Postcards from the Mojave Desert

On our trip to and from Las Vegas, we had to travel through the Mojave Desert. I think the desert holds its own special kind of beauty.

Alien jerky, anyone? This place is in Baker, Ca. the halfway point through the Mojave Desert. It can get to temperatures of up to 134 degrees during the summer.

These cloud formations were so strange.

Did you know that Borax crystals were discovered here in the 1880s? Eighteen mules and two draft horses were used to transport borax from Death Valley to the railroad junction in Mojave, hence the term "20 mule team borax." There is now a road by that name here and a modern plant in Mojave where the crystals are mined today. My mom always used borax in the laundry and I have continued using it, but I never knew where it came from. It was cool to accidentally discover where it is actually mined.

Postcards from Las Vegas

We went to a wedding in Las Vegas over the weekend. It was a long drive there and back, but it was totally worth it. I thought you might enjoy some of the photos I took during the trip.

The wedding and dinner reception were held at the Luxor Hotel. 

The Bellagio fountains were magnificent. They synchronize them to music and when we were were there it was the sound of Frank Sinatra singing 'New York, New York.' These fountains were in the movie Oceans 11.

This just made us laugh. You don't even need to leave the comfort of your car to get married here. Only in Vegas.

Postcards from Pismo Beach

Pismo Beach is on Highway 1 about 10 miles south of San Luis Obispo. We decided to take a drive and check it out because we had never been there before and have heard about it often.

Wouldn't you like to have this view from your house?

You know I love birds and can spend hours watching them, but I am especially fascinated by pelicans. They just look so prehistoric to me and I enjoy watching them flying over water.

While the beach was beautiful and the terrain was different than the beaches further north, there were way too many people in Pismo Beach for our tastes. It was so very congested - not a bad place if you don't mind sharing the beach with hundreds of other people...

I have never seen bougainvillea grown as a shrub before and along this vista point on the cliffs were at least fifty of these shrubs. I would love to get some for my garden.

Postcards from San Luis Obispo

We made a quick trip to the coast this weekend to San Luis Obispo and some of the coastal towns along California's Highway 1. I'll be posting postcards from the spots we stopped along the way throughout the week.

In San Luis Obispo, I found myself taking pictures of beautiful plantings along the streets that we walked in the city.

Point Reyes Station

Point Reyes Station is a quaint little town that we passed on the way to and from Point Reyes National Seashore. It was named after the railroad that passed through there in the late 1800s until it ended in 1933.

We stopped at The Station House to have brunch. They have the BEST ham, egg and cheese sandwiches. Stay away from the burger with bleu cheese though.This is a picture of their outdoor dining area. We really liked the trellis and John thought it might be something he could build for our garden. 

Point Reyes Station is also the home of Cowgirl Creamery, but we didn't get a chance to stop in there this time. We will save it for our next visit.

The short walk down the main street, which is also Highway 1 as well as Shoreline Highway, was lined with beautiful flowers poking out of unexpected places.

I loved this bougainvillea that was growing outside a doctor's office.

This was an interesting brick building which is called the Grandi Building. Sadly, it is empty now, but it once had a hotel, a grand ballroom and a general store. It looks like it is used as a large community bulletin board now. The 'Chinese Chuckwagon' sitting outside made me smile.

This was a hot spot.

After we walked around town and did a little shopping in Toby's, we got some iced coffees and sat outside and people watched. It was interesting watching other tourists drive in and park. Everyone, and I mean everyone, we saw frantically dialed their cell phones as soon as they got out of their car, but John and I just looked at each other and laughed. We had given up trying to get a cell phone signal a few hours before. If you are looking for a weekend getaway, and more important - a little electronic break - this is the place for you.

Point Reyes Lighthouse

Our last trip to the lighthouse was cold, foggy and windy, so it was wonderful to be there when the weather was clear and warm. Point Reyes is the windiest place on the Pacific Coast and the second foggiest place on the North American continent.

The lighthouse was built in 1870 and was retired from service in 1975 when the U.S. Coast Guard installed an automated light. The lighthouse was then transferred in ownership to the National Park Service. On the short hike up the road to the lighthouse you can see incredible views like above.

Hawks and turkey vultures circled above looking for their lunch.

The trees are lovely and are bent from years of withstanding the high winds.

You have to walk 308 steps down to the lighthouse. An area 300 feet from the cliff was blasted with dynamite to clear a level spot for the lighthouse. It took six weeks to lower the materials from the top of the cliff to the lighthouse platform in order to construct the lighthouse.

Incredible views from the machine room in the lighthouse.

The lens and the mechanism for the lighthouse were constructed in France in 1867. The clockwork mechanism, glass prisms and housing were shipped on a steamer around the tip of South America to San Francisco.

The parts from France and the parts for the cast iron tower were transferred to a second ship, which then sailed to a landing on Drakes Bay in the Point Reyes Peninsula. The parts were loaded onto ox-drawn carts and hauled three miles over the headlands to near the tip of Point Reyes, 600 feet above sea level. The lighthouse first shone on December 1, 1870.

These are the automated lights that were installed in 1975. The 'rust' on the lighthouse is actually red algae.

The rocks below the lighthouse are home to all kinds of birds. When you first look it appears that the large rocks are covered by smaller rocks.

But upon closer inspection you can see hundreds of pelicans and murrets.

Seagulls, of course, and elephant seals basking in the sun.

The walk down to the lighthouse was a breeze. Unfortunately, we had to walk back up 308 steps. It is equivalent to walking up a 30-story building. Luckily, there are little rest stops that we took advantage of and were great places to get more views of the ocean.