Wednesday, June 29, 2011

finally! salton sea/julian!

Welcome to another post that doesn't include a National Park! The point of these posts is to help me I hope that this blog will serve as more than a photo dumping ground, but I have a lot of photos to post and loads of raconteuring to do. So here we go!

A few weeks ago the lovely Jess was in San Diego and we decided that not only did we want to spend some significant time together, but that we wanted to do so in the form of a roadtrip. So to Julian and the Salton Sea we went. I'm not going to bore you with my version of historical facts, but safe to say, each place was pretty spectacular in its own way.

Here are some (slightly) interesting photos.

So welcome to the Salton Sea.

SaltonSea1

I honestly didn't know what to expect. I had been obsessed with it for quite some time and am still intrigued by it, especially because of all of the dilapidated buildings that exist there, not to mention the eerie and quite sullen history.

Here's another sign...

SaltonSea2

What surprised me the most was just how gross the stench was. Imagine hot, humid, the smell of fish, dilapidation and literally the bones of millions (possibly billions) of dead fish. Here you go, images of dead fish and dilapidation:

SaltonSea4

SaltonSea5

SaltonSea6


I mean really, what happened to this stuff?

SaltonSea10

Why would you leave your treasured trailer there?

And oh yeah, the dead stuff:

(Sorry about the lopped off top.)

SaltonSea11

See the beach? Yeah, Eric pointed out to us that it was all bones of dead fish that we were walking on.

SaltonSea13

SaltonSea14

And one last shot of the Salton Sea, pretty fitting, I think.

SaltonSea3


So lessons learned:

  • The Salton Sea absolutely, unequivocally reeks.
  • Never go there again on a 100+ degree day like we did.
  • Yes the stuff that you're stepping on really is made of dead fish.
  • It's an absolute must-see if you're ever in Southern California.
Up next, Julian!

Friday, June 17, 2011

Things To Look Forward To


The above image is one of my favorites I've ever taken. Last year I went on a road trip (my very first solo road trip! Probably the first of many to come.) to Carmel and on the way up there, right off the 101, you could see Mission San Miguel -- this is just one of many images from that glorious mission. The purpose of this, gentle readers, is that I just wanted to give you proof that I am not always a crappy photographer! Yes, I am learning the rule of thirds, I am reading my fair share of Understanding Exposure and am devouring my email from Light Stalking.


1) My post about Pacific Park (yes the little amusement park in Santa Monica).
2) Another post about the amazing Mission San Miguel (perhaps this is another project -- I'd like to follow in Huell Howser's footsteps and see all of the missions, too!)
3) My trip to Kings Canyon and Sequoia with my (not such a baby anymore) sister!
4) My trip to Channel Islands soon to be determined!
5) My post about the Salton Sea and Anza Borrego Park.

This blog is already one of the best things I've ever done since it is really making me get out of my comfort zone and really see what this gorgeous country has to offer. Thanks for reading! :)

Sunday, June 12, 2011

Will Rogers State Park, or using my crappy camera phone.









Today's blog post is brought to you by my crappy camera phone! I was hoping that the images would be a little more focused and interesting, but oh well!

Will Rogers park evokes so many memories for me... my sister and I went there as small children and it felt so large and wild to me. Last Sunday when I went, it seemed so closed, so constricted, so manicured -- much like how I used to be. Not wild at all. Still beautiful however.

There weren't very many images of my own I could post on here because they were *that* bad... but I promise to 1) never forget my camera/charge my batter every time and b) not regale you with overly crappy photos (although, I really don't think I'm that spectacular of a photographer).

As this is a work in progress, the definition of the kind of park I can post about will be a little loose. For instance, I recently went to Pacific Park in Santa Monica -- so that counts, right? (Photos coming soon.) At any rate, the above photos are the only two I felt were worth sharing. The sign, of course, which will from now on, be posted for every entry (if there is a sign to be posted) and the only interesting photo that came from the set of crappy camera phone shots. The ropes pictured above are Will Rogers' ACTUAL ropes! I snuck touching one --- so cool! I am not nearly as educated about Will Rogers as I'd like to be, but from what I understand, he was a pretty extraordinary person.

Anyway, lesson learned = bring real camera next time.

Saturday, June 11, 2011

Joshua Tree

So Joshua Tree, as I previously did not know, is divided by a line between two deserts. On the west side of the park, lies the Mojave Desert (which is where all of the famous rock formations and Joshua Trees are.) As soon as you enter from the 29 Palms/Yucca Valley side (which is where most people enter from) you start to see these unbelivably beautiful rock formations. The aformentioned rock formations are lined with Joshua Trees, other various cacti and multitudes of flora/fauna. I couldn't take a picture of everything I wanted to unfortunately, but here are a few favorites.
I love this photo because it has such beautiful light and it really reminded me of something you'd see in a Tim Burton movie. Never has there been a more "magic" hour than in Joshua Tree right before sunset. We were really, really lucky to have gotten there when we did!

Another example of incredible rock formations! I wish I could properly convey the magnitude and actual human: rock scale in the photos I took, but just trust me, they were HUGE and attracted so many rock climbers!

I don't think I'll ever tire of the beauty of these trees. I thought they were cousins of the palm tree, but I was dead wrong! The Joshua Tree is a cousin/hybrid of the pine tree. They were "discovered" and "named" by Mormon settlers in the 1800s. According to wikipedia, the trees were named Joshua because they looked like objects in prayer with their arms raised up to God. I can definitely see that! They're pretty spectacular up close and I definitely felt the presence of something while in the park, even if it was just my own calm settling within me.

Another gorgeous example of cacti in Joshua Tree! These were everywhere, especially in the Mojave Desert side of the park. (The other side of the park, which I neglected to mention, is the Colorado Desert. One can witness a stark difference in landscape, temperature, animals and plant life in the two deserts. It's almost like entering a different country!)

This was a beautiful rainbow cloud -- how did this happen?! There was no rain as far as the eyes of my companion and me could see and I honestly have no idea how this phenomenon occurred. Any guesses? (Seriously, I don't know!)


Burnt Joshua Trees -- still gorgeous to me. I've always been fond and felt a connection with natural decay, anything dilapidated and spooky/scary. These burnt Joshua Trees were just so incredible looking to me.

Anyway, that's it for now, I hope to post more photos from the trip later as well as a few anecdotes regarding this, my first in my National Parks Project.

Posted by Picasa

Welcome!

Welcome to my adventure blog!

So, the purpose of this blog is simple. I've set out to see all the National Parks in the country. In my life, I have seen: The Grand Canyon, Yosemite, Yellowstone, Arches, Sequoia/Kings Canyon, Joshua Tree, Redwoods and from what I can remember, Haleakala. I don't know how often this will be updated or how often I'll be able to go, but I hope that this will be a great place to catalog my attempts at photography in aforementioned, record thoughts and ideas regarding my experience with very beginners-level outdoorsy stuff and maybe be a link dump as far as other ideas and whatnot are concerned. I also hope that this space will serve as a place for me to catalog other visits to state parks, national reserves, national forests, city/county parks, nature hikes, and anything else I want basically, etc.

The idea for this came about while driving around in Joshua Tree a few weeks ago while visiting the park for the first time. During aforementioned drive, taking in the ethereal beauty of Joshua Tree a thought occurred to me ... "this is what I want to do for the rest of my life." Perhaps it was the pleasant company, or the newly found freedom I'd had from the last previous disastrous relationship in my life, or just the astounding scenery around me, but I was so moved and really, for the first time, felt the presence of something greater in the universe in the my surroundings. Coming on the heels of this "a-ha!" moment, I thought that this project, daunting as it seems, was something I'd like to dedicate my life to. Although I've been to quite a few parks before, in my project, I need to visit every single one again, this time with the project in mind in order to accomplish my goal. I know it's not new, original, thoughtful, or perhaps all that interesting to most people, but it's for me, and it's the first instance in my life that I am doing something absolutely and entirely for myself. It's about time!

What are conditions of the project then?

1) To post about it here with at least one photo.
2) Get a bumper sticker from the park and put it either on my car or in my sticker book.
3) To take as many photos as possible!
4) Take at least one nature walk while at the park.

So I hope to see you along my travels! I can't commit to updating x times a month, but what I can commit to is to at least check in more than once in a while to let you know how I'm doing on my journey.