Places, Earth Twentynine Palms 2019

Twentynine Palms 2019

Day One We departed at 8:10 AM, (200,368 miles-200,818) heading east most of the way on I-210 as far as Redlands. We stopped at Wildwood Rest Area near Yucaipa (9:45) and again at Whitewater Rest Area just before Highway 62. We turned north on California State Highways 62 and then 247 to Landers. We arrived at Gubler Orchids about 11:15.

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A small store allowed shopping for orchids while we waitied for the 11:30 tour. Surprisingly, half of the store was filled with Venus Fly Traps which also like the same climate. Michaela was our guide for the half-hour tour. Among hundreds of beautiful orchids, there were pitcher plants, staghorn ferns, and a Vanilla plant (we eat the bean but the leaves are acidic). They have five green houses here and more at another site. Being mechanically minded, I found the cooling system interesting. One wall is lined in fabric continuously soaked

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with running water while the other had fans to pull air through. Also a section of the wall opens on a sort of rack assembly. We bought only three beautiful orchids. Next we continued to Twentynine Palms, ate sandwiches in Jerry Buckling Park next the Chamber of Commerce and looked at some public art. We then drove to the Joshua Tree National Park North Visitor Center. Last year we did only part of a half mile trail at the Visitor Center. Labels along the trail tell a story if you finish the trail. This year we did the whole walk and read the story. Caption format. Next we headed into Joshua Tree National Park looking for wildflowers. We had received an unusual amount of rain this season and the state was greener and had more wildflowers than usual. We only drove in about a mile to Constant Mine Road and then walked in about a quarter mile. We had limited time, but we observed and photographed many beautiful displays before heading out. Caption format. We then found three of the murals that we had missed last year. One was at 29 Palms Inn and two at Luskie Park. We then tracked down some of the public art around town until it was time for church. After, we checked into our hotel, good thing we had reservations because they were full. After a quick stop at Rite Aid and getting some gas, we enjoyed dinner at Arteaga's Mexican Food at 6244 Adobe Road. I enjoyed my Shrimp Fajitas on flour tortillas and my wife enjoyed her Chicken Enchiladas. We had one last stop today. Sky's the Limit is a private volunteer operated observatory site just a few hundred feet before the North Park entrance. To protect night vision, the site is dark. I had driven past many times by day and knew where the entrance was, but in the dark, I drove past and had to turn around at the park entrance. Once on the site, there is a no headlight / no flashlight policy so we stumbled in the dark looking for the telescopes. The were so many stars visible that it was hard to find old favorites because of all the extra clutter. In Los Angeles, there is just too much light pollution to see any but the brightest stars. I notice a meteor streak through the Big Dipper. We looked through two large Scopes and fumbled around in the dark under fantastic skies. My wife had expected more of a planetarium show so was a little disappointed. As we proceeded down the slope back into town on a dark road, a jackrabbit ran across our path, fortunately it made it across safely. Other than a few birds, this was the only wildlife were saw that day. We returned to our room about 9:00 and were asleep by 10:00. Day Two Caption format. I awoke about four, hard to break the habit on the weekend. We enjoyed our continental breakfast (first in line), packed, and checked out a little after 7. We stopped for a few minutes at Sky's the Limit to see in daylight what we could not see the night before. In addition to the small building serving coffee and hot coco the night before, there is a maintenance building, restrooms, an observatory, and nature trails. What surprised me was that there were already people there at 7:30 Sunday morning. Caption format. We continued to the park, found no restrooms there like at the West entrance, drove back to the Visitor Center to use the restrooms there. Feeling relieved, we continued back into the park, stopping periodically for photos. Usually, Skull Rock is surrounded by so many people posing, you can't get a photo, but this early, no one was there, but the lighting is bad. We did what we could and continued on our way, still stopping for photos every few minutes. On the road to keys Ranch, a jackrabbit crossed the road, a book end to the one last night. We arrived at the gate to Keys Ranch about an hour early, but better than missing the only tour. The gates are opened only to let the scheduled tour, requiring reservation, in and out. I took a few more photos while waiting. Caption format. Promptly at 9:00, the gate was opened and we drove a mil or two to a parking area at Keys Ranch. After an orientation, no touch, no take, etc., the one and a half hour tour began. We walked about 3/4 miles past plants, objects, and building. Because of the ranch's remote location, Bill Keys saved everything and collected useful items from other abandoned property. What we might think of as junk, to Bill was an on-site hardware store. There were fasteners, vehicles, mining and farming equipment, and other useful hardware. Bill and his family built several buildings, dug two wells, processed gold ore, and grew a variety of agricultural crops. The tour included the house, Mrs. Keys’ store, a machine shop, and ended at the schoolhouse. I had wanted to do this tour for many years and was happy to finally see it. Caption format. After the Keys Ranch, we headed out, stopping for another restroom break at the West entry. For no reason clear to me, there is a sculpture of a Sabertooth Cat next to the road in Yucca Valley, so as a former volunteer at La Brea Tar Pits, I had to stop for a photo. We continued on into Desert Hot Springs and found Cabot’s Pueblo Museum. We had visited Cabot’s Pueblo Museum the year before, but arrived too late for the tour. At a few minutes before 1:00, we got two of the last three tickets to the 1:30 tour. I took a few photos and my wife and I rested as we waited for the tour. The Pueblo buildings was built, room by room as needs arose and materials became available, built partly into the hillside. The rooms were small and for a few rooms, we had to split the tour because we didn't all fit. Cabot had a colorful life and was one of the three people most responsible for the establishment of Desert Hot Springs. The museum is filled with artifacts and photos from the history of this town. After the tour, we headed home. Caption format. Caption format. I stopped for one last set of photos as we approached I-10 to photograph Mount San Jacinto, wind turbines, and acres of wildflowers. We hit a little traffic and worried that it would continue, but eventually we passed two vehicles that decided to occupy the same space at the same time, then things move better. We had hoped to stop at the west bound Wildwood Rest Area, but there isn't one, only the east bound we used yesterday. We made an unnecessary gas stop in Monrovia to use the restroom and hurried home arriving about 6:00 PM. Our dogs and cats were glad we were home.

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