Giraffes & Tennis--what more could you want?

Headed to the Living Desert this a.m. in time to feed the giraffes...they sure have a long tongue!

Lunched at the Elephant Bar...quite appropriate for Living Desert Day!

Next stop...Indian Ridge Country Club to watch Ian play in the Teaching Pro tournament...he and his partner were on center court...and won 7-5, 6-1.  Finals on Saturday...then he heads to Tahoe Donner on Monday...no rest.

Allan and I were the only ones from Tahoe...to cheer him on.

Ran into Tom Gorman...Ian's boss from the LaQuinta Resort.  For those who aren't tennis players...he was on the circuit back in the 70's; then in the 90's was the Captain of the Davis Cup team. 

Allan told him he was the next most famous person we've met here in the desert next to Arnold Palmer.  He laughed...said he wasn't quite as famous as Arnie.

And the evening wrapped up at Greg Norman's @ PGA West for Happy Hour with Jerry & Jenny...our final dancin' evening with the "Roadrunners

Another great day in the desert..../ 

Cottonwood Springs Hike at Joshua Tree National Park - 4-18-12

Another hike with the Senior Center out to Joshua Tree National Park...about a 20 mile ride from Indio to reach the southernmost boundary of the park, then another 8 miles to the Cottonwood Visitor's Center.    Formerly a National Monument, Joshua Tree was promoted to National Park status in 1994 and was extended by 230,000 acres---mainly remote mountainous regions.  Was hoping to see lots of wildflowers in bloom...and we did...you'll see.

Heading out...there were 17 of us...hoping to reach our final destination of the Lost Palms Oasis...about a 4 mile journey in...

First stop to a Palm Oasis...always amazed at these majestic palms.

Yep, the wildflowers were out...and I just so happened to buy a Wildflower guide...so now I can identify them...so here goes...Canterbury Bells.

Got to wear sleeveless on this hike...was over 100 degrees in the valley, but cooler up here.  Drank lots of water.

Heading up...we always like 'ups' on the way in...knowing you come 'down' on the way out. 

Interesting rock formations all along the hike.

Always wondered what this cactus was called...now I know...Hedgehog...they were prolific.

Stopping for a water break...only half way there.

Aren't we cute?

A Sand Blazing Star....

A Mojave Aster...(there's going to be a quiz at the end)

...and desert Mistletoe

An Octotillo grove...my favorite desert plant

...all were filled with blooms.  The one planted in our yard is blooming, but is not green yet.

and more rock formations.  Allan and I thought the topography was the best ever of all of our hikes so far.

Now we're to head down to the Lost Palms Oasis...some of the group have already turned around once they saw the down into the grove.

...but some of us went for it and headed down a very steep and rocky trail...

...while some stayed at the top like Allan.

Only 6 of us forged ahead to finally reach the Lost Palms Oasis...

...and it was worth the final trek.

Climbing out...lots of nice natural stair steps in the park...makes for good footing.

A Barrel Cactus...just starting to bloom.

Little purple flower (this wasn't on my chart)

Our round trip hike was 8 miles total... which we decided was our maximum length for hiking...needless to say we were exhausted, hot, and hungry by the time we got home.  Went to the pool to cool off, then laid on the couch the rest of the day.

Desert Horticultural Tour

Lainie, Allan and I headed to Palm Springs for the Desert Horticultural Tour last week-end.  Five homes opened up their gardens for us to tour...they represented the best of desert landscapes. 

Some very interesting plants...especially these fuzzy cacti.

And clever creations with rocks.

Loved this hillside...

This garden had an outside shower (which neighbors could watch you showering...maybe they kept their bathing suits on...but it is Palm Springs, you know.)

This garden wasn't even on the tour...we found some very interesting creatures here...can you imagine living across from this?  They were huge.

Some great desert ideas...so low maintenance.

This back yard garden was our favorite...very modern, beautiful pool, and great views.  I found that Allan truly loves modern architecture...after all these years.

I need a buddha in my back yard...oh, I've got Allan.

What a glorious day it was!

Trip to Salvation Mountain and Slab City - an adventure

A cool day in the desert (was only going to be in the low 70's today), so we decided to head out of town to visit Salvation Mountain...an area so many locals have told us about and a "must see".  So here are our pictures from our day of exploring. 

Heading East on Hwy 111, our first stop was at the Salton Sea...was windy out there.  Stopped for lunch at Buckshots Deli and Diner in Niland...talked to Steve, the owner, who said they were busiest during the "fowl" hunting season there...said everyone is dressed in camouflage and it looks like Afghanistan.  Best Mexican food ever.  We asked directions to Salvation Mountain, glad we did as the main road was closed...had to take a round about way to get there...down a dirt road and a detour through some agricultural fields.  But we found it.

We arrived.  Here's a little background...this is Leonard Knight's tribute to God.  Salvation Mountain is out in the middle of the desert, is made of local adobe clay, is about 50 feet tall and 150 feet wide and all of the paint is donated.  Leonard estimates that he has put well over 100,000 gallons of paint on the mountain.

Several other tourists were visiting here, too (had met them at Buckshots.)  They say that during the season about 100 people a day show up here to view the mountain.

Lots of color on the mountain.

And, he has even painted cars.

and more cars...

More art...a sea of flowers.

And trucks...

And tractors...

Lots of messages on everything...he must get them donated, too.

and more flowers, as we headed up to the top of the mountain.  It was quite interesting, I must say.

Then we headed over to Slab City to see this counter-cultural development.  Oh, who's peeking out that hole...

Some creative art here at the community bulletin board....

Slab City is an abandoned Marine training base (was Ft. Dunlap during WW II) which is now occupied by local squatters.  Only the concrete slabs of the barracks and Quonset huts remain.  Here's a fence made of old box springs.

An art exhibit and even some for sale.  One slab was called the "Range" where there was live music playing every night.

Some interesting trucks here...wonder if they drive them?  Looked like about 100 squatters there.

and cars...lots of time went into this one.

and an interesting interpretation of a "shoe tree". 

Needless to say, it was an interesting adventure...took all day to drive out and back.  We have now driven totally around the Salton Sea.  And, we can tell others about Salvation Mountain.   Allan says he knows where to take all of his old paint now.