Month: March 2022

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Friday, March 18, 2022

We left Lompoc in the morning and wended our way up the coast. Our route passed through Pismo Beach and we just had to stop. If it was good enough for Bugs Bunny it would be good enough for us.

We left the highway and promptly took a selfie with a “Welcome to Pismo Beach” sign. We were a mile or so north of the pier and we could see it peeking out into the sea. We got back into the car and drove into the downtown area. We found a parking place on the main road leading to the pier and headed over to the beach. The first thing we noticed was the smell. There was a strong scent of mollusks in the air – and we loved it. Right near the beach was another, much larger sign indicating Pismo Beach. While we waited for our turn to take a selfie we net two Brits who were vacationing on the West Coast. One of them noticed my camera and soon we were fast friends. We delighted in taking pictures of each other before parting and wishing them well. We walked towards the pier.

The pier was a large wooded structure jutting into the ocean. It was in excellent condition. All along the way there were signs describing the marine life in the area, the history of the pier itself and many, many rules for proper behavior. Surprisingly, you could fish from the pier without a license and many people were doing just that. On both sides we noticed dozens of people in wetsuits in the water trying their luck with surfboards. The waves were not too impressive but nevertheless they looked like they were having fun.

For lunch we tried Ada’s Fish House. We had a wonderful meal consisting of clam chowder, fish and chips, and clams steamed in garlic broth. Our server tried to remove the bowl of empty clams but we didn’t let them. Instead we used the leftover broth to dip our bread in. It was just too good to waste.

Our next stop was just a short distance south of San Simeon: The Fiscalini Ranch Preserve. The property originated during the Spanish Mission era and, when it was later subdivided, was owned for over a hundred years by the Fiscalini family who used it as a cattle ranch. The family sold the property in 1979 and in 2000 was preserved in perpetuity through a unique coalition of public and private funding for its purchase. Today the property is a large preserve with diverse flora, serves as a refuge for many types of animals and hosts hiking trails through hilly, wooded areas and spans along the waterfront. It was a very pleasant way for us to work off our lunch before finally settling into our hotel in San Simeon.

Saturday, March 19, 2022

One of the major attractions in the area is the Elephant Seal Rookery. It was a short drive north on the Pacific Coast Highway from our hotel. About five minutes down the road we noticed the Hearst Castle nestled way up high in the hills. The castle has been closed since the pandemic started but we were told that it might open again starting in April. We’d been there once before 26 years ago but would love to visit again. We resolved to check the website again when we travel back from Los Angels to San Francisco early next month.

In 1990 large parts of the coast around San Simeon were designated as protected. Almost immediately the elephant seals started coming to the beaches in the area. They spend a surprisingly large amount of their lives out of the water. They come ashore for about a month during breading season. They also come ashore for about a month during the birthing season. Babies nurse for about a month and reach weights up to 500 pounds before the mothers abandon them. The pups have to learn to swim and to feed all by themselves. About a month after the pups have left the rookery many seals return for another month of molting. It’s interesting to note that during the times they are on the beach they do not feed and can lose up to half of their body weight.

When we arrived the beach was crowded with elephant seals. There were several large, breeding males that were overseeing their respective groups, there was a large number of mature females who had recently given birth and there were well over 100 pups of various sizes. The newborns are easy to spot because they are entirely black. The beach was lively with many of the seals vocalizing while trying to find comfortable places to sun themselves. To keep from getting too warm they throw sand on their bodies to protect themselves from the sun. We saw very few animals in the water.

We stayed for quite a time enjoying the sights and taking huge numbers of photographs. It’s quite a treat to see these animals in their natural habitat. There is an organization called The Friends of the Elephant Seals that helps insure that no one disturbs the animals. They also wander about giving out pamphlets and telling informative stories.

The closest town to San Simeon with any appreciable services is Cambria. We had driven through the day before and had picked up some odds and ends at a gas station store. Today we drove about 45 minutes to Paso Robles to get supplies for the week. The drive was on a twisting, turning mountain road. We appeared to be riding right along the fault line. While in town we also stopped in a small restaurant called The Sunrise Cafe for an above average lunch consisting of a chicken pesto sandwich and a burger.

Sunday, March 20, 2022

Since COVID started many hotels have started providing continental breakfasts instead of the typical buffets. This hotel provided us with a pair of breakfast boxes. No two boxes were the same. Most had some sort of hot or cold cereal, a pastry, some cookies and random other things. The boxes weren’t really our idea of breakfast but they did contain some fun items. We had fun picking through them each morning and kept quite a few things for snacks later in the day.

Our first excursion was to visit Pico Creek Beach, which was just across the highway from our hotel. It was a long beach with sandy shores backed by large groups of rocks. We walked along the shore for as much as we could. We had to step carefully over the slippery rocks from time to time. The air was fresh and smelled just like the beach should. There were just a few other people there. Most were walking, some with their dogs, and just a few had fishing poles in the water. We walked for a little over a mile before traveling back up the coast to see our new found friends the Elephant Seals.

Monday, March 21, 2022

We intended to start our day back at the Elephant Seal Rookery but got sidetracked along the way. We saw Zebras(!) standing in the meadow below The Hearst Castle. By 1939 Hearst was having financial difficulties and, in an effort to save some money, decided to disband his zoo. Some of the animals were sold or donated to public zoos and some, like the zebras, were simply set free. We saw a small heard of about 15-20 animals and noted that there were several smaller ones that were likely recently born.

After our visit with the elephant seals we went into Cambria for a pepperoni pizza at JBJ Round Up Pizza n’ Grub. Afterwards we went for a stroll at the nearby Moonstone Beach. Moonstone, a state managed beach, had a nice boardwalk that extended all the way through the park. We walked for over a mile and saw a variety of wildlife including seagulls, brown pelicans, cormorants and salamanders. The way had also been landscaped with very pretty flowers and native shrubs. Calla Lillies and Pride of Madera seemed to be everywhere.

Tuesday, March 22, 2022

This morning we had reservations to tour the Piedras Blancas Light Station (Piedras Blancas translates as “white rocks” after the two large white rocks off shore). Being that it was just up the road from the elephant seal rookery and we were early we couldn’t help but stop to see the seals. They never disappointed.

Our instructions explicitly stated that we were not to meet at the lighthouse but that we were to meet at the building that used to be the Piedras Blancas Motel. Seriously??? At least they had given us a street address. We put the address into our GPS and found it without any issues. We joked, given that it was the off season, that we’d wind up getting a private tour so we were surprised when approximately 30 people showed up.

Our docent gave us a 30 minute talk about the history of lighthouses throughout the ancient world, their history in the United States and the history of this specific lighthouse. It was all very interesting but the real emphasis was on the fact that the area was an important wildlife preserve – not just the birds, seals and sea lions, but the flora as well. People from various Federal agencies come to the isthmus during various times of the year to study and count the migrations of numerous whale species, too.

Why does the lighthouse look like it’s top is missing? Because it is! In 1948 an earthquake damaged the top of the lighthouse causing it to be declared structurally unsound. The top was dismantled and the lens was put on permanent display in the town of Cambria.

After the talk we were left to wander about the nature trails. They were marked with informative signs. At one point we not only saw seals but sea lions basking high up on the rocks. As we stared out into the ocean one of the docents pointed out some whales spouting in the distance. She said that at this time of year the gray whales were migrating from the south to the north. We were told that the mothers with calves tended to stay closer to the shore to help protect their young from predators but we didn’t see any.

There were a number of buildings on the site, too. Some were basic barracks where visitors could stay. Another was a beautiful brick building that used to house a steam driven fog horn. The last building we saw was the lighthouse itself. We were only permitted to see the ground floor. The brick building was not reinforced. They were concerned for its stability especially in the case of earthquakes. They are raising funds to stabilize the building. The docent said they were seeking about $5,000,000 in total for the project.

Afterwards we headed back into Cambria for lunch. We had asked one of the docents at the lighthouse about the Zebra. She said that there were two herds totaling about 75 animals. The one herd, which we’d seen, hangs out below the castle. The other hangs out just past the Motel 6. As we passed the Motel 6 we kept our eyes peeled and sure enough we saw them. This was a much larger herd of about 40 animals. We watched them for a while and then continued on our way for lunch.

We chose Linn’s Restaurant for our lunch. It also sports a full bakery as a separate but related business. I had a grilled cheese on sourdough along with homemade tomato bisque. Deborah had a turkey sandwich with clam chowder. We couldn’t help but share of piece of banana cream pie for dessert. Everything was quite delicious.

Wednesday, March 23, 2022

After another walk on Moonstone beach we went into Cambria for lunch at the Cambria Cafe. We’d noticed it the other day when we were at Linn’s. It’s menu had all sorts of interesting, Mediterranean and Eastern dishes that we were really interested in trying. It also had one of the best ratings of any restaurant around – and it was reasonably priced.

We ordered some humus with pita bread. It was freshly made in house and loaded with garlic. Yum! We also had some falafel balls with tahini sauce and cheese borek (they were out of meat borek). We’d had borek many times in Eastern Europe. Basically it is meat or cheese wrapped in phyllo dough that has been baked in the oven. This was small triangles of dough that had been fried. We asked the owner about the difference and he said that this was the way it was done in Syria. It was different but also quite tasty.

Thursday, March 24, 2022

We’d been going to see the elephant seals just about every day. By the end of the week there was a noticeable difference in what we saw. The large males had left days ago. Now virtually all of the mothers had gone. Previously we’d hardly seen any animals in the water but now quite a few of the youngsters were venturing out into the shallow areas to practice swimming. In fact, we saw some immature males on the beach. We assumed that they were back early for molting season, which was to commence in full in a few weeks.

Saturday, March 12, 2022

We checked out of our AirBNB and headed over to the main business district in Palm Desert. We’d been in town for about a week but the tennis tournament had taken up all of our time. We wanted to see some of the town. It was reputed to be a lovely, upscale place.

The main street was lined with your typical upscale shops but there was also swank coffee shops and cafes, lots of art galleries, and tons of high end jewelry stores. It was a lovely little town and exactly what we had expected of Palm Springs.

It didn’t look like there were too many interesting places to stop for lunch between Palm Desert and Los Angeles so we opted to try a local favorite: Sherman’s Deli. It was highly rated. Sherman’s Deli was one of the many food vendors at the tennis tournament. It was a Jewish Style deli. We had intended to give them a try but never got around to it. This was going to be our chance.

As soon as you’re seated they bring you a tray of pickles and sauerkraut. The pickles were somewhere between sour and half-sour but we ate them anyway. Between the two of us we managed to order all of our favorites. We got a corned beef sandwich with potato latkes acting as the bread and we got a pastrami on rye. The potato latkes, which came with sour cream, were very good but lacked onion. The pastrami was first rate. Unfortunately the corned beef was very disappointing. It reminded us of the stuff you get sliced at the deli counter or just about any supermarket. The funny thing was that most of the people there was locals and they were eating things like fruit plates and dry bagels. Welcome to California.

The drive to my brother’s house was over an hour longer than even our GPS said it should have been. Do you ever get used to driving in traffic again?

Sunday, March 13, 2022

Today we were scheduled to go to the Channel Islands along with my brother and his twin fifteen year old sons. We got up early and called the harbor ferry service for the latest go/no-go report. They said that the seas were rather rough that morning and if we’d prefer we could reschedule at no additional cost. Some of our party were a little apprehensive about the boat trip to begin with so this was not good news. Being seasick for hours on end is a lousy way to spend your weekend so we decided to reschedule for the next available date: April 2.

Our new plan was to spend the day at the beach. We drove over to the Point Dume Nature Preserve in Malibu and did a little hiking. There was a trail at the end of the beach that lead up to a cliff with a magnificent view of the surrounding area. Afterwards the trail lead even higher to the top of a fairly high hill. There were interesting plants, flowers and shrubs all along the way and we had fun trying to guess what they all were. I told them I would take pictures of everything and that my computer software would identify them all so we could see who was right.

After working up an appetite we drove over to Paradise Cove. There is a lovely cafe situated right on the waterfront. We gave our name to the maître d’ and walked along the beach for about 20 minutes until our table was ready. We were fortunate to get a prime spot right near the water.

The cafe specialized in seafood. The food was tasty, the portions were huge and we all overindulged. For dessert we couldn’t decide between the Mile High Chocolate Cake, the Key Lime Pie or the Bread Pudding Ala mode – so we got them all! The service was slow but it just enhanced the experience. We all had a wonderful time basking in the sun, eating good food and enjoying each other’s company.

Monday, March 14, 2022

We left early because we had an appointment about three hours away in Buellton⁩. We were going to get a guided tour of a Llama and Alpaca farm. The place was called Zaca Creek Ranch. They gave us very detailed directions on how to get there but the turn off to the farm was right off the highway by a locked gate and so we whizzed right past it. A quick u-turn at the next exit solved that problem and we were only about ten minutes late.

The drive up to the farm was like traversing a parkland. We passed cows, deer, rabbits and all sorts of other animals on the winding road up the hill. When we finally arrived we saw a large number of Llamas and Alpacas in a pen, just waiting for us.

One of the owners, Hayley, greeted us. After introductions she told us all about the farm and the animals. They also had a rescue pig and some goats in another part of the farm. Llamas and Alpacas are some of the sweetest looking creatures you’ll ever see but we knew that they were not open to being petted or caressed. The owner told us that one of the Llamas, a girl named Cotton, was rather friendly and that when she was ready, she’d let us pet her. As we talked Cotton never took her eyes off us. After about 20 minutes she figured we were ok and walked over and sat right between us. She was ready to be petted. Her coat was so soft and fluffy. We wanted to take her home with us!

The farm had a very nice gift store, too. Some of the items were made with the wool that had been shorn from these very animals. They also had their own brand of coffee, which was imported from South America. It smelled wonderful.

After about an hour and a half we said our goodbyes and headed into Solvang for Lunch. Solvang is a picturesque town. You could call it, “Little Denmark”. We walked up and down the main streets and finally settled in for lunch at a restaurant named Arne’s World Famous Aebelskivers. We ordered a Danish sausage, a German bratwurst and, of course, some Aebelskivers. So, what are Aebelskivers? They’re small, round pieces of baked dough topped with some sort of sweetened fruit and powdered sugar. Usually the fruit is apple but ours had raspberry jam. They were very good. Before leaving town we got some danish and some cheese and onion bread for our breakfast the next day.

Finally, we arrived at our AirBNB in Lompoc, which is about midway between Santa Barbra and Pismo Beach. In fact it’s right near the newly christened Vandenberg Space Force Base.

Tuesday, March 15, 2022 – Thursday, March 17, 2022

After the excitement of packing up and leaving Las Vegas, hiking in Death Valley and Joshua Tree National Parks, the long days and nights at the tennis tournament, hiking in Malibu and exploring the Llama farm we needed a rest. Our AirBNB was a large and comfortable one bed-room cottage on a property with a gorgeous English style garden. We decided to veg out, recharge our batteries and enjoy the quiet life for a few days. Fortunately, they owners had subscribed to the Tennis Channel and so we spent most of our days watching the later rounds of the tournament.

An update to the picture issue: If you’re using gmail (the web version or the app) the pictures show up just fine in the email. It’s only on Apple devices that the pictures seem to be missing. Ugh! Click here to see the web version with pictures.

We’ve been having some issues with pictures showing up in the emails. I called the hosting company for help with the problem. They said that the articles appear fine when viewing the website. The issue is not with the web hosting service but with the software I’m using to create and publish the articles (never mind it was the software that they recommended using).

The software for creating and publishing the articles is called WordPress. It is a public domain, community supported product. You can post your issue on a bulletin board and, if someone happens to see it and knows how to fix your issue, you may get some assistance. Otherwise, you’re out of luck.

I happen to know a little about programming and software development but the last thing I want to do is get down and dirty with this package. I may eventually have to do that but in the meantime I’m hoping that an update to the package will be posted and it will magically fix the issue. Here’s hoping. In the meantime here’s the link to the full article on the website.

Monday, March 7, 2022

Our plan was to spend the day visiting Palm Springs before settling into our AirBNB in Palm Desert. We drove around the town to get the lay of the land before deciding to park on the Main Street and go exploring. We didn’t know exactly what was there but we were expecting something very special. There were a lot of nice shops and a few galleries but from what we saw it would have been just about any other upscale town. We had coffee in a lovely French style cafe before heading out. We didn’t spend more than an hour and half there.

We checked into our AirBNB without issue and noticed that it was still quite early. We decided to head over to the tennis tournament and check things out. It was the first day of qualifying and there were a lot of big names on the schedule. We hadn’t actually planned on attending this day but we were glad we did. We saw several excellent qualifying matches including Catherine McNally, Sara Erani and Christina McHale plus saw an incredible number of top players on the practice courts. It turned out to be a great day.

Tuesday, March 8, 2022

Before heading over to the tournament this morning we went in search of a local coffee shop. We eschewed StarBucks and found an interesting place called Indian Wells Coffee. It turned out to be a great find. The place was packed with locals standing in line waiting to get it. When we finally got a table we realized that the cafe was also populated with many famous tennis players and their entourages. We sat there for almost an hour and watched as quite a few players came and went. We saw Feliciano Lopez (who we’d seen play the previous evening), his entourage and family, Annette Kontaveit, Vera Zvonareva and Alison Van Uytvanck to name just a few. As we were leaving we crossed paths with Maria Sakari, one of the few players that is a lot smaller in person than she appears on TV. We immediately resolved to come back every morning.

We spent most of the day at the practice courts watching some of our favorite players. It was a lot more interesting than some of the matches that had been scheduled for that day. At night, before going home, we watched Christopher O’Connell win a singles qualifying match against Kevin Anderson.

Wednesday, March 9, 2022

We got to the complex about an hour before the matches started and headed straight over to the practice courts. We saw Coco Gauff, Rafael Nadal with Carlos Alcarez and Daniel Medvedev with Karen Khatchanov. The stands for the practice courts were setup so that you could get really close to the players. On the adjacent court we saw Victoria Azarenka, Francis Tiafoe and Garbine Mugarutha. We stuck around for a while because the next practice session featured Stephanos Tsitsipas with Matteo Berrettini. They were hitting the ball so hard we thought they’d break their rackets. Towards the end of their session Emma Raducanu showed up on the adjacent court. Later that day we watched Madison Keys and Jessica Pegula win their first round doubles match.

Thursday, March 10, 2022

We went back to Indian Wells Coffee and played name the tennis player. It was harder than you think because many of them were not outfitted the way you’d normally see them on court. There was one young lady that we were almost certain was a tennis player but even with going through the list of players names and pictures on the Indian Wells App we couldn’t identify her. It nagged us for a while.

When we were ready to leave we picked up our trash and headed over to a garbage bin. Who else but Madison Keys and her boyfriend, Bjorn Fratangelo, sat down at our table. On the way out I walked back over to the table. Keys noticed me coming her way and looked decidedly uncomfortable. I said, “you guys were great last night”. I got no response. She looked very frightened. I guess I’m pretty scary even after I’ve had my morning coffee.

On our way to watch Fabio Fogninni in his first round singles match we got a good glimpse of Maria Sakari and Rafael Nadal on the practice courts. It was hard to tear ourselves away. After Fogninni won in his usual, flamboyant style, we watched Sofia Kenin and Alison Riske dispatch Anett Kontaveit and Elena Rybakina in a very entertaining match. We stayed right we were because the next match saw Coco Gauff and Catherine McNally beat Lauren Davis (our mystery woman from the coffee shop that morning) and Christina McHale.

Friday, March 11, 2022

Once again we got there early and headed towards the practice courts where we saw Naomi Osaka. She had been assigned a court in the far corner. It was roped off so no spectators could get too close. No doubt she’d requested some privacy because of her ongoing issues.

We passed another practice court where we spotted an unbelievably tall man. From a distance we couldn’t identify him but when we got closer we saw it was John Isner who was practicing with his doubles partner Jack Sock. The two were clowning around more than they were practicing but we saw both of them warming up their serves. That was a sight to see. They were the eventual men’s doubles winners this year.

We found a good seat at one of the smaller stadiums. Two doubles matches were scheduled and although we had no objection to seeing the first one we were really only interested in the second one. The first match was Karatsev and Rublev vs Bautista Agut and Davidovich Fokina. I assumed that since Bautista Agut was a real veteran he’d dominate and his team would quickly win. Boy was I wrong. The other three player were youngsters with hard hitting ground strokes and an amazing ability to track down balls. It was an incredibly entertaining match – perhaps the best match we’d see all week.

Bautista Agut and Davidovich Fokina took a very tight first set. One of the main strategies employed by both sides was to take advantage of their opponents limited net skills and hit right at the net man. Missing these balls infuriated Rublev and he had several tantrums on the court. Nevertheless he and Karatsev played some amazing points to even the score at one set apiece. The third and deciding set was a 10 point tie breaker. This time Karatsev and Rublev ran away with it in decisive style. It was very entertaining.

The second match featured Golubev and Zverev vs Evans and Khachanov. Zverev dominated with his serve and showed surprisingly good net skills. Golubev and Evans, on opposite sides of the net, played way above our expectations. In the end Golubev and Zverev turned out to be too strong and they took the match in two sets.

The next match featured two of our favorites: Lopez and Tsitsipas vs Klasen and McClachlan. Lopez had been a little tentative playing singles the night before but today he was on his game. When you have someone like Tsitsipas backing you up it makes it a lot easier to go for your shots. The two of them played like a veteran team and put on an excellent display both from the backcourt and at the net. We had a good time watching them.

In the afternoon we decided that, since we’d paid a lot of money for seats in Stadium One, we should check it out. Our seats were in one of the higher tiers making it hard to get a good view of the action. I don’t see the value in building huge stadiums for tennis matches. I’d rather see the action on TV than watch from those heights. We watched for a little while as Muguruza pounded Riske. Muguruza won the first set at love and was up 4-0 when Alison finally won her first game. We decided to seek greener pastures. We were later shocked to find that Riske won that match in three sets.

We headed over to Stadium Two. We wanted to get there early because we knew that the coming doubles match would be very popular. When we got there we saw Mikhail Kukushkin playing Tommy Paul in round one singles action. It was a good match. Paul took him in three sets. By the end of the match there was standing room only in the stadium. Next up: Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis vs Ivan Dodig and Marcelo Melo. Dodig and Melo were a seasoned doubles team but Kyrgios and Kokkinakis were the Australian Open Champs. This was going to be fun.

The match didn’t disappoint. Kokkinakis can be rather mercurial on the court but he had no choice but to play the straight man for Kyrgios. I was impressed at how good a team the Aussies were. Kyrgios showcased his talent at the net by hitting all sorts of high quality, sharply angled volleys. Both teams played excellent doubles but in the end the Aussies were just too good. So, why were two very good teams playing against one another in the first round? Kyrgios and Kokkinakis were seeded as wild cards. It was an unfortunate pairing for Dodig and Melo because they make their living playing doubles and it’s very unusual for them to get knocked out in the first round. They were obviously upset at the result.

We stuck around for the last match of the day. It featured Madison Keys and Misaki Doi in first round singles action. Maddie played a high quality match and simply had too much power for Doi to handle.

The evening matches started at 6pm and 8pm. By the time the sun went down it got very cold, around 55 degrees F, and windy. After the first evening we learned to bring additional clothing for the night matches. One of our fellow attendees had a very creative solution. He wore his bathrobe to the evening match. We tried not to laugh as he walked to his seat in front of us. He also brought a cup of coffee and a hat. I think he enjoyed the match.

Saturday, March 5, 2022

This morning we ate our provided breakfast and got on the road. Our choices were to go all the way back to Las Vegas near Harry Reid Airport (recently renamed from McCarran Airport) and take I-15 or a slightly longer route we’d never been on through the California desert. We elected for a new adventure. The way twisted and turned and climbed for over an hour up and over a large mountain range. We saw a bunch of bikers trying the same route in the opposite direction. They were going to have a difficult day. On the other side of the mountain we found Route 40 and had every expectation of taking that except for the fact that our GPS told us to take some long and lonely road through The Mohave National Preserve. We stopped the car and reset the GPS. It still said the same thing. We tried again but this time instead of using Apple Maps we used Google Maps. It agreed with Apple Maps. We figured that we had a full tank of gas, lots of water and some energy bars so we’d take the plunge.

The road was in decent condition but it had been a long time since it had been paved. Vegetation had started encroaching on the sides. We felt a little uneasy. For the first 20 minutes (it seemed a LOT longer) we had the entire road to ourselves. Finally we saw some traffic coming toward us from the opposite direction. It made us feel a lot better. By the time we hit 29 Palms, the town adjacent to Joshua Tree, we were starving so we headed into The Cactus Trails Cafe.

When we pulled up we saw people waiting outside. We took that as a good sign. Ten minutes later we were seated. Signs in the cafe said that they were understaffed. Translation: service would be slow. There were also signs by the cash register suggesting that if we paid in cash we would avoid a 3.5% surcharge. Slow service and surcharges; it doesn’t get any better. We ordered a cheese burger and a patty melt. Instead of fries we both ordered a garden salad (the end of days is near 😜). At least the food was good.

By now it was almost 2:00 pm. Our check-in time was 3:00 pm but we gave it shot anyway. We knew when we booked it that the place had a rather unusual look to it. It was a collection of old-time looking cabins in a rustic setting. We weren’t sure what to expect. The woman confirmed that our room was ready, walked us to our cabin, gave us a tour and even suggested a couple of places for breakfast. She was wonderful.

Our room was large, comfortable and spotlessly clean. We booked a while ago and had forgotten that it came with a complete kitchen, too. We were delighted. We quickly settled in and headed to the park.

With our newly minted park pass we whizzed by the entrance booth and were on our way. The road twisted and climbed for about 15 minutes before we saw any Joshua Trees – and then there were many. That first day we drove the length of the park. We had intended to do several hikes but the temperature had dropped into the 40s and the winds were howling. It was rather unpleasant to be outside the car for too long. We stopped along the way a number of times for photo ops and did a short hike around Jumbo Rocks. We learned that Joshua Trees are actually members of the Yucca family and, in fact, are not trees at all – they are plants. They grow slowly at about two inches per year and live to be about 140 years old, although they have been know to live several times that amount.

The weather the next day was supposed to be a lot better. Before heading back to the hotel we stopped at a supermarket and got some fried chicken for dinner and some cold cereal and milk for breakfast the next day.

Sunday, March 6, 2022

The idea for Joshua Tree was suggested to President Teddy Roosevelt by Minerva Hoyt. In 1906 the park was established as a National Monument. It became a National Park in 1994. To honor Ms. Hoyt a campground and a mountain bear her name.

Today was Sunday and we noticed that the park was much more crowded than the previous day. The weather was much better and we’d planned a large list of things to do. Our first hike was to Arch Rock. It was a short hike and along the way we saw signs to Heart Rock. We made the detour and found a large boulder in the shape of a heart. After a few selfies we headed over to Arch Rock. It was easy to see from the path but actually getting to it was a little tricky. There was a long line of hikers patiently waiting their turn to climb into the arch and take selfies. Everyone was happy and talkative and more than willing to take pictures for one another. It was a lot of fun.

One of the most unusual things you notice in the park is a scattering of large clumps of boulders that seem to come out of nowhere. These pieces of granite have been pushed to the surface through volcanic activity over many eons. Weathering has caused them to crack and take interesting shapes. It reminded us of the alien planet on the movie, “Galaxy Quest”. Those scenes, however, were filmed in Utah.

Next we drove towards the far entrance of the park in search of the Cholla Cactus Garden. As we rounded a bend all of a sudden the landscape was full of Cholla (pronounced Choy-ya). Evidently there is a relatively small area where they thrive within the park. We parked at the garden and walked around the path where a large patch was fenced in for our viewing pleasure. They were tall and thin with black trunks and white fuzzy looking tops. Of course they were covered in nasty thorns.

Further down the road was a collection of Ocotillo. They look like a cactus with lots of long thin branches emanating from the roots but they are actually classified as a bush. These bushes still have thorns. Several of them had small red flowers on them.

As we continued the drive there were no more Joshua Trees. This part of the park is part of the Colorado Desert and it has a completely different look and feel. The Joshua Trees are located in the part of the park located in the Mohave Desert. We reached the entrance and stopped for a lunch break. We ate some of the energy bars that we’d been carrying with us.

On the way back we stopped at Cap Rock for a nice nature trail. All along the way there were signs describing the vegetation. We finally learned that the small, hairy trees that we’d assumed were young Joshua Trees were actually Mohave Yucca plants. It was a load off our minds.

We tried to get into the parking lot of Hall of Horror several times but it was always full. We’d read about all of the attractions but had never seen any description of this site. With a name like that we were intrigued. It turns out that it is a hard-core rock climbing site.

Along the road we found bunch of nice looking Joshua Trees and stopped to take some pictures. Among them was a tall, skinny tree that was the tallest tree in the park. It must have been over 60 feet, which is quite unusual.

Our last stop was Skull Rock. The guide said it was a short hike but we found it right alongside the road. It kind of resembles a skull, Darth Vader’s helmet or Voldemort depending on your viewing angle. There was a long line of people waiting to take pictures from the best vantage point. We got several.

For dinner we went back to the supermarket and got a bag of Caesar Salad. We picked the left over fried chicken and added it in. It was a nice, light dinner.

Joshua Tree is definitely one of the smallest parks we’ve seen. Even so, it is a lot of fun and is definitely worth a trip. There are nice trails, nature walks, hiking, rocking climbing and four wheeling just waiting for you.

P.S. We’re still trying to cure the problem of the missing pictures in the emails. To that end we’re trying a new format. If your email still doesn’t contain any pictures you can see the full article here. Fingers crossed!

Thursday, March 3, 2022

After three years in Las Vegas we finally made our escape. We had only planned to be around for a year but COVID interrupted our plans. Our current plan is to travel around the United States for about two years and see lots of National Parks. After that we have high hopes that we’ll be able to return to the European Continent. We had an amazing itinerary planned and would really like to complete it.

In the morning we stood for apartment inspection. An agent snooped around every corner of the place and declared that she was unable to tell us if we were entitled to our security deposit back because someone else had to come and inspect the carpets. Seriously???

We had loaded up the car the previous night so we were able to make a fast getaway. Normally we travel pretty light but it seems we acquired a lot of new stuff during the last three years. The car was packed to the gills but we were in great spirits for the short, two hour trip to Death Valley.

The first thing we did was to buy an annual park pass. The pass, which costs $80, would allow the two of us to visit any National Park for 12 months. The pass also includes National Forests, National Wildlife Refuges, Bureau of Land Management Sites, Bureau of Reclamation Sites and US Army Corp of Engineers Sites. It’s a bargain. At age 62 you can get a lifetime pass for the same $80. There are some perks for the elderly.

We’d been to Death Valley before in 2017. During that trip we traversed the park from East to West on our way to Yosemite National Park. We stopped at a bunch of places along the way and had a great time. This time, however, we planned to spend a couple of days and see much of the other parts of the park that we’d missed. Our first adventure was a hike up Golden Canyon Trail.

The trail is a long loop that connects with two other trails for a total of about six miles. It was a hot day, with the temperate holding in the mid 90s, so we decided to do just the Golden Canyon trail and double back. It was just as well since the entire hike turned out to be up hill. If you’ve never been to Death Valley you might be surprised. Yes, there is a huge valley in the middle but the sides of the park are made up of mountains created by geologic eruptions. There are striations of color everywhere. It’s quite beautiful. As advertised the center of the canyon was made up of rocks that were a golden color.

Afterwards we continued down the road and took Artists Drive. It’s described as a 15 minute drive through some canyons with a variety of colors. Along the way we found several places to park and climb up to some vista points. The paths were rather steep and gravely. We had bought some hiking poles for just this kind of thing but had left them in the car. We’d remember next time.

The highlight of the drive is a place where a long, undulating eruption, brought a variety of minerals to the surface each reflecting the sunlight in a different color. It is quite a spectacular sight. There is also a steep path to climb into the rocks but we were getting tired by then and decided to just enjoy the view.

Our last stop in the park was to Badwater Basin – the lowest point in the United States. It’s a large salt flat with an accommodating site from which to take pictures. I noticed that the sign seemed to be wrong. It said that the elevation was 282 feet / 855 meters below sea level. 282 feet converted to meters isn’t even close to 855 meters. A quick calculation in my mind said it should be less than 90. What the heck? It bothered me for the rest of the evening.

It turned out that our hotel was a much longer drive from the park than we expected in spite of the fact that it was as close as we could get. The drive was about 45 minutes and by this time we were rather tired and hungry. We passed through downtime Pahrump and only saw fast food restaurants and casinos. We were hoping for better. When we finally arrived at our hotel, about 15 minutes outside of Town, we were told that they were no longer providing their famous home made breakfasts and that in a few minutes someone would drop by our room with tomorrow’s breakfast – consisting of cold cereal, a small can of juice, a piece of fruit and a pastry. We were VERY disappointed. We were so tired that we ate our “breakfast” for dinner and went to bed.

Friday, March 4, 2022

There were very few interesting places to have breakfast this morning. Most of the “good restaurants” were in the casinos and we wanted no part of that. We finally settled on “Mom’s Diner”. It had good reviews. We weren’t expecting much.

We ordered some standard breakfast fare. The food was good but nothing special. I ordered the corned beef hash and eggs and could swear that the corned beef was the stuff you get from the can in the supermarket. Luckily for me I like that stuff. The meals was fairly reasonable at about $21. We got some gas and were back on our way to the park.

Our first stop of the day was Dante’s View. You ascend through a series of switchbacks that snake through a large canyon. Higher and higher you go until you are well over 5,000 feet. You are rewarded for your patience with a panoramic view of the entire basin. On the far side are large, snow covered mountains and in the middle the vast salt flats that stretch for miles. There’s a steep path to a higher elevation for even better viewing. This time we remembered our poles. Given the fresh cool air and the sweeping vistas we hardly noticed how steep the footing was. As we approached the peak our expressions changed as we saw two more even higher peaks to climb. We declined to go any further.

We wanted to use the restrooms before heading out to the other trails so we went back to the visitor center where we had purchased our park pass the day before. I couldn’t help myself. With picture in hand I ran straight over to the information desk and asked the ranger about the sign at Badwater Basin. She smiled like she’d heard this one before and said, “There’s probably a decimal point there”. When I blew up the picture as far as I could I could see a faint decimal point indicating not 855 meters but 85.5 meters. Mystery solved!

Our next stop was Natural Bridge. We reached the turnoff and discovered that the next mile and a half to the parking lot was on a poorly maintained dirt road with deep ruts and large holes. The road was really only suitable for an SUV but we trekked on. We were relieved when we finally parked that the car was still in one piece. The hike to the rock formation was just over a mile but we found that it was uphill the entire way. Dante’s View had done a number on our legs and we were dragging most of the way. When we finally made it we took a few half-hearted pictures and started back down the trail. When we got back to the car we were both exhausted. We ate a couple of energy bars, rolled down the windows to let the cool breeze in and took a nap.

By now it was about 2:30 pm and we had checked off all of the items on our itinerary. Death Valley is considered to be a “dark sky” park, which means that it is an excellent place to see and photograph the night sky. To kill some time we went back to one of the sites we’d seen in 2017: The Harmony Borax Mine.

Borax was mined from 1883 until 1888 in Death Valley. It was a labor intensive process. Because of the great distance the minerals had to travel to get to markets the borax was mined and refined on site. Each load was pulled by a “Twenty Mule Team”, which became the symbol for the Borax industry for over a century.

By the time we finished at the Borax mine there was still more than three hours until it would be dark. We were tired and had noticed the the sky had become quite cloudy. It would be a bad night for viewing. We decided to head back to our hotel. Along the way we stopped at a supermarket and picked up some prepared food for our dinner.