People in Anza-Borrego

Here are the last of the pictures from Anza-Borrego.  I wasn't there by myself as the other would imply.

The first is of our return to the car after hiking in the Palo Verde wash.  We were on the lookout for the trail that would take us to an abandoned mine and found it shortly after this picture was taken.  In case you are wondering, that is an ocotillo cactus by Meg.

Sure, the Stallard family likes to hike and explore when on vacation.  However, there is also a lot of down time reading and relaxing in the sun.  This relaxing doesn't take place only near the pool.  Here are Jenny, Tom, and Meg enjoying the shade while Dave, Tim, and Bob explored further up a slot canyon.
Ever want to know how big a Joshua Tree is?  Find Jenny (not too hard) and do your estimates.  When we were in Joshua Tree National Park, we were looking for the biggest Joshua tree that Dave had ever seen - he had shown us the picture earlier.  We thought that this might be it, but alas it was not.  Still, it's pretty big.
On our last day, we went on a hike to another slot canyon.  It got tight in a couple of places.    Here are some other shots and more explanations of how tight the canyons were.

So that's it for Anza-Borrego.  I will get some other shots up soon.  Spring is here - technically - and summer is coming soon.  I'll have more time and better weather to go out in the future.

Squirrel Encounter

A couple of weeks ago, we had a beautiful day and the squirrels were out in force around the capitol.  This one was getting pretty friendly, but once he realized I had no food for him, he chirped, turned tail, and took off for the nearest tree.  

I hope that this brightens you day just a little.

Joshua Trees in Joshua Tree

My last post showed some of the rocks in Joshua Tree National Park.  While the rocks there are famous and lot of fun to climb, the national park was not named for them.  Instead, in case you didn't know, the park was named for the funny looking trees that grow there.  Here are some.

I tell ya, the Mormons sure are adventurous.  I'm not sure when they made their way to this area, but they were the ones that named the trees Joshua Trees.  Evidently the trees reminded these people of Joshua raising his arms to God.  Sure, I guess I see that.
These trees have a few other historical names and one of them is more descriptive - Spanish bayonet.  The leaves are very long and sharp along the sides and at the tip.  When I hear Joshua, I tend to think of something that is welcoming and personable.  However, Spanish bayonet seems less friendly for some reason.  Perhaps if this name stuck the park would not be as popular.
Somehow I think that the park would survive with a different name.  Pictures are nice, but being there is something else completely!  Seeing the trees stretch from horizon to horizon is amazing.  They are absolutely amazing and hilarious at the same time.
Dr. Seuss was right to use these trees as inspiration for the trees in the Lorax.  They seem like something that has come to live out of one of his stories.

Rocks in Joshua Tree

Anza-Borrego is relatively close to Joshua Tree and since Jenny and I had never been there, we decided to take a day trip to see the funny trees.  While I am not posting any trees this time, I will in the future.

As Dave knows, Joshua Tree is a popular place for rock climbers and while I didn't get any pictures of people scaling vertical wall faces, I did take some of smaller rocks.  The one above was at a pull out when we spotted our first Joshua tree.  The small plant in front is a young Joshua tree, so I guess I did post one tree.
This arch was a pleasant surprise.  We climbed under it and I was a little nervous about that large boulder wedged against the arch.  The left side (in the picture) seems to defy gravity by hanging up in the air.  I quickly scrambled up and under but still didn't feel safe on that side because of the other boulders behind it.  

Near this spot, a dad was teaching this two kids to climb.  We could clearly hear his instructions.  It seemed to be an easy wall to climb, but then again, I was watching, not doing.

We ate our lunch surrounded by rock climbers - so we had some entertainment.  Conversations on the top of the rocks were easy to hear in this little valley.  The most entertaining part while watching was the repel off the top.  One lady was a little timid about coming down, I guess but I would be as well.