Favorite Pictures of Trees and Flowers

I took thousands of pictures while hiking this past year and some even turned out OK. Digital photography is a wonderful thing because it used to be that you'd have to develop your film to discover that only 2 of the 36 pictures you took were any good. Now, you can snap away freely and if you don't like the pictures, just hit DELETE and you're done.

A professional photographer I am not. All of my pictures were taken with your basic point and shoot camera with a minimum of fussing with the controls. I saw something I liked, pointed the camera and snapped. The main camera was a Canon S3IS. I like this camera because it has a 12X optical zoom but it broke on me twice, unfortunately. The first time I sent it to Canon for repair and now it's just sitting waiting to go back again. The other camera I used was a Canon PowerShot A540, a real basic camera. It worked OK but I really missed the extra zoom, especially when I came upon Bighorn Sheep, which I did a few times. I didn't do any real photo processing. I just uploaded them to iPhoto on my Mac and that was that. A couple of them I changed to B&W just for fun and a few I enhanced the color if they were too dark but basically they are as I shot them.

Anyway, here are a few of my favorites. Click on them to enlarge and if you'd to download one for your personal use, right click and save it to either your photo application or your desktop.

Trees don't last to long in the desert without a constant source of water. That's why there are so few of them. I took a number of pictures of dead trees and, for some reason, they tend to look better in black and white. At least, to me they do.

This bent over palm is near my home in La Quinta and is near where a water tank used to be. They put a road up to the location and planted trees around it but once the water system was upgraded, and the tank no longer used, all the trees died.

The palm in the Indian Canyons is still living despite its bent over position. I always call it the Rainbow Palm and people who go there seem to know what I'm talking about. I don't know if they have a name for it but to me it will always be the Rainbow Palm.

We did not have a great year in the desert for wildflowers but we did have enough rain so that we got a couple weeks of decent displays. I found the best place for flowers this spring was in South Palm Desert near the Visitors Center for the San Jacinto and Santa Rosa National Monument.

There were good displays of Desert Chicory.

The Notch Leaf Phacelia were particularly abundant and I discovered that they can irritate your legs if you brush up against them.

These little Windmill flowers were also all around. They were probably the most delicate little flower I saw this year.

The area off the Art Smith Trail was also pretty good for flowers, especially Cacti. There were a couple of days where the whole trail was lined with flowers although it didn't last for very long.

Cholla, Red Barrel and Brittlebush in the late afternoon light near the Schey Trail.

Red Barrel Cactus flowers in bloom.

The Boo Hoff Trail in La Quinta was also an area where I came across a fair amount of flowers. These pictures were taken over a couple week period in February on different sections of the trail.

The green bloom of the Silver Cholla.

Ghost Flowers are pretty common along Devil Canyon at the southern end of the Boo Hoff.

The Desert Five Spot just might be the prettiest little flower that blooms in the desert. This one was sort of a late bloomer and I saw it about two months after everything else had died.

While not really a picture of flowers I liked this photo so much I decided to include it here. I also might include it in the upcoming section about my favorite animal shots, too.

I also got a few shots in the mountains nearby but really didn't get any good floral shots in the high mountains. I think I may have just been there at the wrong time.

This one was taken on the trail on the way down from Cahuilla Mountain. It was part of a long plant that grew in a meadow up there. I have no idea what it is.

I was just about the take a picture of this Silver Cholla bloom at the start of my hike to Sugarloaf Mountain when a little milkweed bug decided to hop in my picture. He made a nice contrast to the color of the flower so I decided not to shoo him away.

People who've never been to the desert or who don't look to closely have no idea what incredible beauty exists in this stark and often barren landscape. But with just a little rain the desert turns into a carpet of wildflowers and lush life. Here's hoping for some good winter storms and more flowers this spring. I'm ready to point and click. How about you?

Happy Mother's Day!

DAY ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY

Mother's Day, the national holiday made to honor Mom. To do so I went for a hike in 104º heat so I'd get back in time to take Mom to dinner.

Now it's often been said it's not the heat it's the humidity and that's true but the thing they don't take into the equation is the radiant heat, direct sunlight. That's what kills you. Usually when I go out on hot afternoons I try to go when the sun has already gone over the horizon. Today that wasn't possible because I needed to get back in time to take Mom to dinner. Hopefully, I won't have to do it again.

I came prepared, though. I brought plenty of water, a mister bottle and a walking stick to avert any snakes. That was my wife's idea and although I know it's too hot for snakes, she's a mom, too, so I brought it to honor her.

I leave the parking area and notice that there's one other psycho out here hiking this afternoon.

And this guy may just be crazier than I am. At least I have a shirt to cover my skin. Can you say melanoma?

Someone has done a very nice landscaping job around this ocotillo. It really looks nice out here about a mile from the parking area

Wow! Look at this! Shade! I'm so excited I'm going to get about 15 seconds of shade! WooHoo!

I didn't see any snakes along the way but they're out here. I came upon some freshly shed snakeskin.

I get up to the start of the Boo Hoff Trail and decide to turn back here. I could actually go further, the heat is not too oppressive, but I've got to get back to take Mom to dinner.

Something I did not expect to see on this hike were flowers. But right off the trail I spotted this beautiful little Desert Five Spot, Eremalche rotundfolia.

When I finally get back to the parking area, it has really started to fill up.

And it's easy to see why. The temperature has dropped all the way to 100º. It's a good thing I brought a jacket.

I love you, Mom!

Rock On

DAY ONE HUNDRED AND TEN

Today I went up to Joshua Tree to find a place called Samuelson's Rocks. Samuelson's Rocks are some rocks that were written on by some crazy old coot named Samuelson. He wrote a bunch of political, religious, philosophical mumbo jumbo on boulders near his homestead and now it's part of the National Register of Historic Places. He ended up in a loony bin and then escaped and died somewhere in Washington State. I wanted to see what the rocks were all about.

There was one problem, though. The directions on the NPS website are somewhat cryptic and I didn't have a map. No map, no directions: my kind of hike. I mean, how hard could it possibly be to find some rocks in Joshua Tree?

So the directions say to start at the turnout west of Quail Springs Picnic Area (aka Trashcan Rock) and then walk one and a half miles. The problem is they don't tell me WHICH turnout--there are about ten--or one and a half miles in what direction. I guess that's how they keep the area pristine. I decide to go this way.

There are a fair amount of flowers blooming and I expect more in the coming weeks up here. The area near the West Entrance is covered with flowers.

Here are some rocks! Just not the rocks I'm looking for.

I come upon some old junk (historical litter) on my hunt.

And even more junk, which probably means there was a mine or a well or a home in the area.

Well, whaddaya know? A well.

And it has a pump. Let's see if it works!

It actually does! I get a good steady flow of water after just about 10-12 pumps. Of course, by the time I quit pumping and rush over to get a picture of the flowing water, the water stops flowing. Next time I come to this area, I'm going to bring someone along to pump for me.

So I go and check out these rocks but they are not THE rocks.

Nor are these.

Nor these. I don't have much time to wander around and find the real rocks because I have to rush home and pick up kids at school. But there are two things I have learned. One, there IS water in Joshua Tree! I always tell people there is none but now I know that's not entirely true. Two, I know where the Samuelson Rocks are NOT.

You never know what you're going to find while exploring. I find someone's water cache but I have to wonder why it's needed with a nice functioning well nearby. I guess maybe they don't have a pumper along either.

This is an interesting part of the park I have never hiked in before and I look forward to coming back. Next time, I'll find those rocks and who knows what else?

Pushin' It!

DAY EIGHTY FIVE

Papa's got a new pair of shoes!

I was quite excited to get a new pair of Patagonia trail running shoes delivered the other day and could not wait to try them out. After putting them through the paces, I can only say one thing.

My feet are in love.

I decided to put my new kicks to the test by going to Pushwalla Palms. It's the only trail I hadn't done this year at the Coachella Valley Nature Preserve so I figured this was the perfect time. The preserve honored my new shoes by putting some new steps on the trail.

You hike high on the ridge above Horseshoe Palms.

There are still some flowers along the trail but they are on their last legs. If you want to get out and see wildflowers in the desert, you'd better do so this weekend.

The palms and the mesquite are doing quite well, though.

Except this one palm which created a little trail limbo. Good thing no cars were around.

The oasis is strong and healthy with new growth emerging to replace the toppled trees.

It's easy to see why the oasis is so strong. There is a lot of flowing surface water.

There are several stands of large healthy palms at this oasis.

The trail goes right through one of them but I take the trail that goes around. Do you think I want to get my beautiful new shoes muddy on the very first day?

On the way out of the oasis, you come across this carcass of a vehicle that just didn't quite make it. I wonder if maybe a palm tree fell on it.

I feel so good that I literally run most of the way back from the oasis to the car. Of course, it's mostly downhill so that helps.

It's funny how a new pair of shoes can make a person so happy. Somewhere, Imelda Marcos must be smiling.

Flower Power

Day Seventy Seven

One month ago today I went out to hike on the southern section of the Boo Hoff Trail and didn't. I got on another section of the trail and hiked up a canyon to nowhere. It was a fun hike, just not where I intended to go. Well, I ascribe to the "If at first you don't succeed, don't be so stupid the next time" philosophy so this time I consulted a map before leaving.

The southern section of the Boo Hoff Trail is south of Lake Cahuilla and can be reached by a dirt road that leaves Avenue 56 just before turning into The Quarry or the County Park. At the end of the road is this sign that lets you know it's the end of the road.

There are plenty of Blue Palo Verde trees in bloom along the wash that leads to the trail.

The blossom of the Blue Palo Verde, Parkinsonia florida

A sign which assures me that this time I am at the right place.

Ghost Flower, Mohavea confertiflora.

There are so many flowers blooming right now--like this Windmill, Allionia incarnata. However, they probably won't last too much longer. NOW is the time to get out there and enjoy them.

Obviously, I am not the only one enjoying the flowers along the trail.

The trail wanders up until I reach this point where you are asked to stay on the trail. What fun is that? I guess I'll just turn around here. Besides, I do have to get to work.

Sometimes you don't have to look very hard to see several different types of flowers--there are five in this picture--but you do have to go look. So what are you waiting for?