Lost Horse Mine

Of course we had to take Kerry to Joshua Tree National Park for some hiking and rock scrambling! It's our pride and joy out here in Yucca Valley.

We started our day by stopping by P. Michael Smiley's art studio and home in the town of Joshua Tree for some jewelry shopping and artwork tour. Mike is a birder friend of mine, and is a truly gifted metal artist, well known here in Southern California. He gave us a grand tour of his property, artwork, and his studio. We also got to meet his two pet Desert Tortoises, one named Jack. What a hoot!


We then moved on to the National Park for a 4-mile hike up to the Lost Horse Mine. While the sky's were strangely cloudy, the weather this day was actually pretty good for hiking in the desert, in the low 60's. The sun went in and out all morning, so the jackets went on and off all morning, too. Drove us crazy. Along the way we saw a snake, of which I am still trying to identify.

Sister Comes to Town

Greg's sister-in-law, Kerry, came to visit us out in the desert over this Easter weekend. We are having SO much fun! Our fun began right when I picked her up at the LAX.

First, we HAD to stop for lunch at an In-N-Out. She had to have THE best California burger!

We then headed over to the University of Southern California for an amateur campus tour and some bookstore shopping. Kerry's son is an avid fan of the Trojan's, and it was super special for her to be there. What a beautiful, exciting campus! We were like little college girls, all giggling around!

FIGHT ON!

Big Morongo Canyon Wildflowers

Apricot Mallow

Desert Pincushion

Gold Poppy

Lady Bird Beetles with larvae

Mixture of Gold Poppy, Desert Pincushions, and Blue Phacelia under a Mesquite tree.

Desert Alicia!

Coronado Cold Water Dance

My mom flew out of San Diego, so I had the great pleasure of sharing Coronado Island with her before her flight left. The beach was beautiful as always, but right now is NOT the best season for swimming. The Pacific Ocean is FREEZING!

But in the spirit of beach-goers everywhere, we took off our shoes and tried a little toe surfing. YIKES! BAD IDEA! It was so cold that it literally took our breath away. Good thing the sand was warm!

That is not the look of a happy woman!

The Descent

Okay, I couldn't get all the photos from our trip up the Palm Spring Tram in one post, so here are some photos from our descent. Actually, I thought the descent through the canyon was way more beautiful that the ascent. Probably the sun setting on the valley.

Hot chocolate and ice cream! Nummy!

Here's Mom taking the views of the Coachella Valley

I can see our house! Seriously, you can see forever up here, and we could see Yucca Valley! It looked so tiny (it is over 45 minutes away by car.)

A tram heading down

I love the massive mountain shadow across the valley.

Heading down!