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 […]
Colorful Thousand Palms Oasis Preserve
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 […]
Araby Trail: wildflowers, and a storm brewing
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 […]
Revisiting Mt San Jacinto
I get to look at Mt San Jacinto from my front porch in Palm Springs. It is one of my favorite things to do when I am out there on weekends: brew some fresh coffee and sip it while marveling at “my” mountains. Mt San Jacinto Mt San Jacinto stands 10,834 feet above sea level, […]
Vasquez Rocks Natural Area Park – Southern California (guest post)
This is a guest post by Boston Lynn at Let’s Get Rocked. Check out her amazing concert photography! “I love the Vasquez Rocks” Let me tell you about one of my favorite spots, and let’s keep it our little secret! This spot is close to my heart and close to my home, so I go […]
A virtual hike in “my” Griffith Park
I moved to L.A. exactly 2 years ago today. It’s been a fun ride so far. From my apartment I have a view of Griffith Park, so naturally, 2 years ago when I moved here, my first exploration was into Griffith Park. I remember driving up to the Griffith Observatory and just being in awe. […]
Secret Stairs of L.A. – Berendo Stairs to Griffith Park
Los Angeles is full of secret and hidden staircases. My first secret staircase adventure took me from the Berendo Staircase to Griffith Park. Berendo Staircase dates back to 1924 – the same year the Frank Lloyd Wright Ennis House (2607 Glendower Ave) was built in the same Los Feliz neighborhood. A short architectural detour: The design of […]
Goodbye 2017 with two beautiful hikes
The last 2 mornings were just amazing here in Palm Springs. Not that I want to talk about the weather much, but with the scorching heat throughout the summer and fall, the slightly cooler temperatures over the past 2 days were fabulous. So I took the opportunity for a couple of short and beautiful hikes. […]
My favorite hike in Palm Springs – Araby Trail
Now that it’s finally fall again and a little cooler in the desert, I can hop back on my “work-out” trails here in Palm Springs. My favorite trail starts right behind Vons Supermarket off Highway 111. I refer to it as Araby Trail, but I noticed that the All Trails App calls it Goat Trails. […]
12 Tips for staying hydrated during your hike
With the fall weather bringing temperatures down, the hiking season has started again here in Southern California. After a fairly long summer break – about 5 months for me – I have to re-learn the tricks of hiking safely. I noticed after my last hike that shortly after the hike I felt fatigued and a […]
Hike: Mishe Mokwa Trail to Sandstone Peak, Malibu
It’s finally fall and time to get back on the trails. The weather this past weekend was perfect for the first fall hike of the year. Since I moved to Southern California I have been wanting to hike in the Santa Monica Mountains and finally I did it. Spoiler alert: it was as great as […]
Hike: Mt San Jacinto State Park, Palm Springs
I have no idea where to start. There are so many things that fascinate me about Mt San Jacinto State Park. Let’s start with how to get there: Hike up the mountain I hear you say “What?!” And, no, I didn’t get there this way. You can start this hike with the North Lykken Trail […]