FRIDAY'S FOTO

One of the great road trips is the 655.8 mile
Pacific Coast Highway
California's State Highway 1
running the North/South route along the Pacific Ocean
Complete with overlooks, it offers a bucket-list-worthy journey offering
breath-taking views of the wild, powerful Pacific, stops in interesting
and beautiful towns, and, if you're lucky, beaches of seals basking in the sun.

FRIDAY'S FOTO--The Moreton Bay fig tree

This is ONE BIG TREE!
In the heat of this summer, this tree can provide an awful lot of shade though the root area is chained off for protection.
It's the MORETON BAY FIG TREE in Santa Barbara, California.
It may be the biggest fig tree in North America.
It was planted in 1875.
Way back in 1996, it had a crown of 173 feet.  Think what has happened since.
It's listed in the California Register of Big Trees.
Seeing this tree is definitely a WOW! moment.

FRIDAY'S FOTO

I was asked to post a bit more from
Hearst Castle.
How would you like this to be the view from
your home?
WOW!!!!

When you get to California, make sure you visit Hearst Castle.
See how "the other half" lives.
This pool, for instance, was used to film the 1960 blockbuster movie
Spartacus, starring Kirk Douglas.
Hearst Castle is quite an experience.

FRIDAY'S FOTO--SENTIMENTAL JOURNEY

Here I am in the courtyard of Doris Day's beautiful Cypress Inn
in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California.  Beautiful boutique hotel.

THE QUEEN MARY--WHAT A TRIP!

One of the magnificent lobbies on the Queen Mary

Expect surprises when you travel, and you will not be disappointed.  Rob and I booked a room aboard the Queen Mary in Long Beach, California for a one night stay just to see what there is to see on an antique luxury liner no longer at sea.  What a good surprise in many ways. 

Let me get the negative off first because the positives totally outweigh it.  Our room was not nice at all.  It was not even particularly clean, and the TV remote was missing.  Despite calls to the desk and promises from them, a replacement never arrived.  It’s true I booked an inside cabin because we were arriving from New York after dark and had plans for the next day; I saw no reason to spring for more expensive fare.  But that’s no excuse.  And, to be perfectly clear, we politely registered our complaints as we checked out.  Without requesting any compensation, the clerk apologized, spoke to someone, and then deducted a sizeable percentage of our bill.  They did the best they could to make things right, and I hope they also had a talk with the housekeeping staff.

Now for the surprises! 

Age has its beauty.  She's a graceful ship.

This is a magnificent ship with a stellar history.  At night it looks like something out of a movie, and indeed that is exactly how I felt.  The ship is festooned with lights, and the smokestacks are regally tilted back as reminders that they sent their smoke behind them.  The stewards are dressed in uniform, and around the ship there are pictures of and engravings of  Queen Mary, England's monarch at the time.

This ship was not originally going to be named the Queen Mary, but the builders had to have the royal permission to name is after Queen Victoria.  When the King was asked, "May we name it after our most beloved Queen?" the King replied that his wife, Queen Mary, would LOVE to have the ship named after her.  Would you have the nerve to say, "No, I meant Queen Victoria?" Hence, the new luxury liner was christened The Queen Mary.

We arrived while  a winter program, CHILL, was in progress with ice skating and other winter events going on in the midst of warm California.  We didn’t participate, but we did enjoy the beautiful sight.

The view from the deck down to CHILL with its lights, ice skating,
and winter activities in the middle of Long Beach.

We also arrived just as a Steam Punk Symposium was getting underway, and no, we had no clue what that was about, so let me define by way of that nefarious source, Wikipedia:

 Steampunk is a sub-genre of science fiction that typically features steam-powered machinery especially in a setting inspired by industrialized Western civilization during the 19^th century.  Steampunk works are often set in an alternative history of the 19^th century’s British Victorian era or American “Wild West,” in a post-apocalyptic future during which steam power has regained mainstream use, or in a fantasy world that similarly employs steam power.

Everyone was in a party mood, and this man carried his invention.

The Symposium participants were a delight.  They arrived, some entire families in costume, carried steam inventions, and had their own Steampunk Boutique in one of the ballrooms—a fascinating place where we were definitely conspicuous.  They definitely wanted to be photographed.

Why book the Queen Mary for this Steampunk gathering?  She is post-Victorian, so post their interest time period.  It’s as close as they could get in time.  For us, it was perfect!

One of the complaints I read on Trip Advisor is that staying aboard the Queen Mary was like spending a night in a museum.  How great is that!!!!!  That's precisely why I wanted to stay there.

In the evening we dined aboard the Queen in The Chelsea Chowder House and Bar.  We had very lovely, ice cold oysters, and looked out over the water at Los Angeles’ sights.  Rob’s seafood platter and my calamari were just right, and if the linens were not first class, it didn’t matter at all; the service was good, and we were aboard one of the world’s greatest ships.

Walking around the ship after dinner was delightful.  Occasionally we’d see the Steampunk folk strolling the teak deck as well.  The walls inside and out were covered with poster-sized photographs of the rich and famous who sailed on this ship--clearly the world’s most exciting ocean liner in its day boasting five dining areas, two cocktail bars and swimming pools, and even a small hospital.  She was also, for 14 years, the fastest transatlantic steamer as she outraced her sister ships across the Atlantic Ocean.  Civilized and luxurious, she carried Bob Hope, Loretta Young, Clark Gable, and the Duke and Duchess of Windsor.  Queen Elizabeth sailed on her—the current Queen Elizabeth’s mother!

In the morning we breakfasted in the Promenade Café amid many Steampunkers dressed for their Symposium.  It was a grand way to begin the day.  On the walls here were photos of the kitchen as it ran during the ship’s heyday, and that put us in the mood to take the self-guided audio tour which came as part of the hotel package.  We expected to skim through and be gone in an hour or so; we stayed for more than three amazing hours learning about this grand piece of history.

This wasn't the only complex panel we saw, but only one part of it,
that piece at the bottom, seemed familiar.  The number of gauges and
controls was staggering.

This photo captures a mere sliver of the engine room.  It is enormous.  We
spent a lot of time reading the information down here and being dazzled by
the power and complexity of it all.

Movies of ships' bowels and engines simply do not do justice to the size and power of these mammoth vessels.  The Queen Mary spent the WWII years chauffeuring American and Canadian soldiers to the front.  Its speed was appreciated.  Returning to passenger service after the war, it saw the beginning of a different kind of trans-Atlantic voyage--by air. They attempted retro-fitting her with stabilizers to make the voyage less "rocky," but that proved less than successful. Eventually she ended here in Long Beach, California.  Take a look at some of these pictures taken on our tour.  There is also an impressive timeline that traces a thoroughly captivating history.

Just to give you a view at an original anchor.  Compare that with the height of Rob!

If you are in California in the LA area, this is definitely worth a day trip! We won't see her likes again.

A STRANGE THING HAPPENED OUT IN PALM DESERT

Stranger things have happened during our travels than our conversion to something totally new.  Here’s something I will not be fully able to explain to you.  But believe me, it’s worth a read.

In Palm Desert, California we always get to the College of the Desert Fair held each weekend on the college grounds.  It is an upscale market of sorts featuring vendors from near and far.  You can buy gas powered fire pits that sell for thousands of dollars, Baggalini bags, and exotic cars. You can meet craftsmen/women selling items ranging from the ridiculous to the sublime.  For a joke gift, I bought two balls that you throw against a hard surface and watch them splat and then come back to their original shapes.  One is like an egg and one resembles a pink pig.  The College of the Desert fair offers some pretty interesting items.  There’s unique hand-crafted jewelry.  And foodies, there are rows of food vendors.  You want it; they’ve got it.

As we walk the aisles, we pause at one vendor, Superior Magnetics, where Shu and Cricket Avilla have an intriguing line of magnetic therapy products.  They do weekend events and have a mail order business as well.  The idea of magnetic therapy to relieve pain is not new to us, but we are skeptics by nature and just listen for a while as Shu speaks to others who stop by his display.

 Shu is a warm individual and approaches his subject with enthusiasm.  He explains the theories behind magnetic therapy and some of its possibilities as it applies to the person questioning him.  As he speaks to potential customers, Rob becomes interested in the conversation and asks Shu a few specific questions about how magnetic therapy works and what research exists on its efficacy.  It is a pretty involved conversation.

 Rob’s knee had been “acting up,” and he’d been taking half tablets of the painkiller ultram for several days, something he truly prefers to avoid.  Shu convinces Mr. Skeptic to wear a magnetic ankle bracelet for a few minutes and to walk down the row of stalls.  Within minutes, NO KIDDING, Rob’s knee pain calms down enough to make it no more than a slight bother.  It does not eliminate the pain entirely, but the pain subsides sufficiently so Rob skips the next scheduled painkiller and does not ever use the knee brace he carries with him when we travel.

When Rob described the chronic back pain he experiences caused by seven herniated and bulging discs, Shu uses a Piezoelectric Stimulator he says helps restore electrical flow.  Immediately the pain disappears. 

Is Rob convinced of the magnets' efficacy?  Rob left the fair with the magnetic ankle bracelet and a Piezoelectric Stimulator.  

Just to bring you up to date, this occurred on January 18^th.  Today is March 4th, and Rob has not taken a pain killer yet. Yesterday, after a strenuous treadmill workout, he used the Piezolelectric Stimulator on his knee, and again, the results were dramatic!

Back to California.  An older man in a wheelchair stopped by Superior Magnetics.  He had some sort of boot on his foot and complained of gout pain.  Shu told him that with gout he might not feel any results for at least a week, but the man wanted to try an ankle bracelet.  Shu put one on him, and they continued talking.  In a few minutes, the man said that his foot felt a little better.

That evening back at Marriot’s Desert Springs Villas, I tried the ankle bracelet on to see if it affected my ankle stiffness.  The stiffness disappeared, and on January 19^th, we went back and I acquired a bracelet for each ankle.  They’ve rarely been off, and the stiffness is virtually gone. 

We did some internet research to learn about measuring strength in magnets—called gauss.  We also checked out other dealers for comparison.  Our bracelets use 5200 gauss magnets.  That strength is not readily available by other dealers, and, of course, the stronger the magnets, the more expensive they are.  

If you suffer from pain, you might want to investigate magnetic therapy.  You might well get your answers by visiting Shu’s website, and don’t hesitate to call him.  I think you’ll get clear answers to your questions.  Speak to Shu about magnet strength too.

Shu has many very attractive styles of magnetic jewelry.  Rob chose the Scottsdale, and I have the Wimbledon model in the ankle bracelet.  But you wear the jewelry close to where you experience discomfort, so you might choose a bracelet or a necklace.

There is a lot of information on Shu’s website www.superiormagnetics.com. You will see bracelets, ankle bracelets, necklaces, and items aimed at hitting close to the area where you are bothered. There are articles to read about magnetic health, and you might even sign up for Shu’s newsletter as an additional learning tool.  There is contact information; don’t be hesitant to call him.  We found him very responsive to our questions.

The truth about magnetic therapy is that there is no definitive study about why it works on some people or how it works.  What I do know definitively is that it works for us, and I am passing it on to you.  We are definitely converts to this way of treating chronic pain.

We feel so strongly about Shu's integrity and product, that I am putting a permanent link to Superior Magnetics on Third Age Traveler.  Should you want him in the future, he will be there via this link.

FRIDAY'S FOTO

Santa Barbara's Moreton Bay Fig Tree is believed to be the biggest in the country.
Planted in 1876, it was designated an historic landmark in 1970. When it was measured
in 2010, the trunk diameter was 12,5 feet and the branch spread was 198 feet.
It is a beauty to behold.

FRIDAY'S FOTO

My first drive on PCH in California was an eye-opening WHOA!
How magnificently different is California's Pacific coast from our Atlantic Coast.
It is awesome.

.

FRIDAY'S FOTO



Must have been hungry when I chose this photo! Looks great to me.
  How's this for a lovely lunch at the Getty Museum in Los Angeles?



FRIDAY'S FOTO



As we were leaving the Palm Desert, CA area on an overcast day, what did we spy
saying goodbye to us---a desert rainbow, wide and colorful
stretching as far as the eye could see.  Gorgeous.



FRIDAY'S FOTO



Our guide on a ride out in the California desert to an oasis high in the mountains. 
Just the three of us.  Superb!



FRIDAY'S FOTO



The Star of Inda, in San Diego, a three masted bark, is the oldest iron-hulled merchant ship afloat.  It was launched in 1863 and circumnavigated the globe 21 times before being bought, getting its present name and becoming part of early California's maritime history. 
It's gorgeous!!!!!!



FRIDAY'S FOTO

If this black swan cooling its heels in California doesn't have attitude, no one does! 
How would you caption this?  Please do in the comment link below.

FRIDAY'S FOTO

White hot heat and haze cover the valley as I watch from high in Joshua Tree National Park, California

PALM DESERT'S BEAUTIFUL TIMESHARE



Magnificent golf course & mountain views



Palm Desert Springs Villas, a timeshare we are visiting for the second time because our friend, Beth, is an owner here, is just one step from paradise—or maybe closer. Palm Desert is a special destination anyway, and traveling here in January away from New York's winter is a great escape. I write this from the patio overlooking the golf course. It is a bit too cool 67º, so swimming at one of the many pools here is out. But lying in the sun is not.

The unit is a double lockout, two separate units with a common foyer leading to the locked units. We are in the smaller unit, but don't neglect the jacuzzi, the granite counter tops, the super big glass shower or the lovely private patio.

We don't use the fitness center because there are beautiful paths past ponds with swans and ducks, views of the mountains beyond, and the beautiful golf courses or tennis courts.  It's too bad we can't walk the cart paths.  We've used the spa at the gorgeous Mariott Hotel abutting their timeshare property.  Super.



Nice villa view.  When the fountain is flowing, it's lovely.



I've recently posted on our California vacation and some of the places we've visited, but to those add a California Windmill Farm tour, the aerial tramway in Palm Springs, horseback riding in the desert, the Palm Springs Follies, and more interesting and good restaurants than I can name.  Relax or run around or do a combination of the two.  It was a great week.  Whether you use Marriott Vacation Club or trade through RCI, this is a definite destination.

I periodically write about our timeshare experiences, and each one has been terrific. I think timeshares work best for people with flexible schedules who can make vacation arrangements well in advance and for people who plan on going to the timeshare they own on a yearly basis. Here are some photos of this Marriott Resort. Enjoy!

Here are links to my previous posts on this vacation:  http://www.thirdagetraveler.blogspot.com/2012/02/another-wonderful-national-park-joshua.html      http://www.thirdagetraveler.blogspot.com/2012/02/taste-of-29-palms-california.html       http://www.thirdagetraveler.blogspot.com/2012/02/roughley-manor-outstanding-inn-great.html

Great places to walk in a beautiful setting

It's a big resort without a big feeling

Sunset from my chaise lounge at the pool.  Ahhhhh!

ROUGHLEY MANOR--OUTSTANDING INN, GREAT CALIFORNIA HISTORY



Roughley Manor (in Jan., 2012)



One place I MUST include on this trip to Twentynine Palms, California and Joshua Tree National Park is Roughley Manor, a Bed & Breakfast in which we did not stay but which is so beautiful, it fills me with longing to stay there—Roughley Manor.

We learned of Roughley Manor at the Twentynine Palms Visitor Center where a young Marine wife spoke of it enthusiastically.  As Roughley Manor is close to Joshua Tree’s Oasis Visitor Center, we decided to visit there first.  Down a macadam road we drove, nothing but scrub brush and sand alongside.  We are at the edge of the Mojave Desert. We turned right onto a packed sand road, and followed that for a bit until a left hand turn led us down to an unbelievable sight.  In front of us, so out of place at this cusp of desert, behind a stone and wrought iron fence and a stand of enormous and stately Washingtonia Palms stood a stately stone mansion in a setting stolen from a romance movie.  Here was oasis personified, and it was too inviting for us not to go in to take a closer look at this desert wonder.

I rather shyly (as we were not guests) took some photos from the outside of the building and marveled at the setting, but Beth, as is her manner, strode right in and struck up a friendship with former Marine and innkeeper Gary Peters who not only gave us (by then Rob had joined us inside) the history of this place but also took us on a tour.

Roughley Manor’s history reads like a fairy tale.

World War I veteran Bill Campbell came home with lungs significantly damaged by mustard gas.  While still in the East, he married Elizabeth, a rich young woman whose family disowned her because of their marriage, and together they came out to the desert and camped at Mara Oasis for three months in the hope that Bill’s lungs would heal.  Making progress but not completely cured, Bill and Elizabeth began to build a more permanent dwelling as homesteaders.  They carried enough the rocks to make a one room cabin that is now the reception room of the manor. 



Original home, original fireplace--now the reception room of the Inn



Bill was treated, by the way, by Dr. Luckie, whose mural I shared with you in the previous post.  (this is a fascinating link, an article about Dr. Luckie that will illustrates what a great man he was and contains an interesting anecdote about his relationship with Bill Campbell)

The Campbells stayed in Twentynine Palms as ranchers, extending their homestead to 160 acres and building the beautiful stone home we visited.  It took them five years to build the mansion.  They had to carry the stones from the desert.  This was truly a labor of love. 

Come one—that’s one romantic story.  It creates atmosphere! Elizabeth Campbell eventually chronicled their life in her book entitled Desert Was Home, a copy of which we saw in that same reception room that at one time was her entire home.

Eventually, Gary and Jan Peters bought the home and 25 acres, and transformed it into the beautiful Roughley Manor (Jan’s maiden name) for us to enjoy.  They’ve taken a romantic history and offered it to us.  Visit their lovely website which includes receipes from Jan's kitchen.  When you view the rooms, you just want to stay.

Each room or suite has its own character, uniquely and beautifully decorated. We couldn’t help noticing the meticulous attention to detail in the cut glass crystal in the bedrooms beside the bottled waters as well as in other personal touches.  The dining room and other public rooms are charming and warm, and there are fireplaces and plush, comfortable sofas beckoning. 

The grounds are beautiful as well, and if you check the website, not only will you “tour” the rooms but also you will see some “in season” shots including some interesting members of nature that make this their home too.

The Roughley Manor is a hidden treasure—in more ways than one.  Think of spending the day in Joshua Tree National Park doing whatever makes you feel good and then coming back to this sanctuary for beauty and relaxation.   Tempting, isn’t it?

travel vacations leisure "Third Age Traveler" "great destinations" "travel blogs" photography "photo blogs" photos "senior travel" "United States" California desert hotels "bed & breakfasts "29 Palms" "Roughly Manor"

A TASTE OF 29 PALMS, CALIFORNIA

A hidden treasure just outside Joshua Tree National Park and an easy drive from the Palm Spring desert area is Twentynine Palms, California.  Its climate and terrain make it the home of the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center, the nation’s largest training base, a training site for some of our desert involvement.  Just go past the last traffic light and you are right in the Mojave Desert. 

Don't be deceived by this innocuous looking main throroughfare and think its charm lies only in the desert setting.  By the way, notice the incredible blues in the skies of these unretouched photos.  Wow!

Despite its size and location, more than 1.4 million visitors come to 29 Palms each year because of its location at the heart of some very unique places for hikers, bikers, photographers, campers, desert lovers, lovers of historic inns, cyclists, history buffs, and climbers.  Wander through the 29 Palms web site, and you will be amazed at what is going on here.

Rob and I first passed through 29 Palms in 2003 on our first visit to Joshua Tree National Park.  Then we learned that 29 Palms is also known as “An Oasis of Murals.”  The sides of buildings have become huge canvasses for artists to memorialize, in their unique styles, the rich history and heritage of 29 Palms.  That first time we did not have time to drive around and view more than a few murals, but this time we and our friend, Beth, stopped in the Visitor Center, picked up a map, and drove around to learn a little local history.  The town is a big, outdoor art gallery, and it is quite impressive. There are 24 murals in all and two pieces of sculpture.

I wish I could have photographed all the murals, but these larger-than-life-sized paintings are often in a place where I could not get a camera’s eye view of the entire mural.  Each mural has a story, and some make you gasp at the courage or generosity of the subject.  I will share a few with you.  Call this post A Taste of Twentynine Palms.  You’ll get the idea.  And if you are out this way, you will appreciate this town.

The Visitor Center abuts Bucklin Park, an addition since our first visit, but we enjoyed the mural “Neighbors in Nature” as well as the picnic tables, desert plants, shade, and a 15 foot tall sculpture, "Sky Climbers."  Even in January, the desert has bloom, and this park, dedicated to Bucky Bucklin, a retired Marine and community volunteer shared some of nature's beauty with us.  The park includes picnic tables, seating, and shaded areas.  The beautiful mural was obscured by other park features, but it offered a restful site for us to plan our "tour" of Twentynine Palms.



Dr. James B. Luckie "The Father of Twentynine Palms"



We almost missed this mural on the back of a building, but we stopped in an optician's office to get some help with a loose eyeglass lens.  We got to talking with the optician who was friendly enough to charge nothing for his service, and he filled us in on Dr. James B. Luckie who is known as the "Father of Twentynine Palms." Dr. Luckie sent  soldiers returning from WWI to homestead here. He hoped the dry desert climate would help them recover from the asthma, TB, and mustard gas poisoning they had as a reminder of their service.  In the 17x50 foot mural, he is seen with the soldiers for which he cared.

The Flying Constable, Jack Cones

This 16x60 foot mural memorializes "The Flying Constable" Jack Cones.  He was the law from his election in 1932 until his death in 1960.  He patrolled his 2,800 square mile jurisdiction in a Piper J-3 Cub.  Can you imagine?!  Not quite the picture of the retired gunslinger in cowboy boots leaning back against the front of his office on his wooden chair or rounding up a posse, is it?

With my son in the military, I am always cognizant of signs of respect toward them.  As 29 Palms is also a Marine base, it is no surprise that there are murals reflecting the community's involvement with the Marines, and there are murals dedicated to Operation Iraqi Freedom as well as this one entitled Desert Storm Homecoming and Victory Parade.  The Marines first came to 29 Palms in 1952, many serving in Operations Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm.  When the troops came home from the Persian Gulf in 1991, more than 40,000 people came to the city for their Victory Parade.  This mural is huge.  It is 18x101 feet and dedicated in 1995.

Desert Storm Homecoming and Victory Parade

Other murals celebrate the gold mining period here and the settlers who built this place.  Some celebrate the wildlife and the beautiful desert sunrises.  One reminds us of the flash floods that raced through the area in the 1940s prior to flood control channels.  There's a mural for the 29 Palm Boys Basketball Tournament which for more than 40 years has drawn boys from California, Nevada and Arizona.  Football, climbing, and skateboarding are also commemorated.  Truly, a ride through this town is a ride through the past, present, as well as a positive look at the future.  Don't miss Twentynine Palms, and take the time to really see it up close and personal.

ANOTHER WONDERFUL NATIONAL PARK: JOSHUA TREE IN CALIFORNIA



Keys View overlooking the Coachella Valley



Joshua Tree National Park in the Mojave and Colorado deserts of California, not far from Palm Springs, is truly a desert paradise of over 550,000 acres, offering something for anyone of any age and from any climate.  You know we’re fans of the National Park Service and the way it protects our places of environmental, historical, and cultural interest and how it finds a way to make them accessible to a wide range of people.  Joshua Tree National Park is one more example where we pass hikers, cyclists, campers, day trippers, guided tour groups, climbers, and yes, on this day, hula hoopers.

We enter Joshua Tree National Park at Mara Oasis, a short distance from 29 Palms, California, home of the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center, and a very unusual little community which I’ll write about in another post. 

As always, the Visitor Center at the Park is our first stop, a place to speak to knowledgeable Park Rangers who help us pick the route we will follow.  On a previous visit, we entered at this point but took a different route from the one we will follow today.  We pick up maps, our route marked by the Ranger, as well as buy a few “necessary” postcards and some wonderful stuffed animals for a few terrific kids we know.

Joshua Tree derives its name from the plethora of Joshua trees that dot the landscape.  Legend has it that the tree earned its name from Mormon pioneers who saw them representing Joshua reaching his arms to the heavens.  Joshua led the Israelites into the Promised Land, and believe me, there is an analogy here. 

Frankly, if I were a pioneer heading through this obviously inhospitable country, I would have been scared witless and would have prayed for a way out.  I can’t be the only one feeling like this as one of the first “exhibit” markers on our route asks the visitor to evaluate the landscape: is it “barren,” “an evolved ecosystem,” “useless” or “useful”?  It takes a few moments to jolt oneself from the “barren” to “evolved ecosystem” designation.  (only kidding; it's a loaded question)  But we are visitors in a car, not pioneers with wagons looking for some way to sustain life.  Almost all of the pioneers passed on through this “evolved ecosystem” to greener destinations.



See the skull?  Hoola Hoopers were twirling away
in front of this incredible formation.

 We are free, as visitors, to learn about the geological changes, the volcanic upheavals and the tumbling that produced the incredibly massive and beautiful rock formations which refuse to let our imaginations rest.  Instead we see dinosaurs, snakes, skulls and other easily identifiable shapes as we drive, stopping to climb or briefly follow some of the many hiking trails or to photograph memories we want to keep but which will disappear if we are not careful.

If you leave your imagination behind when you travel, you will miss so much of what the world has to offer.  In Joshua Tree this day, our journey is a 45 mile partial loop beginning in 29 Palms and ending in the city of Joshua Tree.



Mojave Yucca



As we move through the park we pass bicyclists, hikers and campers.  We have our picnic lunch in one of the many available sites, and we stop time and again to simply stand in wonder.

As we drive, the jumbo rocks are replaced by lesser formations almost as if a giant came by with a sledgehammer and destroyed the figures Nature created.  Here is the home of bighorn sheep and other species.  The bighorn easily make their way up and down these broken rock mountains. 

Actually the change is a result of granite cooling and crystallizing underground and developing horizontal and vertical cracks.  Eventually, when the surface soil eroded, heaps were scattered across the landscape. 

We stop at Keys View, an overlook at an elevation of 5,185 feet in the Little San Bernadino Mountains revealing the beautiful Coachella Valley and the San Andreas Fault area.  The clouds in my photos are not morning mist; the valley is covered by layers of thick, white pillows of smoky fog drifting through a pass and settling to rest over the valley.  The smog emanates from the Los Angeles area.  It may look beautiful, but it is pollution.  In another direction and 35 miles away, we are able to see, at 227 feet below sea level, one of the lowest spots on earth, the Salton Sea, and it becomes a future destination for us.  Did you know of this spot?

From this high point we begin our descent, and the big rock mountains of the bighorn sheep seem to crumble; in a way we are following Nature's path.  She crumbled this landscape over time.  The descent is steep and twisted, and again our minds go back to the area's pioneers and the wagons that had to traverse this rocky, mountainous, bleak terrain.

It is a bit sad returning to “civilization.”  It's not nearly as intriguing.

Make sure, if you are visiting the Palm Springs or any of the other Desert Cities, that Joshua Tree is on your must see list.  Get one of the National Park passes, and you will never be sorry for viewing another one of America’s most interesting treasures.

ALCATRAZ--YOU GET OFF WHEN THEY LET YOU OFF

No one thinks of famous prisons without thinking of dreaded Alcatraz. There on a rock in the middle of San Francisco Bay, sustained only by importing every daily necessity from the mainland, some of the worst and varied lawbreakers spent parts of their lives. Books were written and movies made about this infamous prison known as “The Rock.” If you spend any time in San Francisco, a trip to this fascinating landmark should be on your agenda.

Today Alcatraz is part of the National Park System, and as Rob and I always find, the National Park Service provides a first rate attraction with excellent guides and presentations. Before 1973 when the Park service opened the island for tours, no visitors were allowed. Visitation was not a prisoner privilege. Today more than 1.3 million visitors arrive each year. Few are disappointed.

Alcatraz was a prison almost from its inception when in 1859 eleven soldiers were confined there, but it was in the 1930s that it became a high-profile, maximum security Federal Penitentiary. Most of the prisoners were men who were problems in other prisons, but its fame came from some super notorious inmates: Al “Scarface” Capone, “Doc” Barker, George “Machine Gun Kelly” and Robert Stroud, the Birdman of Alcatraz.

Rule #5 at Alcatraz reads as follows: You are entitled to food, clothing, shelter, and medical attention. Everything else you get is a privilege.”

No one ever escaped from Alcatraz. Fourteen attempts were made, and in 1962, three men got into the water using raincoats as life vests. Never heard of again, their bodies were never found. In fact, Alcatraz was so secure that the families of the prison guards living on the island did not even lock their doors. Alcatraz was closed as a prison in 1963.

I’m including so much history because as I looked back across the 1.5 miles to San Francisco I was startled by my feelings of isolation. Rob and I took the Night Tour. It was very dramatic. Being at Alcatraz at the close of day, we could see this magnificent city, and I imagined the prisoners locked in their cells or able to see the twinkling lights of a civilization that was beyond their reach for an average of eight to ten years. Animals do not inhabit this rock in the middle of San Francisco Bay. The only four legged animal living on the island is the deer mouse. Alcatraz does have one of the largest western gull populations on the California coast, however, and is home to many other birds that fly in and out with the winds exhibiting an unabashed freedom the men at Alcatraz sacrificed through their behavior. Even as a visitor, I was unable to shake the feeling of cold isolation from a warm world.

The Night Tour included a narrated boat tour around the island, a guided tour from the dock to the prison—a steep ¼ mile walk equivalent to a 13-story climb. Electric cart rides are offered to those who cannot climb. Prisoners always walked, chained, and the long, slow trek up to the top of the rock where the prison buildings sit was a slow march into a new reality.

In the prison we took a detailed audio tour including narration from former prisoners and guards who explained what it was like to live and follow the rules at Alcatraz, and when we walked back to the dock in the gathering darkness, we observed as birds flew home to roost.

Inside the prison we faced the stone cold facts of prison life. We visited the cell blocks, dining facilities, and other areas used by the prisoners.

We saw how some prisoners decorated their cells with the results of hobbies, etc. Eerily we learned about the lockdowns and how security within the prison worked.

The inevitable question seems to be “Where did Al Capone live?” The answer is that no one knows the exact cell. He spent part of his time in a hospital isolation cell. Bubbles burst as we learned that The Birdman of Alcatraz never had birds at Alcatraz; he had canaries while he was an inmate at Leavenworth.

We stepped inside cells; we walked the halls (streets) in the prison; we viewed the city from outside the prison building; we saw where the men worked; we looked at the “recreation yard”; we learned how the guards and their families lived on the island. We came away stunned.

The boat ride back to San Francisco’s lights with views of The Golden Gate Bridge in one direction and the bridge to Oakland in the other emphasized the loneliness of this place where no one escaped except, perhaps, the five suicides and the eight murder victims.

travel "travel+blogs" vacations trips photos "travel+photos" "San+Francisco" California prisons Alcatraz "Al+Capone" Birdman "Machine+Gun+Kelly" prisoners guards islands "San+Francisco+Bay" bridges Oakland "Golden+Gate" "national+parks" museums boats tours night birds coast animals

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