Desert Institute Fall Classes

(Joshua Tree National Park, November, 2000)

The Desert Institute, sponsored by the nonprofit Joshua Tree National Park Association, offers a variety of classes and hands-on workshops this fall. The classes are held in and around the park at the several Visitors Centers. Here is a sampling:

September 27: Discover the Milky Way

October 4 & 12: Native American Pottery

October 12: Night Photography

October 18 & 19: Native Californian Basket Weaving

October 25-26: Edible Plants of the Desert

For more information or to sign up for a class, click here.

Arch Rock

(Arch Rock, 2000)

(Arch Rock, 2002, Joshua Tree National Park)


A cool rock formation and hiking spot close to Ryan Mountain and White Tank Campground near the center of Joshua Tree National Park.

Jazzy

(Jazzy, 2008)



Our cat Jazzy is always hanging around my office--prowling on my desk, climbing into a cubbyhole on top of a pile of papers, sitting on my printer looking out the window at birds, making that weird clicking sound with her teeth when she spots one.

And nesting in an empty paper wrapper...

Preserving our deserts

(Washington, D.C, July 2008)

(Grand Canyon, July, 2005)

(Joshua Tree National Park, November, 2000)

Last July my family and I visited Washington, D.C.. One morning, as we strolled the halls of the United States Capitol, this quote by Theodore Roosevelt caught my eye.

Roosevelt was called "the conservation president" and signed legislation that established five national parks including Crater Lake, four national monuments including Petrified Forest, and many game and bird preserves. In 1908 he also set aside a large portion of the Grand Canyon as a national monument.

What an amazing legacy!

World Deserts exhibit--United States Botanic Garden

(United States Botanic Garden, Washington, D.C., July 2008)

(World Deserts exhibit)

Back from a blog tour of Yosemite and Northern California to the desert zone... sort of.

In July my family and I traveled to Baltimore and Washington, D.C., and spent several days touring the capital, which I had never seen. The Smithsonian, a collection of more than a dozen museums, is amazing! More later...

These photos were taken at The United States Botanic Garden at the foot of Capitol Hill. Of course I was immediately drawn to the World Deserts exhibit. The plants looked for the most part like what you'd find in the deserts of the Southwest. Here's the link.

(the photo at the top is courtesy of the usbg.gov website)