Bird and Mountain Sunrise~SkyWatch Friday 022610

As I drove up Highway 74, from Palm Desert to the mountains near Idyllwild last Sunday, I stopped several times along the way to admire the sunrise, the ocotillos, and just being on "my" mountain! At this spot, a little bird was chirping away and when I turned to see where the song was coming from, I spotted it right above me! I sat for a while and enjoyed its song, and the sights and smells from the mountain. SkyWatch Friday for February 26, 2010. Click on the photo to see the little bird!

"F" is for fence~ABC Wednesday 022410

I love to see fences, as hubby and I go about in our travels. I will always pull over and stop and take a photo of one! We found these near South Lake Tahoe, last summer. The forest service was completing a controlled burn nearby and we stopped to look at the smoke and I spied these fences. Don't you just love the look of a good, hand crafted log fence? ABC Wednesday for February 24, 2010.

"G" is for glass~Sunday Stills Challenge 022210

Back to Bodie, CA for this week's Sunday Stills Challenge. "G" is for GLASS! And, Bodie has lots and lots of glass windows. It is so much FUN to walk around Bodie and just look at everything! It has so much to offer. We drove by the Bodie turnoff last weekend, over Valentine's Day and my birthday. OF COURSE, the Bodie turnoff road was CLOSED (due to snow), but someday I would love to drive out there and see it with snow! Sunday Stills Challenge for February 22, 2010.

Palm trees~Weekend Reflections 022010

I took this photo a couple of weekends ago, after another weekend storm had cleared out here in our desert. Don't you love the palm trees? Weekend Reflections for February 20, 2010.

Skylift Mammoth~SkyWatch Friday 021910

Hubby and I were out driving in Mammoth during our vacation and drove under this chair lift and tunnel one day. The sky was blue and clear, a perfect day to be outside! SkyWatch Friday for February 19, 2010.

The Stove-Mammoth, CA

There is a nice, warm, friendly place to eat in Mammoth, CA called "The Stove". Hubby even took a photo of a stove that they have on display. The food is hot and the portions are generous. We stopped by "The Stove" before we headed up to Mammoth Village on our vacation last weekend. I ordered their cinnamon French toast, while hubby had ham and eggs. Yum, yum! With all the snow in Mammoth, it was good to find a warm place for a good meal.

Snow covered lake~Watery Wednesday 021710

We went back to Twin Lakes, near Mammoth, last weekend. The lakes there were completely covered with snow and frozen over! See the bridge over one of them? It was a completely different world than the one we visited last August and June! Watery Wednesday for February 17, 2010.

My header photo with SNOW~Scenic Sunday 021410

Hubby surprised me for my birthday (Valentine's Day) with a trip back to the Sierras (our favorite place!) It had just snowed there last Wednesday, but cleared on Thursday, when we headed up to Ridgecrest for the night. Then, Friday morning, we drove up to Lone Pine and then up to Bishop. Yesterday we drove from Bishop, up north of town to the Gorge Road, where I took my header photo last August. HA! We were lucky to get as far as the mailboxes. The road down to the back of the mountain was C-L-O-S-E-D and unplowed. One road was plowed so that the residents could get in and out, but that was it! And, with all the snow that the Sierras got, a LOT of roads were closed. Highway 395 was open and there was no problem with it. And, the roads into Mammoth were open up Mammoth Village, but no further. We stopped and had a late breakfast at The Stove in Mammoth, which serves up hearty sized meals, even breakfast! Then, we headed up to June Lake, which was completely covered with snow. That road was open through town, but closed before it curves around to Silver Lake. DARN! So, we turned back and drove up to Mono Lake, took some photos there, and drove to Bridgeport. It was so white and bright in Bridgeport that all we did was buy gas and turn around! We drove out the road to the south tufa at Mono Lake, but the road down to the lake wasn't plowed and we didn't want to chance running into ice at the turnaround by the lake (although people with 4-wheel drives did make it). Several other cars had parked up on the road (which was closed ahead of us) and did hike down to the lake, but when you're our age (29+++++++++++++), walking on ice and falling down (especially when carrying cameras) is not a good thing! Anyway, here are some pics from my birthday trip. Scenic Sunday for February 14, 2010. Yes, 29 AGAIN! Oh, I included some photos of the road right across from the mailboxes, so you can see how much snow there was! The bottom photos are from Lee Vining, which was pretty much shut down for the season. One motel in town had so much snow on its roof that it was ready to collapse!

Sierras~Weekend Reflections 021310

Late yesterday afternoon hubby and I drove into Bishop, CA. Since there was still usable daylight, we decided to take a drive out to North and South Lakes. Before we arrived at the North Lake cutoff, I found this side road, Starlight Drive, which had many beautiful homes on it. I liked this one and the reflection of the mountain in its windows. Weekend Reflections for February 13, 2010. Today we head out to Mammoth and Mono Lake.

Sierras in the Mist~SkyWatch Friday 021210

When hubby and I visited the Sierras in June of last year, we were surprised to see quite a bit of snow still on them. And, during that visit, we drove up the Tioga Pass road. By the time we got to the top of the pass, it was sleeting! I took this photo as we were driving up the pass. I like how the mountains are partly hidden by the mist and clouds. SkyWatch Friday for February 12, 2010. We are back in the Sierras, this time in winter, after a recent snow storm, but the weather is clear. I'll be posting pics as we continue on this trip. We aren't going up to Yosemite, like we did in June, but we are staying in Bishop.

Back to the Sierras!

We are leaving this morning for Ridgecrest and then Lone Pine and Bishop. All the roads are open until north of Bishop. Photos to follow as we go. There should be LOTS of snow!

Watery Wednesday 021010

I went out early Sunday morning, after our weekend rain storm, and drove out to the Desert Springs Marriott here in Palm Desert. They had just planted these flowers among the waterfalls. We had more rain yesterday and snow is forecast down to 3,000 feet in our local mountains today. Watery Wednesday for February 10, 2010.

Quiet patio~Weekend Reflections 020610

I went out early this morning between rain storms and wandered around the Santa Rosa Mountains Visitor Center. I love to go there early in the mornings. The birds are at the feeders and it is quiet there. This morning, the smells of the desert plants drifted throughout the air, especially the creosote. It was a good way to begin the day, even though it has been raining on and off all morning. Weekend Reflections for Saturday, February 6, 2010.

Computer problems and more rain

It's RAINING here again...sigh..and my desktop finally died. It just won't boot up, so off to the shop it goes and the techs can figure out how to pull off ALL my photos and documents next week! In the meantime, I'm borrowing hubby's laptop. He has SOME photos on his, but the majority were on mine, since it had more RAM...sigh...

"C" is for cattle~~ABC Wednesday, February 3, 2010

These good-looking cattle were grazing near Mono Lake, California. We found them there in August, when we were on vacation. ABC Wednesday for February 3, 2010.