oh Veeeeenus......

Jupiter, Venus, and the Moon over the boulders at Indian Cove, Joshua Tree National Park.

happy weekend!

I have no idea what this flower stalk is, but dang! I love it!

My daughter in law has a theory. She says she thinks that one day in the creation God grabbed a group of little kids and gave them the elements to make all kinds of things. This, she reasons, explains all the really weird creations out there; bioluminescent fish, carnivorous plants, and the blue ringed octopus, (o.k., so I really like the ocean weirdness) - that can kill you in 26 seconds!

Perhaps these plants are also included in the list.

More Cactus

Can you blame me? These cacti are seriously cool!

Well, that first one is a flowering agave. That blooming stem went up about two stories high!

The second scene is in Joshua Tree, just a view of the meadows filled with flowers and the mountains tops that look like hills from this side.

The ocotillo was beginning to bloom. We read that it blooms not according to season, but depending on rainfall.

Although that last one resembles a yucca in bloom it is, in reality, a Joshua Tree limb. I love the thick waxy petals! They looked like little porcelain cups.

As always, click on the photos for a great, larger view!

Momma's every where!

While driving through Joshua Tree National Park I saw a bright pink blossom off the road and in about 50 feet.

Thor pulled over, I popped out of the car and went in search of the elusive bloom.

As I walked I heard the excited call from another photographer. "Hey! Hey! I got a Lizard! And he's posing for me!" I walked towards the voice and saw a man with a huge camera lens balanced precariously on a tripod, nose to the lens, snapping away.

Not knowing who he was shouting to, I quietly approached him, announced myself and asked if I might snap some photos as well. "Sure! He's just standing there. He loves the camera!"

So I took a position and began to shoot. In my opinion, this is a mommy guarding her nest. Another photographer came to shoot and the lizard just scurried about five feet and then circled back. She dug in occasionally and then would pop her head up to see if we were still fascinated.

Just look at that belly. Have you ever seen such a "full" tummy on a guy lizard? I think I can even see the egg shapes in her belly. Look closely at the photo far right in the first two rows and center on the bottom. Can you see the "baby bump" too?

To see these (or any of my photos) in a much larger size, just click on them.

Joshua Tree Mosaic

Taken on a ride through Joshua Tree National Park last Saturday. Incredible. I suggest it to anyone who can get there within the next week or two. This is a feast for your eyes, a miracle of sorts, and a testament to the Creator. Truly amazing.

Please! Do your self a favour and click on the mosaic to see these gorgeous flowers a little bit larger.

Spikes N 'Shrooms

Various cacti and lastly two random mushrooms that found a spot in the recently made marsh of the Joshua Tree Visitors' Center walkabout. There are plenty of downed palms and other trees and plants, either from nature or planned by the grounds keepers. With the recent storms, wind and rain have made the perfect home, well if you're a fun-gi!

Kelso, Roy's, & Joshua

So, because it feels like it has been forever since I picked up my camera, Thor indulged me as we drove home from Lost Wages last week.

He had to drive the long way home- and off the beaten path as it were, so lucky me, I got to take some new views in and saw things from what looked like another place and time. They were actually.

Amboy CA. and Roy's. A once working motel and gas station it has become just a speck on a map and a place for travelers to stop, buy expensive gas and soda from a machine, and take in the brightness that is almost too hard to look at in the midday sun. It's advertised as a "movie set" currently and there is a "security guard" who will talk to you if you ask. There is also the Amboy School tucked behind the blinding white rooms of the hotel, some history there, but you'll need to dig for it. (chronologically this was stop #2)

The old Spanish style church is in 29 Palms, just across the street from the entrance and visitors center into Joshua Tree . To me, it looked like I was in a scene from a Mexican movie. I really couldn't stop taking photos of it. The church is open; and Catholic, and sadly that is all the information I have on it. (stop #3)

Kelso (stop #1) has a rich past as a depot stop halfway between nowhere and been there in the Mojave Desert. Literally the only building for hours. It has been restored -or kept in tact, nicely.

As we walked through, the staff busied themselves while asking politely if you required anything, then left you to explore on your own. If asked, they pointed directions, offered antidotes, and always smiled. They also joked with each other in the basement (which is being made into an art museum) as they hung photographs, old and quite modern, of the surrounding area.

There are three floors, many of which are left as they were used in the past. A small gift shop, and plenty of free handouts with pertinent information readily available. The famed "lunch room" is closed for business. You can stroll all around the marble counter and sit in the lacquered swivel chairs all you want, but no tuna sandwiches, no cherry phosphates will be forthcoming from the kitchen.

I took liberties with the photos. Changed them just a bit with the computer. They just didn't seem as nice in true colour. What do you think?