Saturday, January 10, 2009

The Obligatory Picture Post

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Our first full day in Vegas was spent outside of Vegas, at Red Rock Canyon. Like everything out there in the desert, it was beautiful....





and a touch chilly....


Possibly the only neon Motel 6 sign in the known universe. Only in Vegas.


And of course the obligatory Vegas by night pic - this one's for you Geewits.

Joshua Tree kicks major ass. I could've spent weeks there.


Of course it's not all Joshua Trees (which aren't trees at all actually, they're a variety of Yucca).

There's Ocotillo, which isn't a cactus, but a decidious bush that gets leaves whenever there's enough water. Otherwise it stays dormant. Nothing is what it seems in the desert.


And Cholla, the famed Teddy Bear cactus, 'cause it's so cuddly, dontcha know. It sorta is though isn't it? Except when you brush against it the puffs "jump" onto you and the spines are nasty and painful to extract because they're barbed... Yup. Nothing is what it seems.

Have you hugged a cholla today?

Skull rock.

More rocks

Old machinery from Lost Horse mine. Legend has it that the guy who found this gold mine was looking for his horse. The place is a couple of miles from the beginning of the trail. Guy shoulda maybe tethered his horse better?? Between the 1890s and 1930 it produced something like 9000 ounces of gold. I have no idea whether that's good or not...

And, surprise, yet more rocks. Can you tell I have a thing for rocks?à

The panoramic Palm Springs Aerial Tram takes you to the top of San Jacinto mountain where, surpise! it's winter!!! Well actually it's more like Quebec in mid-april, but it'll do for the Californians who flock there with their children so they can have the experience of snow over Christmas, sleds and all. Me? Meh, been there, done that, read the book, seen the movie, bought the tshirt and use it now as a rag. The huge pines were pretty damn cool though.



A glass scuplture in the permanent collection of the Palm Springs museum. Cool as anything. I want this.

and a detail of the sculpture.

Bernard, one of the numerous tikis at our hotel in Palm Springs.


San Clemente, last day and Pete the pelican who would sit on the pier and wait for a fish to go by, dive off, eat his fish and fly back to his perch. He was one serious dude. And wet. He was wet.


16 comments:

Lori Stewart Weidert said...

Oooo! Love the photos; we were in Red Rock canyon about a year ago. Did you see all of those HooDoos?!

Love that pelikan guy too; he doesn't seem too intimidated by the likes of your camera.

Anonymous said...

Gorgeous photos. Just what I needed on this frosty Saturday morning. And I assume the humans are you and Mr. Jazz looking all happy and cuddly?

Guillaume said...

Nice pics, love the pelican.

Big Brother said...

Hey lil sister, really like the pictures. You are becoming quite an artistic photographer. I especially like the second one with the dead branch and the boulder... very nice.

Jill said...

Gorgeous pictures! That glass sculpture scared me a little though. I can imagine it coming to life in the middle of the night. :)

Minnesota Matron said...

The bird has to be my favorite!!

Seth said...

Thanks for the tour. I especially love all the nature shots. Although, that Motel 6 neon sign is pretty cool in its own way too!

Jocelyn said...

I'm so enamored of desert flora. You and Mr. Jazz count, too.

WONDERFUL travelogue.

Jazz said...

Gnightgirl - Nothing much seemed to intimidate Pete.

XUP - You assume right. The humans are Mr. Jazz and I.

Guillaume - He's great isn't he?

BB - High praise indeed coming from such a good photographer as yourself. Actually the boulder and branch is one of my favourites. The pics aren't all mine though.

Jill - Every time I see that I can't help but think of the flying spaghetti monster.

MM - I love him too. Welcome to my blog.

Seth - It is cool. But it mostly seemed really strange.

Jocelyn - Yeah, I love it too. Wait... are you comparing me to a plant???

Anonymous said...

Gorgeous photos - I'm ghlad you took the timeto post hem all - I was hoping we'd see some of your trip. And so cool to put a face to you, too!

Ian Lidster said...

I absolutely loved Joshua Tree and, like you, could have spent weeks there. Thank you for all the pictures, including the extremely attractive one of the two of you. Would Mr. Jazz mind if I suggested his wife is a doll? Oh, and he's very nice, too.

Susan Tuttle said...

these are stunning photos! thanks for the view into your vacation!

xo

Jazz said...

Citizen - Thanks. I decided to keep it small - we took over 500 pics... So it goes with digital.

Ian - *blush*

Susan - That's high praise coming from such a good photographer as yourself.

Here, There, Elsewhere... and more said...

Stunning photos - thanks for sharing your trip..:)

geewits said...

Great pics but I got the heeby jeebs from the tram thing.

VioletSky said...

Looks like you got a little bit of everything on that trip. Love the angled shots...