Favorite Pictures of Sunrises and Sunsets

Having to work for a living often required that I hiked at the beginning of the day or the end. The advantage of this was that I saw more sunsets than at any other time in my life. I probably also saw more sunrises, too, but I don't consider this to be an advantage. I really would have rather been sleeping.

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Nikolas sitting on rocks above La Quinta

Clouds above San Jacinto

The sun has already gone down above Pushawalla Canyon

Aerial cotton candy above the Art Smith Trail

A cloud halo above Mount San Jacinto

Clouds hover over the Desert Divide

This is one of my favorite shots and I had it as my desktop on my computer for weeks.

More clouds and sun and mountains

The temperature was as warm as this looks.

Getting ready to head home just before dark.

One thing that surprised me was how many clouds we actually have in the desert.

Not really a sunset but the glow from one.

Sunrise over Lake Tahoe and Fallen Leaf Lake

Mount San Gorgonio. It was over 100 degrees when I took this one.

Sunset Palm

Halo around the sun

Clouds over La Quinta

Not a great picture but a great start. This was the sunrise of the first day.

Sunset at Joshua Tree National Park.

Sunset over the San Joaquin Valley

The last sunrise I saw this year just may be the last sunrise I see in years. I have no idea the next time I'll have to wake up that early but hopefully it'll be no time soon.

Bob Hope's Palm Springs Home Hike

DAY TWO HUNDRED AND EIGHTY SIX

Today the knee is much better but psychologically it's still tender. In other words, it feels good but I'm still thinking about it. I have no idea why it tweaked out on me but I have some big hikes planned for later this month so I'll be babying it until I know for sure that it's 100%.

Looking for an easy trail that's not covered with rocks brought me to the Araby Trail this afternoon. The Araby Trail is the trail that leads right up Bob Hope's home, the famous dome shaped house on the hills above Palm Springs. If you've never done this trail, it is easy to get to. Just drive on Highway 111 (East Palm Canyon) to Southridge Road. Turn onto this road and take an immediate right. Park here in the obvious parking area on the dirt. Walk up Southridge Road less than 100 feet and the trail will be on the left.

Dogs are allowed on this trail! Kahlua will be thrilled.

The trail has some incline but nothing major and it is not covered with rocks. Perfect.

I love the amount of wildlife you can see on any given day in the desert. A hawk swoops across the sky looking for one last morsel before bedtime.

A halo is draped above Mount San Jacinto. Even the mountains will be rooting for the Angels in the ALCS.

The Hope Dome comes into view part way up the trail. It is the most recognizable house in the Palm Springs area and one of the most in Southern California.

While it is storming elsewhere in the Southland, here in Palm Springs we are just gifted with a few beautiful clouds.

The trail goes within a few hundred feet of the house. I've always wondered why they kept all these tanks out here uncovered. It really detracts from the whole allure of this property.

This pile of rocks is better looking than those tanks behind the Hope place.

I can't complain about the view, though. The weather up here is perfect, as well, as clouds blow in through the Pass.

As darkness begins to fall I head down to really test the knee. It passes with flying colors.

Joy and Disappointment

DAY ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY EIGHT

After such a great hike on Saturday, today's hike was anti-climactic, VERY anticlimactic. Since it was a full moon, I waited until the end of the Laker game to go out on my hike. I was hoping to get some good pictures of the moon rising over the horizon. That didn't happen. It's not the first time the moon has disappointed me.

With the Laker game going into overtime I had to literally run to try and get into position to get some moonshots. I crossed over the storm channel and headed up to the hills.

I thought if I climbed up this little hill I might get a good view of the moon coming up. Wrong!

I started running up the hill, looking to the East, trying to beat the moon's arrival. I thought for a moment the moon was coming up but soon discovered the light came from cars driving on I-10 in the distance.

I got to the top of the hill and waiting...and waited....and waited. No moon. As has happened to me before, on other hikes, is that the moonrise is blocked by the mountains. To make it worse, the sky was cloudy and the clouds also shrouded the moon.

After waiting for a moon that never came, Kahlua and I set out on the trail for a little night hike. While I had hoped for some moonlight to guide our way, our eyes were well enough adjusted to see even without it.

Someone had some fun over in this area building all kinds of little rock formations like this little heart. How fun to be young and in love. I don't have time for that stuff now.

Kahlua loves chasing critters and she almost managed to capture something but it ducked under this creosote bush.

Much like the rest of life, hiking is filled with joy and disappointment. It is always a pleasure to go out and discover new places or to take comfort in familiar terrain. But things don't often work out as planned and you have to adapt and just keep moving. It's a lesson I apply to my life daily, whether hiking or not.

Step Right Up

DAY ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY EIGHT

I'd planned on going to the Tram this morning but I needed to get a map of Joshua Tree so I went there instead. It was a good decision. The weather turned out to be perfect and with summer coming I don't know how many trips I'll be making up there. Heat tends to send me to the higher elevations. Though higher than here, Joshua Tree is not quite high enough for my summer taste.

When I got there, it was starting to cloud up. The temperature is about 80º and there is a little breeze blowing. The only bad thing is that I have to get back in time to pick up my son at school.

I decide to climb Ryan Mountain. It's a nice easy climb and offers the best view in Joshua Tree. I always recommend it to people visiting the park.

The trail is very well maintained and well used.

There are lots of these steps. In fact, there are more steps than I have ever encountered on a trail. It must be stimulus money at work.

After rounding the first corner, you get a nice side view of Saddle Rocks.

I see this beautiful little orange flower in the dirt.

The clouds threaten rain but none comes. Such is life in the desert.

After a steady but never steep climb, I get to the top in good time. There is a large rock pile marking the summit.

You can see San Gorgonio in the distance. It is also possible to see San Jacinto, Santa Rosa and a myriad other peaks but with the clouds it's difficult to pick them out. I'll have to come back on a clear day sometime.

On the way down, I get a nice view of the Wonderland of Rocks.

The trail stretches out before me. The steps become troublesome on the way down. I've got to get going to get my son at school but it is difficult to run down the steps and it is no good on the knees having to step down them all the time. I run for a while but soon give it up. My son will just have to wait if I'm late. He won't mind; he likes hanging out with his friends.

Joshua Tree is not really a summer destination but I will be coming back when the weather makes it feasible. There is usually about one week per month in the summer when cooler temperatures make a visit enjoyable. Also, summer thunderstorms can also cool it off considerably. I just have to make sure I come when the kids are out of school. That way I don't have to hurry because Joshua Tree is a place you want to enjoy slowly.

Walking on Cloud Nine

DAY ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTEEN

Until I started this little endeavor, I was pretty much a point A to point B type hiker. I had a destination to get to and, by God, I got there--as fast as possible. Now, while I can still move along the trail at a pretty good clip, I tend to try to look around a lot more because now I'm trying to find new places to hike. I also tend to relish the feeling of being in the wilderness and soaking in the environment around me. The joy of today's hike was not in getting to a destination or in discovering a new trail or setting a good time. It was just a pleasure to be outside.

Perhaps it was the fact that the temperature never got over 100º today or that for the first time in a week, I'm feeling better but it seemed almost too perfect when I set out hiking this afternoon. It also could have been the presence of clouds. We don't have those too often here.

There are only a few flowers left. The Palo Verde still have some blooms but soon everything will fall back into dormancy until next spring.

Close Encounter of the cloud kind.

I head up this trail that goes to a very small palm oasis. I won't have time to reach the oasis today but that doesn't really matter. It's not the destination but the trip that matters today.

Looking back down the trail.

It looks to me as if the clouds are trying hard to spell my name. Use your imagination.

Heavenly light shines down on the most beautiful place on earth today.

As I head back home on the high road, I take it very slow, drinking in as much of the rarified air of a perfect afternoon as possible. It's hard to determine if I'm going home now or if I've just been there.