An Oasis In The Desert

A very warm walk in the desert to try to find an oasis of palm trees...

This hike was one of my least favorite yet. It was so, so hot. It seemed endless. Then we found the "oasis" and it was pretty unremarkable. Of course, California is experiencing a horrible drought, so the stream was mostly dry and the palms that surrounded it were a little droopy. Then we had to turn around and walk all the way back. I ran out of water. (Not to worry, I had plenty in the car when we finally got there.)

Granted, we saw some cool skies and creatures, but it was maybe just a tad to hot for this hike a day after camping in the desert. Still, a fun hike and one that the little plastic Ultra Wide Slim captured pretty well.

Memorial Day Camping

Memorial Day Weekend 2015. We prepped and headed to Idyllwild, to go deep into the mountains and camp out for a day or two. Well, we got to the mountain and the higher we drove, the foggier, colder, and more wet it got. Not ideal for camping. We paused on the side of the road and had to figure out where to go. Joshua Tree. Why not. Maybe there would be a camp site somewhere on the busiest camping weekend of the year!

The view from the road that climbs into Idyllwild:

Bertha Peak

It's May in California and in the midst of a ridiculous drought, it happened to snow quite a lot in the mountains. We got some rain - two days worth - out by the coast, but the mountains got the good stuff. The white stuff. We anxiously waited for the week to end so we could head to the mountains. Saturday morning rolled around and we hit the highway. The winding road that leads up to Big Bear Lake was a cloudy, foggy mess. There were moments when we literally couldn't see much more than a few feet in front of our car. The Subaru took it nice and slow and got up the mountains, through the mist, and safely delivered us to the trail of the day.

We headed up the Cougar Crest Trail from the Big Bear Discovery Center. A couple of miles in, we met the Pacific Coast Trail and trekked along that for a short distance. Eventually, we came to a fork, veered right, and hiked up a steep, steep fire road. Suddenly, some radio towers were in front of us, and we were at the top of Bertha Peak. She sits 8,200 feet up in the air, and we took every one of those feet in by wheel and by foot. The view was worth it.

Neighboring mountains and a lake and ski slopes... all surrounded in clouds and fog. A lovely day hike - slightly less than 8 miles, with an almost 1,700 foot gain. (Legs = sore.)

An Idyllwild Adventure

We took a quick trip up to Idyllwild a while back. Kim lived a few young years in this little mountain town. She showed me the house she lived in, the school she briefly attended, and a few other little places that she remembered. We browsed the little downtown area, purchased some cute little souvenirs, and enjoyed a tasty lunch at "The Lumber Mill". A big burger and a burrito, and some cold beer, was a great way to head into the mountains. We got our permits and headed to the trailhead. From there, we met a couple of friendly rangers - good to have those permits! This was my first time ever walking through a mountain forest and the views were just amazing...

Camping At Joshua Tree

We finally got out first camping trip to Joshua Tree on the books. This magical place is definitely one of my favorite little spots to run away to. It was so much fun to sleep under the stars and under our own little Joshua Tree at our campsite. We started off the day by stopping at a couple of campsites to find the "perfect spot". We just so happened to land on a weekend with a wind advisory, so most of the spots were way too windy for a tent. We finally settled on one spot, with a nook between some rocks and bushes... hoping it would shield us from the wind overnight. It's pretty rough sleeping - or not sleeping - in a tent being blown in wind gusts. We did that at Anza-Borrego, and basically, stayed awake all night. After picking a spot, we took a little hike from our site to let the sun go down a little before making camp. This place, it's a desert wonderland... so much to explore.

The SX-70 Goes To The Desert!

The SX-70 took its first trip to the desert (with me, anyway). Instant photos with focus and some sharpness. Who knew! I love this camera. :)

A Light Leaky Nikon FE

I won this nifty little Nikon FE at the Film Photography Project Walking Workshop. I went hoping so so much that they'd have a Nikon SLR from the FM-FE era available, and I'm still a little stunned that I won it. Sadly, it appears to have almost no light seals left. Not a big surprise, but it definitely leaked on my first roll. I already have replacement seals on order, and will get to try my hands at replacing them for the first time ever! In the meantime, here are some light leaked photos from, where else, Joshua Tree! :)

We found this desert color out in the Twin Tanks area, trying to choose a campsite for future backcountry camping excursions. The desert is in bloom! 

(Nikon FE with Agfa Color 400 film)

Joshua Tree on the Mamiya

A little more film from the Joshua Tree obsession, this time from my Mamiya 645S. A little more medium format fun, this time on Fuji 400H! We truly are obsessed with the desert. 

Yashica Goes To Joshua Tree

The mighty Yeshiva 124G took a trip up Ryan Mountain in Joshua Tree. This is medium format 120 Kodak Ektar.

Joshua Tree & Mojave Preserve in Black & White

I just recently got some film developed that has been sitting in various cameras for quite some time. I have a horrible habit of taking most of a roll of film, but leaving a few shots and then they sit for a long while.

This first roll is out of my trusty old Canon AE-1, with my very last roll of Neopan 100. It went to Joshua Tree way back on our second trip there. It then went camping with us at the Mojave Preserve. Then it went back to Joshua Tree, just a couple of weekends ago. The outcome... a variety of desert wonderland, on this lovely old black and white film.

Anza-Borrego: Camping

Our second camping trip, this time to Anza-Borrego's Culp Valley. And with a new tent, this time! Thanks REI, for the big coupon! We also scored new hiking boots at the REI Garage Sale, so trekking around in the desert was much more comfy than all of our other times. 

Mojave Camping: Day Three

Day three of camping in Mojave started after a rather long night. The temperatures dropped a little lower and the wind blew significantly harder. Our tent at one point was caving in and literally laying on my face. At around 4am, I got up and moved my car into the "yard" to attempt to block the wind. It worked enough that we got another two hours of sleep. This night of sleep seemed significantly colder than the other, probably due to the wind. But, when we did finally decide to emerge from the tent, we were greeted by another lovely sunrise at our front door, and a falling moon in the opposite direction. Beautiful.

Mojave Camping: Day Two

We survived the first night of 30-40 degree temperatures and rather gusty winds. We had a friendly owl hooting all night. No coyotes, no wild animals. I do think a fox was sniffing around outside of our tent at one point, and some other campers saw some foxes that night. It was cold for sleeping. We had lot of layers, hand warmers, and kept the windows closed. I still woke up shivering at least once. There was lots of tossing and turning, but we actually managed to sleep, and in the tent (not the car) so I consider it a success. :)

This sunrise... quite a gorgeous thing to see right outside the tent door!

San Francisco: Muir Woods

Our trip to San Francisco started with a fun little trip into the woods. Our flight landed and we hopped in our rental car and headed for the big red bridge that led to the big forest. I've wanted to see these big trees for years, and they lived up to my expectations. 

Here is my take on a cloudy August day in Muir Woods! We drove over the big red bridge and up a winding road, with some lovely views along the way.

On the first wooded trail, there was a little creek!

Then we found our way to the more "comfortable" trail... it is basically a big sidewalk that leads you through some giant trees. Beautiful, beautiful, giant trees.

A Fuji X-T1 panoramic from the ground in front of me, looking up to the trees behind me:

These are some BIG trees. :)

And sometimes they just have big holes where you can stand. :)

Taaaaaaall trees!

The view changed on our way back down. The fog started to lift and the clouds thinned out. We could see the Bay bridge and the pretty blue water.

And then it "rained"... or misted... still, wet stuff falling from the sky!

Red Rock Canyon

A few weeks ago, before life got super busy, we headed east to Las Vegas for a little trip. On the way, we stopped to spend an afternoon at Red Rock Canyon. This place is truly gorgeous. There are layers and layers of colors and textures. It was a great day and a beautiful place to visit!

"Live in the sunshine... drink the wild air..." [Ralph Waldo Emerson]

We found some turtles in one of the displays. :)

My lens is wide, so the people are small... but look closely and you'll see Kim and her little sister. :)

I was laying under a big rock, looking up through a big crack, while Kim looked down... and I love this photo. :)

My "Lord of the Rings" rock photo. :)