On the way home I took a "longcut" thru Box Canyon. Awesome

 

Drove down to the Sonny Bono National Wildlife Refuge at the Salton Sea on Saturday and loved it. Checked out Unit Two first, it was on the southern tip and there must have been thousands of geese, mostly Snow but White-front also. The short loop traill was more sound than sightings, the geese of course - a constant drown of honks, Red-winged and Meadowlarkss providing melody and then the occasional chirp and tweet of some little one hiding in the brush. Oh there were birds. Ducks I couldn't get close enough to to ID, a Great White Heron who posed for me along with a Great Blue who let me get really close before scaring the heck out of both of us. A Black Phoebe who hung out at the Obersvation Deck and Cattle Egrets who stood on the dike

Unit One was more amazing, the hike was flat and circled around passing the Salton Sea on one side and a fresh water lake on the other. Saw Stilts, Gull, Term, Kestral and I was amazed at the numbers Think I'll go back in the morning.

I was walking along and thinking I really needed to get a longer lens and a young man passed me an his camera must had a 10 inch lens on it. I told him I needed something like his and he laughed and said it never mattered, birds had a habit of staying just out of range.

 

 

Not sure what this is but it had a sweet citrus smell,

 

Even in mid-January flowers bloom in the Reserve.

 

Landscape of white.

 

The whole day, the Snow Geese were way off in the distance but leaving the Refuge, I came upon them right along side the road. So cool

 

Amazing, This Josha Tree is actually a member of the lily family. Did you know since it doesn't have rings like a tree, they can't tell how hold they are or they haven't figured out a way to tell yet. Maybe someday.

 
Piano Rock, In the early part of the 20th Century they actually hauled a piano up on this rock to entertain the folks below

 
There are a lot of petroglyphs in JT, These unfortunately were "enhanced" in the 1920's by a movie company making a film in the area.

 

 

 
Joshua Tree wasn't always a National Park or even a Monument. In the late 1800's and early 1900s folks lived up here. I have posted pictures before of the ruined cabins and rusted out signs of humanity. Movies were made up here all the time and if you go to Turner Classic Movie Channel when they are showing old cowboy movies you will see a lot of this valley. Its within the Wonderland of Rocks area.

 

This peak is called San Gregorio or Old Grayback and is the highest peak in Southern California. Nearby is the town of Big Bear were the locals go in winter to ski and in the summer to cool off.

 

Water in the Desert. Roy and I walked the Barker Dam trail and for the first time ever, for me, we had to follow little rivers of water and even wade thru in spots. I had a smile on my face the whole time I was there as I am envisioning the wildflowers that will bloom in the spring.

 

Barker Dam, not full by any means, but more water than I have ever seen

 

Barker Dam

 

Saw this Black Phoebe at the Moronge Basin Wildlife Refuge. There was also a huge hawk high up in a cottonwood, but that was about all the birds I saw that day.

 

My little neighbors. Caught them in the back yard.

So what's next. I think I want to go to the Salton Sea in winter. I have been there when the thermometer hits the triple digits and I think it would be nice to go in winter. I'm thinking maybe MLK holiday. Next weekend I'm going back to JT and hike Barker Dam again. There is a petroglyph in the area that I found once, so may I'll try again. I also want to go to Antelope Valley to see the California Poppys. I understand they put on quite a show in March/April timeframe.

DH and I are going to head out in May 2011 but not sure where. I'm thinking Utah and New Mexico.

 
So today I made a second attempt to get to Cottonwood and this time I made it without any accidents or even any traffic. The parking lot is right at Cottonwood and then there is a 3 mile trail to another oasis. I did about half that, but then turned around as I had refilled my water bottle at the Visitors Center and that water tasted nasty. I mean, if I had to drink it I would have, but I didn't have to.

 

Native Americans spent a lot of time in Joshua Tree. These are grinding holes made by the women to grind grains.

 

 

 

One thing about Joshua Tree is there is miles and miles of desert and this scene is in every direction. Not one sign of civilization in any direction