Month: January 2011

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Anza Borrego

Borrego Palm Canyon Nature Trail was our destination. After about a 90 minute drive from Palm Desert, we stopped into the Anza Borrego State Park visitor center to enjoy the movie, the exhibits, get some info about the park, and to wander the adjacent nature trails. It was a beautiful day and more green in the desert than at San Jacinto area, probably due to being futher south and a bit lower in elevation. We started our hike from the visitor center with the connecting trail to the campground,

Anza Borrego Ocatillo blooming 01-12-11

There was a flowing stream that we paused to enjoy. Just really a beautiful day!

Anza Borrego Palm Canyon with Henry 01-12-11

After visiting the palm oasis, we chose this area to hang out for a bit and enjoy our picnic lunch. Very serene.

Lunch spot in Anza Borrego Palm Canyon 01-12-11

Did you see any sheep? another hiker asked us. No we replied. Well you are about to…this was the icing on the cake! We actually saw the Pensinsula big horn sheep at the end of our hike. Not only that we saw about 20 female and 8 male – how spectacular is that!

We saw 28 Peninsula Big Horn Sheep 01-12-11

It was tempting to watch until it was too dark to walk! But we left them to their life…grazing on the hillside.  We remembered hearing from the movie that 2/3 of the Penisula Big Horn live in this park – not sure how many that is but it was a treat to see this grouping.

big horn sheep 01-12-11
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Polo and Champagne Divot Stomping

What better way to spend a Sunday afternoon! The Eldorado Polo field is in nearby Indio so a short drive to enjoy this ancient sport of Kings.

Cotterel Polo Farm from Sedalia playing Jan 9, 2011

We nestled in among other spectators with our chairs by the announcer so we could pick up some lingo and learn a few of the strategies. It was thrilling to feel the earth vibrate from the hoofs of the racing horses. It is said they can get to speeds of 30 miles per hour yet it seems they can turn and spin quite promptly. Notice also that their tails are plaited to keep from getting tangled.

Second match Jan 9, 2011

After the third 7-1/2 minute Chukker, the spectators took the field in a divot stomp with a glass of champagne – now: how fun is that! The hoof prints could definetely be seen even when they didn’t create a divot. This second game went into sudden death overtime and ended uneventfully with a penalty shot.

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Palm Springs International Film Festival

With 7 PM tickets to see the documentary “How Much Does Your Building Weigh, Mr Foster”, we headed into Palm Springs for lunch at Spencer’s, a sponsor of the the event. We enjoyed the piano music while savoring our meal – Yum! We walked off a few calories to the convention center to cheer on the celebrities as they came to the awards gala.

Waiting by the Red Carpet Jan 8, 2011

The sun was warm as was the crowd of fans – full of excitement and anticipation. We claimed a spot and waited for the limos to arrive.

The red carpet area Jan 8, 2011

The new crews and coordinators getting everything set up. We stuck around and saw Wendie Malick, Mary Hart, and JesseEisenburg. Here is a link from the local Channel 2 with all the coverage and the official Film Fest web site And yes we both enjoyed the documentary about Norman Foster.

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Panarama Loop Hike in Joshua Tree National Park

This hike became our favorite because of the views, the vegetation and maybe because we hiked it on such a gorgeous day. The elevation is higher so the temperature was in the mid 50’s and the sky was bright with interesting clouds. We took 50 pictures but have selected the best 4 to share. The hike starts at the Black Rock Campground south of Yucca Valley. It is a 6 mile loop and follows a wash to the ridge where you can see almost 360: Palm Springs, The Salton Sea, Yucca Valley, and the San Bernadino Mountains.

Joshua Tree Jan 7, 2011
Trail through Joshua Tree forest Jan 7, 2011
Joshua Tree with interesting clouds Jan 7,2011
Joshua Tree with San Bernadino Mountains Jan 7,2011
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Palm Desert City Park

The snow line has dropped in elevation and was so captivating against this clear blue sky, yet warm at sea level on the desert floor.  Lots of birds loitering around the pond.

Palm Desert City Park Jan 4, 2011

Fun combination to see the palm trees with the snow in the background.

Palm Desert City Park Jan 4, 2011
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Happy New Year 2011

Our friends decided to come visit and celebrate being together as well as the new year. This made it a festive occasion and truly an Auld Lang Syne tribute.

The celebration accessories

So we celebrated the New York new year at 9 and then sat down to a lasagna dinner. Afterwards we celebrated with Mexico City at 10 because we couldn’t find a Chicago coverage. We shared photos and the next hour passed quickly before the 11 celebration in the Baja. We cut the cake and Linda popped the Prosecco to start the count down for the new year here in California. We sang along with Sonny in “I Got You Babe” to honor his contribution Palm Springs.  We, Wild Things, continued to find more songs with Henry being our DJ.

Ready to eat the lasagna, last meal of 2010

Earlier in the day we lunched at Spencer’s – very elegant with the piano music. We then toured around the pool for a photo op. The architects enjoyed walking around Palm Springs and analyzing the mid century modern styles. Mike was figuring out how everyone could market their “products” and no one would really know what they were selling.

The pool after lunch at Spencer's in Palm Springs

It was our former neighbor, Carl who recommended Spencer’s as a great lunch spot. We met up with them earlier in the week for a lunch at Rick’s…Bart had the coolest car in the parking lot. With the Mini having to be only the second most fun 😉

Denverites looking to become Palm Springites

Great month of December 2010…we are looking forward to more adventures in 2011.

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Joshua Tree National Park

Another rewarding but long day trip: this time to the north side of Joshua Tree National Park. It was still cool after all the rains – the Pineapple Express that hit southern California. The sky was clear and we were ready to explore.

10-12-26 Pam in Indian Cove

These are giant rocks! Monzogranite. A ranger explained later on a walk we did that they were at one time so far underground it would be as if we were standing on a airplane contrail looking at them. That was an interesting visual analysis, especially as we looked up and saw a plane going overhead leaving the white trail. We thought of our neighbor Philip with this formation 😉

Is this Pac-Man in rock form;-)

Joshua Tree is a type of Yucca and there are Mojave yuccas.  There are many varieties of Opuntias:The Beaver Tail is the one without spines, just glaucoids – they have the more purple color pad with fushia flowers in the spring. There are pancake opuntias which grow taller like trees. And then there are Prickly Pears which are the opuntias with spines and a yellow flower. There are also a variety of chollas which are a type of opuntias. And then there is a Henry O’Puntia 😉

10-12-26 Henry with a young Joshua Tree

The ranger said it is a bit unusual to have water at the Barker Dam. We did not see any of the desert tortoise but they like to come out when it rains. It got very overcast and the wind picked up and we were quite chilled. Everyone on the ranger walk had on hats, gloves, and coats. Definitely cooler in this higher elevation: this part of the park being in the Mojave Desert.

Water at Barker Dam!

The large cholla cactus garden is in the transition zone between the Mojave and Sonoran desert. This was really a special place to experience: these are the teddy bear or jumping type. I had never seen so many at one time – really worth stopping and taking a look. Thanks Maria for the recommendation to go at sunset though it had clouded over a bit but still more of a glow than at mid day.

Cholla Cactus Garden
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Salton Sea

Hey lets go to the beach! We loaded the Mini with a picnic and headed for the coast, 226 feet below sea level. There was a lot of rain the last few days so the sky was exceptionally clear and there was fresh snow on the San Jacinto Mountains in the distance. Our first view of the Salton Sea included a large flock of majestic white pelicans – much bigger than the sea gulls. We learned there is a type of sea gull with a web foot that only lives at the Salton Sea.

10-12-24 Salton Sea

The North Shore Beach and Yacht Club was designed by Albert Frey and was recently renovated. It was really a brilliant nautical design and a pleasure to experience. You could image Lucy and Desi hanging around with their pals Sinatra and Dean, with the harbor full of yachts, bustling with activity. There are plans afloat to bring back some boat races. My Dad said he swam here (with my Mom as his  young bride) in the 50’s when he was on a day leave from the Marines (before the yacht club was built)! I am not sure I am brave enough to swim in it today – it is quite a bit saltier (25% saltier than the Pacific Ocean).

10-12-24 Salton Sea North Shore Yacht Club

We headed as far south as the Sonny Bono National Wildlife Refuge to enjoy our picnic lunch on top of Rock Hill. We watched a large flock of snow geese covering an entire field. We observed quite a few grebes, black bellied plovers, black-necked stilts, great blue herons, and American Bitterns as well as more sea gulls. We drove back to the condo the same direction, enjoying the early winter twilight – it was a 180 mile day trip so one we will probably not make again.