The Desert - Dinosaurs. Diners, and Temptations (and photos of cats - former kittens - just for fun)

 Soon it got dusk, 

a grapy dusk, 

a purple dusk over tangerine groves and long melon fields; 

the sun the color of pressed grapes, 

slashed with burgandy red, 

the fields the color of love and Spanish mysteries. 

~ Jack Kerouac, On the Road

We headed out to the desert with a goal of seeing things we had not seen before including to see the mountains and valleys from the aerial tram* in Palm Springs and visit Joshua Tree National Park** with short stops at the University of California Riverside*** and the Cabazon Dinosaurs,**** We moved fast and had fun, even has we searched almost in vain for Joshua Trees in the park. [Hint: Use the WEST entrance to the park. That is the area with the most "stuff" including the Joshua Trees. Also, note that there are loads of Joshua Trees along the highway from 29 Palms towards Riverside.]

Riverside  

The University of California Riverside is an agriculture school. It has citrus orchards. We toured the campus, picked a few kumquats, and wondered at the amazing plants on the campus. I can see we will need to be there during a spring.

We saw birds we knew (crows and sparrows) and some we didn't know. Almost everywhere we went we were treated with seagull "fly-overs."

Yes, we were watched as we wandered around.

I'm jealous of the succulent beds. I do grow some, but so many freeze.

More succulents.

Some blooming had begun.

I love these trees with "eyes" (and some with initials carved).

I understand hummingbirds visit these gardens in numbers during the spring.

A couple of iris were already blooming.

This jade plant was enormous and covered with blooms.

Blooming succulant.

I remember some kumquat trees at home - really just bushes. These were TREES and full of fruit.

I would be in big trouble swiping fruit and canning marmalade...maybe...nah...

See!

An old barn has been renovated and used for a cafe. Note the orange trees to the left.

DH and YC head towards the carillon******

The herb garden has a sign that politely asks forks not to pick.

It's a lovely building, the carillon. They only "play" it on Monday at noon.

Palm Springs

Just outside of Palm Springs is an aerial tramway. It is pretty spectacular. The temperature dropped 40 degrees from when we boarded the gondola and when we exited at the mountain station at 8516 feet. It was snowing on the mountain. Yes, the air was thin.

This tram is the only one I know where you revolve 360 degrees and everyone gets a view all-the-way-around.

The clouds were low and so our view somewhat restricted. 

The car would swing at each of the towers.

We climbed through fog.

And we exited into a snowy wooded area.

The mountain is granite and large boulders were scattered about - snow-covered and trimmed in icicles. These two were throwing snowballs.

The sun played hide-and-seek among the clouds.

Snow!

A man and boy had hauled a sled up on the tramway on our trip up. We recognized them sledding.

More boulders, snow, and icicles.

I love the texture of this wood against the snow.

This is the lower station for the tramway.

Our little car had issues with the climb.

One of the "magic" moments of the trip occurred on our way down the mountain on the tram. Our operator was playing rock standards as "background music" when  The Temptations singing "My Girl" came on. By the end of the ride, all aboard - people from all over the world, were singing along. In this day and time, it was a powerful moment...

I´ve got sunshine
On a cloudy day.
When it´s cold outside,
I´ve got the month of May.

Well, I guess you´ll say
What can make me feel this way?
My girl. (My girl, my girl)
Talkin´ ´bout my girl. (My girl)

~ Smokey Robinson and Ronald White

Joshua Tree

Joshua Tree National Park****** is a lot of desert. It is actually parts of two deserts - the Mojave and the Colorado. It was starting to bloom as the winter had been wet and the weather was warming, but we were a little early for what I imagine is a spectacular sight. We examined some of the cactus and other "spiky" plants, including the Joshua Tree that gives the park its name. We saw few creatures - some birds, mostly ravens and crows, and a lone lizard.

Cactus skeleton

Cholla Cactus Garden

Is this the bloom or is something more coming?

I think this is Beavertail Cactus. Its bloom is a bright pink.

THE JOSHUA TREE! [Actually a type of yucca, not a tree.]

I cannot imagine this place in the heat of the summer.

Cool Cats - We are taking an irregularly scheduled cat break.

Slinky and Aengus...too cool for us. [This is an old photo by YC. I couldn't manage a photo of Slinky on this trip.]

Gus, the grandcat, is pretty gregarious. Slinky isn't sure what to make of us and is a bit shy of us.

Ghost cat.

Neighbor cat #1

Neighbor cat #2

DINOSAURS!

In the middle of the desert one can find some crazy attractions. We found the Cabazon Dinosaurs and stopped. You can take a strange tour of not-to-scale dinosaurs, buy stuff in the gift shop, flatten a penny (I love these), watch a video, dig in a sandpit for a rock (that entitles you to a prize from the gift shop) and CLIMB UP IN THE T-REX! Of course, we had to climb up and roar down at the kids below.
 

DH swears these are larger than the ones at Glen Rose, Texas. I am not so sure.

This shirt was the only thing in the gift shop I wanted, but I'm trying not to buy any more T-shirts.

This guy looks a little lumpy, but we climbed in anyway.

This is a smaller one along the tour.

There were some pretty things blooming on the "landscaped" hike.

Lavender in the desert?

We had hoped to end our trip with a short tour of the mid-century modern architecture in Palm Springs, but we were forced to leave that for another trip. We did see a couple of the recommended structures/areas on our way in,****** so we were not too disappointed.

NOTES:

* https://www.pstramway.com/

** https://www.nps.gov/jotr/index.htm

*** http://www.ucr.edu/

**** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cabazon_Dinosaurs

***** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carillon

******The Palm Springs Visitor Center (where one turns to head up to the tramway) is itself a gem of modern architecture. Designed by Albert Frey and Robson Chambers, it was a gas station for some 20 years before it was purchased and re-purposed by Palm Springs. We also noted a neighborhood of slightly-varying small "boxy" houses on the edge of the city as well as so many clearly 50s and 60s style buildings and homes. Palms Springs is making a huge effort to preserve this architectural legacy.

Final Note: I had been planning on acquiring a National Park pass for DH a few months ago, thinking it might encourage some road trips. I was glad to discover I could purchase one at Joshua Tree. The "Senior Pass" is 10 bucks - and allows access to the pass holder and his carload for free. It's a lifetime pass. What a deal! [You qualify for the senior pass at 62.]