We were camped in an RV park in Tombstone, Arizona in October of last year for part of the “Heldorado Days” celebration. We were window shopping on Allen Street near the location where Wyatt, Morgan and Virgil Earp along with Doc Holliday shot it out with Frank McLaury, Tom McLaury, Billy Claiborne, Ike Clanton, and Billy Clanton. Damsel took this picture of a stagecoach going west toward the OK Corral at the left. Click on the image to enlarge.
Every once in a while, I get a shot of the Damsel doing what she loves to do: taking pictures. We were at keys View in Joshua Tree National Park on a nice, clear day. Click on the image to enlarge.
The reason we picked late March for our visit to the Joshua Tree National Park is because last time we were here, we asked a ranger the best time to see the Joshua trees in bloom. It seems to vary, but it’s a good bet that blooms will appear from late March to early April.
We saw a lot of them today on our way up to Keys View, a dramatic panoramic vista of the Coachella Valley and the Palm Springs area. From that vantage point, we could see the Salton Sea, Banning Pass and the San Andreas earthquake fault line.
The Joshua Trees seemed to thrive at around the 4300 foot level in the park. Many were in bloom. I took this image near some interesting rock formations which are plentiful in this area which is a domain of the Western Bighorn Sheep. Click on the image for a big view of the tree, the rocks and the inset enlargement of the bloom.
Wooo Saaah – time out from the anger and frustration over health care to stop and look at the flowers. This is a picture of the flowers on the desert senna. I took this photo near the visitors center at Joshua Tree National Park today. Click on the image for a closer look.
Digital Desert has this information on the shrub that grows these flowers.
Seeds of many desert plants do not sprout easily. Some need to be passed through the digestive tracts of animals before they grow. Some, like the Desert Senna, need to be soaked by a heavy rainfall and the scoured clean of its coated resin by the rocks in a wash.
If conditions are right, golden flowers will bloom in April and May but the plant will be leafless most of the year. The Desert Senna relies on green chlorophyll in its stems to manufacture food.
I found this panoramic image in the photo archives this morning . . .
During our visit to Joshua Tree National Park last year, we took the short drive from the main road to a place called Keys View. From that point, you can see the Coachella Valley and the Palm Springs area five thousand feet (1525 meters) below. You can also see the San Andreas Fault which has been the cause of many Earthquakes in California, including the 1906 San Francisco earthquake.
Although it is difficult to see through the haze, the Salton Sea is visible at the left and Banning Pass on the right. A spectacular view to be sure.
As I looked through the photo album this morning, I had the urge to book a trip to escape the cabin fever. Maybe soon, real soon. Click on the panoramic image above to enlarge.
I took this shot at the Gun Blogger Rendezvous last September. Mike is familiarizing Damsel with the competition pistol he uses. We recently saw him in a sequence on Downrange TV using this gun. To the left you can see Kevin and Chuck enjoying the outing. We’re expecting to attend again this year and join bloggers like Kevin, Mike and Chuck in an excursion to the shooting range. Click on the image to enlarge.
For some GBR nostalgia, go here.
We’re looking forward to a couple of vacations in 2010 and have started planning them. One thing we like to do is pull up some of the photos we took during previous outings. I was looking through the Summer ’08 files when I found this nice rainbow road picture taken near Canyonlands National Park in Utah. Click on the image to enlarge.
