Month: January 2017

I was born and raised in California and lived there a total of 37 out of my 61 years, and yet there were places I had never seen till this trip. With the luxury of time on my side, I traveled slowly, becoming a tourist in my native state. I was here three months and still didn’t see it all, but what I did see made me proud of California’s natural beauty. We have mountains and oceans, redwoods and deserts, big cities and wide open spaces. It’s an amazing state. This, then, is my tribute to California in 10 of my…

After a tumultuous week, let’s look at the Joshua Tree, the namesake for the national park where I’ve been this week. The name “Joshua Tree” comes from Mormon settlers who crossed the Mohave in the mid-19th century. The tree branches reminded them of the biblical Joshua raising his hands up in prayer. These trees only grow in or near the Mohave desert in the southwestern US. A single tree can be 40 feet high and have roots 36 feet deep. Undisturbed, a tree can live for hundreds of years; a few of them are over a thousand years old. And…

(Note: I’ve colored these photos to emphasize the geological characteristics because I think they look more interesting when you can see the striations and layers more clearly). Instead of taking the more traveled, more boring highway route from Salton Sea to Joshua Tree, I went on back roads, the blue highways, on the road map. The first part was through Box Canyon and it was simply amazing, geologically speaking. The above shot shows uplifted rock pointing west to east. A half mile later, the same side of the road, the uplifts are pointing east to west. Yep, this area is…

There are few things more unexpected than an art museum in the middle of the desert. Meet the East Jesus Art Garden, an outdoor collection of art by different artists, all from found objects. It’s amazing. And it takes recycling to a whole ‘nother level. This is the entrance, and, yes, the wheels spin in the wind. It’s the first indication that you’re in for a most interesting time, courtesy of the artists Charlie Russell and Royce Carlson. There’s a little four-banger car covered with found objects, from shell casings to circuit boards. You may need a bigger screen to see all…