coachella Valley.  With stops for viewing and lunch at one of the lookouts it took us about 6 hours and was a nice way to spend the day.

Off in the distance you could just make out the Salton Sea. 

Looking back over the Coachella Valley with Palm Springs, Indio,
 Palm Desert, etc. in the foreground

At the top we reached a plateau populated with ranches.
Lots of horses and cattle among the pines

The pines grow some pretty big pine cones. 

Looking up under the branches of a big Pine.
Tip.  Don't lean against the trunk.
You will come away covered in pine sap.

One of the smaller pine cones.  Some were over a foot long. 

The San Gorgonio Pass below with the San Bernardino mountains in the distance. 

This hawk just hung there looking for lunch.
I'm sure it could have stayed there for hours without flapping its wings
 just riding the air currents

The windmills cover the San Gorgonio pass

The drive back down.
I'm ok on the inside but when in the outside lane and all I can see is sky
 my heart beats a little faster, the palms start sweating and I grip the wheel real tight.  

Next up the Palm Springs Arial Tramway and more snow.

Joshua Tree Day 2

Sunday we returned to Joshua Tree for a day of hiking.  Being the MLK long weekend the number of visitors made getting parking at the various picnic sites and trailheads increasingly difficult as the day progressed.  Good thing we got there by 9:00AM.  Monday entry to all National Parks is free so we will definitely be staying home that day.

Other than the crowds it was a perfect day for hiking; cool -mid 50's, no wind and sunny.  The first trailhead we came across was Hidden Valley.  Apparently a local black sheep used this valley to hide stolen horses and cattle.  Now its frequented by hikers and rock climbers.  The park, with its granite rocks and unique collection of boulders and fractured rock is great for rock climbing.

These outcroppings were pushed to the surface millions of years ago by volcanic activity.  

A couple of climbers planning their next move.

Terrible time to develop an itch.  I'm thinking she is second guessing her decision.  
A few seconds later we heard a scream.  
One of her feet slipped and she slid to the ledge below. 
 Good thing she was tied off or we might have had her crashing down on top of us.  

Was a little cold to start but once out in the sun it was nice and warm. 

Great colours in the rock.

Given the number of footprints around this fallen tree I'm sure I wasn't the only
 one using this as a prop for a picture

Count the Joshua Trees if you can.  They go on and on and on.....

Barker Dam Nature Trail took us to a nice little pond.  
The Dam was built around 1900 to provide drinking water for cattle. 
Now its a great place to take pictures or have a picnic on the rocks. 

Not sure but could be turn of the century laundry mat. 

Love the contrast provided by the snow capped peaks. 

Petroglyphs chiseled on the rocks hundreds of years ago.  Colour added more recently. 

Lori practicing her Yoga Tree pose. 

All parts of the California Juniper are used by desert animals for food and shelter.
Man discovered a use as well. 
Berries used for flavouring Gin. 

Looks like a child's building block set.  
All neatly stacked and fit together perfectly.

Notice the fault line made up of different rock.
Looks like someone glued the  smaller rocks onto the large boulders 
except that it runs right through the boulders.

Inukshuk's gone wild. 

The Skull Rock trail.  Guess how it got its name. 
Lady on the left is kind of stuck.  
Can't climb back up and just slides if she tries to come down.
She was saved by another hiker.

We bought an annual pass to the US National Parks which will come in handy for future stops in our trip.  We will probably try to get back to this Park before we leave but will do it on a weekday and hopefully will not be tripping over people at every turn.

Next few days will see us up a few thousand feet and will post that shortly.

Later.