Explore the World one Step at a Time
Explore the World one Step at a Time
I signed up for a 5k race in Huntington Beach last year. Race day finally came. This year. It’s been a long and busy summer and I just wasn’t in the mood for running a race. Well, you already know the ending of this story: I ran the race, loved it, and signed up for next year’s race already… And then I got to relax. And walk on the beach,…
As I am driving east on Highway 62, leaving Twentynine Palms and Joshua Tree National Park behind me, there is nothing left in my view, just a long road through the desert. A few minutes in I see a sign on the side of the road saying “Glass Outhouse Art Gallery OPEN“. I just have to stop. Exploring quirky art in the desert is one of my favorite things to…
A super bloom is a sudden outbreak of wildflowers that exceeds a regular spring bloom. After the heavy rain and colder weather this winter in Southern California, enough water was locked in the soil for dormant wildflower seeds to sprout and produce colorful wildflowers. Desert wildflowers usually bloom only for a short period of time, usually between mid to end of March. Walker Canyon, Lake Elsinore Since I have never…
I spent many hours last year in and around Joshua Tree National Park, visited many places between the towns of Yucca and Twentynine Palms. There are still a few things on my bucket list, so I’d better stop writing and go and explore! First though, I want to start a “living” bucket list for Joshua Tree National Park. It’s a living thing, so expect additions over time. Joshua Tree National…
Thousand Palms Oasis Preserve sits on the northern edge of the Coachella Valley in the Indio Hills, just a few minutes away from Palm Springs. Wildflowers A couple of weekends ago I ventured out to look for the first signs of wildflowers. I wasn’t disappointed. When I arrived I stopped at the ranger station and asked the ranger what would be a good trail to hike on this marvelous day…
Superflex’s Dive In art installation is pretty. Ok, I shouldn’t really start like this. However, the pink color stands out in the desert, specifically in the pre-sunset light. The idea behind Dive In is that the Coachella Valley used to be an ocean millions of years ago and is awaiting its turn to become an ocean again. The art installation plays with the concept of a favorite American past time,…
It’s not a secret that Araby Trail is my favorite hiking trail in Palm Springs. I use it as a workout trail, a show-my-friends-the-town-from-above trail, get-out-of-the-house-trail, and just-enjoy-the-outdoors trail. Today I wanted to see whether the recent severe rain falls (that closed several of the man streets in Palm Springs) did any damage to the trail. It’s been washed off several times already. Though there was some water run-off damage,…
Pia Camil’s Lover’s Rainbow is a 2-part art installation spanning two countries, the US and Mexico. One rainbow (the first installed) sits in Baja, Mexico, the other one – as part of Desert X – in the Coachella Valley in California, 190 km apart. Pia Camil explains on her Instagram page: “The series documented abandoned houses in different highways of Mexico where rebar is usually left exposed as a sign…
Keys Ranch (or Desert Queen Ranch) in Joshua Tree National Park was built and extended between 1910 and the 1960s. The building structures are still in place and so are some of the mining machinery, old cars and trucks, and spare parts. Short history of Keys Ranch Many rugged individuals tried their luck at cattle ranching, mining, and homesteading in the high desert. And so was Bill Keys, whose colorful…