Palm Springs: Top 10 U.S. Places to Travel

Greater Palm Springs Area

Desert Oasis

Looking Up at Oasis Fan Palms

Golden Barrel Cacti

Roadrunner in Desert

Close-up of Roadrunner Face

Anna’s Hummingbird at Mexican Honeysuckle in Desert Garden

Greater Palm Springs was voted one of the top ten places to travel in the United States by Lonely Planet in 2017.  We visited in early spring and loved it as usual!

Palm Springs: Giant Wind Turbines

Wind Turbines by Mount San Jacinto

Trio of Wind Turbines

Pair of Wind Turbines (author at base for scale)

Triple Exposure of Wind Turbines – Pinwheel Effect

Wind Turbines into the Distance

Wind Turbines in Desert Landscape

San Gorgonio Pass in Black and White

The San Gorgonio Pass near Palm Springs is one of the windiest places in California.  The area is famous for its huge wind farms containing over 4,000 wind turbines.  The largest blades measure half the length of a football field.  Currently engineers are working on a prototype that would have blades twice the length of a football field mounted on a tower taller than the Empire State Building!  Another post is at:  https://naturetime.wordpress.com/2014/05/30/california-palm-springs-wind-turbines/

Desert Art: Mirror House

Mirage House of Polished Steel

Kaleidoscopic Mirrored Interior

View of Palm Springs from Inside the House

Outside of House Reflecting Wind Turbines in Distance

Mirrored House Angles

Mirrored Corner Angles

Recently we enjoyed seeing some of the Desert X art installations on view throughout the Coachella Valley in Palm Springs, California (https://www.desertx.org/).  Overall the exhibition runs February 25 – April 20, 2017, but this exhibit will remain open until October 31^st.

Artist Doug Aitken created this mirrored home of polished steel called “Mirage”.  Environment and home are blended together in this unique kaleidoscopic structure.  The view is said to be especially stunning at sunset and in moonlight.  This was a favorite and a real treat to see on the last day of our trip!

Desert Art: Mirrored Pillars

Curve of Mirrored Pillars

Pillar Row

Pillars Reflecting Sky

Authors’ Portraits in Pillars

When we visited Palm Springs recently, we were happy to see some of the Desert X art installations on view throughout the Coachella Valley (https://www.desertx.org/).  The exhibition runs February 25 – April 20, 2017. 

These pictures show a ring of mirrored pillars called “The Circle of Land and Sky” by artist Phillip K. Smith III.  I think it would be fun to have a couple of mirrored pillars at home in the flower garden!

California: Palm Springs Art Museum

Your Dog Fiberglass Statue

Sputnik-Style Starburst Chandelier

Golden Rain

Acoma-Hopi Seed Jar

Rattlesnake and Desert Iguana Basket

Paiute Beaded Basket

Navajo Yeibeichai Rug with Female Dancers

Driftwood Bronze Horse

Picasso Owl

Twin 6-Foot Bronze Hearts in Outdoor Sculpture Garden

Costa’s Hummingbird at Red Salvia in Dining Courtyard

We always enjoy visiting the Palm Springs Art Museum in Southern California. There is a wonderful variety of items on display, and it is delightful dining outside beside cacti and hummingbirds. Info about visiting the museum is at: http://www.psmuseum.org/

Joshua Tree National Park – A Favorite!

Cholla Cactus Garden Sign

Close-up of Teddy Bear Cholla

Sun Ring over Cholla Cactus Garden

Mojave Mound Cactus

Joshua Tree Nicknamed the Telephone Pole

Bent Over Joshua Tree

Large Joshua Tree

Jumbo Rocks

Close-up of Rock Formation

Joshua Tree Landscape in Infrared

We always enjoying visiting Joshua Tree National Park in the Mojave Desert of California – it is one of our favorites! 

The spiny Cholla Cactus Garden is a wonderful place to take a careful walk (no sandals or flip-flops allowed). We got extra lucky when we visited because a sun ring formed in the sky above us – amazing!  More info on how sun halos form is at: http://earthsky.org/space/what-makes-a-halo-around-the-moon  

Joshua trees are fun to see because they come in so many shapes and sizes as a result of the environment. They are a member of the lily family. The rocky landscape is quite scenic, and is criss-crossed by multiple earthquake faults.  The San Andreas Fault forms the southern boundary of the park. More info about these faults is at: http://www.nps.gov/jotr/learn/nature/faults.htm   More info about visiting Joshua Tree National Park is at: http://www.joshuatree.org/

 

Anza Borrego: Galleta Meadows Sky Art

Grasshopper and Scorpion Pair

Infrared Grasshopper

Infrared Scorpion

Merriam’s Tapir

Infrared Desert Landscape

Giant Tortoise

African Elephant

Bighorn Sheep

Gold Miner and His Mule

Willys Jeep

Sand Verbena

Flowering Opuntia Cactus

Epic Desert Flower Bloom in Spring 1998

Sculpture Installation Map by Galleta Meadows

Every time we visit Anza Borrego Desert State Park, California, we always make time to see more of Ricardo Breceda’s metalwork creations at Galleta Meadows.  He carefully considers the placement of each statue in the landscape for best effect.  New “Sky Art” is constantly being added to the desert plain. 

A simple driving tour map is pictured above, and a detailed interactive Google map is at: https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1Eh2KAR81FCa5sgPDCaGwoPcF-8g&hl=en_US&ll=33.255457461934164%2C-116.35907649993896&z=12   Maps are also available around town in Borrego Springs.  An interesting article is at http://www.desertusa.com/borrego/bs-art.html

All posts about the sculptures are at: https://naturetime.wordpress.com/?s=galleta

Desert wildflower blooms are usually best during an El nino year because rain comes to the desert.  The best desert wildflowers we’ve ever seen was the Palm Springs bloom of 1998.