Just a few days after returning home from our eastern Sierra vacation we headed out for another short trip. This time Joshua Tree National Park. I know, we go there a lot. Good news is that it is summer and the park is just about empty.
Reason I picked JT was because I missed the boulders.
Back from our Sierra Nevada vacation. Most years we go camping in the Southern Sierra. We know about some special camping areas where few people venture. Those places have great views and solitude. These camping trips usually find us hiking everyday and dabble in a little trout fishing. No planned activities, no agendas, no places to see. Perfect.
I think people should hike or walk every day. Few do. One does not need a wilderness trail to enjoy a good walk. Hiking around town can be fun. Joyce and I like to walk to downtown Palm Springs and back home, which is an 8 mile round trip. Of course, a walk downtown usually means eating once we get there. Today was Palm Springs’ 75th Anniversary of incorporation, the there was a big birthday party going on. Since no taxpayer monies were spent on the gala affair, we decided to walk downtown and check things out. The picture above is our view as we leave the house. We would end up doing right around 12 miles today.
Today Joyce and I did a hike in the area of Big Morongo Canyon. A day of hiking with Joyce is a great day. She doesn’t have the slightest interest in backpacking, but that is okay. For the past 4 weeks I have been away from home almost every day. Finally was able to spend some time at home with Joyce and promised to do some hiking. When I got up from bed this morning and went outside, the sky was overcast gray. Looked like smog. It is spring, and with spring come strong winds as the desert heats up. The gray was sand and dust in the air, and the Palm Trees were bending in the wind. Not great hiking weather.
Continue reading Hiking with Joyce at Big Morongo Canyon Preserve
Last fall I was visiting a client’s location in a small town in Pennsylvania. The weather was grayish and the temperature brisk, but it was the peak of the season’s autumn colors. The road in front of my client’s location look slowly rose to meet a small hill; a hill covered in multi-colored leaves. I asked a couple people how far it was to the top of the hill, “a mile or two,” was the consensus.