January 4th--amazing sunrise

Since New Year's Day the clouds have been putting on a show. The view from our front yard as the sunrise reflects in a neighbor's window...




The view from our back patio..


(January 4th, 2010)

sunset from our patio--January 1, 2010

(January 1, 2010)

The New Year brought us this gorgeous sunset from our back patio looking west toward Laguna Beach.

snow in Joshua Tree National Park--Christmas 2004

(Joshua Tree National Park, December, 2004)

Every so often snow falls on the California high desert... another aspect of our beautiful wilderness!

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!

Keys Ranch--Joshua Tree National Park

(Keyes Ranch, Joshua Tree National Park, November 2009)

Bill Keys was an early resident of the California high desert. From the early to mid-1900's he and his family lived on Keys Ranch--a working cattle ranch--inside of what is now Joshua Tree National Park. The park offers guided tours of the ranch, now a historical site. On a recent tour I snapped these shots of some of the old artifacts.

twilight desert shadows

The sun set around 4:36 p.m. as the light and shadows dwindled...


(Joshua Tree National Park Visitor's Center, Thanksgiving, 2009)

No swimming--Joshua Tree National Park

(Barker Dam, November, 2010)

Believe it or not, at times the man-made dam, an old cattle watering hole, looks like a lake!

little rock climber... Joshua Tree National Park

(Joshua Tree National Park, 2000)