walking stick babies

 

Walking sticks are cool to look at, but they love feasting on lemon leaves and seem to breed like rabbits. I evicted every baby I could find, but the leaf damage continues. These juveniles have the option of shedding and regrowing pairs of legs.

curious weather...

 

Horn Canyon trail

We had been to the Horn Canyon trailhead in Ojai before, but not for a long time. To get there one has to pass through the Thacher School. Due to the pandemic there is now a trail to get to the trail, which in itself is a destination. By the time we got to the Horn Canyon trailhead we were almost all hiked out. The best part: this is where our wishes for rain materialized. Apparently we were heading right toward the source. Does going here cause rain?

shiitake mushroom rice

 

It was good rice while it lasted, but now it's gone. I will miss it.

yellow cape honeysuckle

 

Who said that cape honeysuckle is always red?

Irenes's Adobe, part 3

Irene's Adobe, part 2

Irene's Adobe

 

If I lived here... I would do crossword puzzles all day.

Nolina parryi

It was near the Ryan Mountain trailhead that this unusual plant caught my attention. Nolina parryi is in fact unique to the deserts of the southwest. This was my first time seeing it, at least consciously. Appropriately it belongs to the Asparagaceae family, same as the Joshua Tree.

Ryan Mountain trailhead

A famous hike at Joshua Tree National Park. For this trip we just wanted to locate the trailhead and get our feet wet. These vistas were nice, and on a future hike I hope to look out from the top of the mountain.

faux petroglyph

 

I'm pretty sure this marking I found where we stopped to have lunch is a "faux petroglyph". If not, Park Service archeologists take note. It was near the White Tank campground at Joshua Tree National Park.

Cholla Cactus Garden

I had been to Joshua Tree National Park many times but no one ever told me about the Cholla Cactus Garden, an astonishingly beautiful natural wonder well with the drive. Apparently "garden" is the correct botanical term for these naturally occurring groupings.

Arch Rock revisited

 

I came here alone the first time but there were too many other hikers lingering around this arch. So I came back with the Mrs. and it looked like this. Not as dramatic as the Arches National Park arches and a little bit difficult to get to, but the jumble of big rocks all around it make it worthwhile.

Kelso Depot

 

As an enthusiast of deserts and train stations, I have wanted to see this once busy, now historic depot for years. Today it functions as the visitor center for Mojave National Preserve. The building itself was closed when I was there, but the restrooms were open.

Kelso Dunes revisited

 

The first time here, I just looked. This time I plunged head first into and onto the largest sand dunes in the Mojave Desert.

Roy's Motel Cafe, part 3

The motel is lovingly restored, but incompletely restored - no doors and some broken windows. The result is creepy, but in a good way (I think).

Roy's Motel Cafe, part 2