Springtime in the Desert

We're now in Bakersfield again. Last time we were here, the oranges weren't quite ripe. They have since come and gone, and it's orange blossom time again...

There had been a rain before I got to Twentynine Palms two weeks ago, and this had triggered a relative riot of desert blooms.

During my two weeks in Twentynine Palms I went out caching with Doug and Shannon a few times. On one of our trips, in a riverside park, we saw this shy guy:

We waited to see if he'd come out for a better portrait, but he had more patience than we did. At another park we went to, we saw several of his cousins out for a day at the beach.

Yesterday, here in Bakersfield I spent the day on a fabulous bike trail along the Kern River. Completely paved, with roadway underpasses so you never have to negotiate level crossings or any vehicle traffic. They really take their bike culture seriously here.

I spotted this artwork along the trail. If you gotta have water tanks, I guess they can try to adopt protective colouration.

I wrote the last time I was here about how the "black gold" rush is on. There were a number of active drilling rigs right beside the trail. At one end of the trail was an above ground pipeline, with frequent weird loops.

I asked a worker in a Chevron truck what they were, and they are to prevent the pipeline breaking when it expands with the heat. All that silver cladding is actually a protective layer, the real pipe is inside.

One more day here in Bakersfield, and then we up anchor for Sacramento. The weather report still has it sunny and in the low 70's, so our Winter of Summer isn't over yet.

Turning Point

We've left Vegas and are now back in Twentynine Palms. We'll be here until the 16th, then start the two week trip back up north. Here's a sample of my last experiences around Las Vegas.

I did a geoart called Wild Mustangs (in the shape of a horse head of course). As I got out of the truck to head to the first cache, a real group of wild horses came to check me out. The lead stallion of the group came right up to me as if to welcome me to his geoart. After posing for several photos, including this profile shot, they wandered away and I carried on with the geoart. When I came back, another larger group was there to see me off.

is this my good side?

While doing this series, I ran across this Joshua tree configuration that looked appropriately like a unicorn.

All in all, a magical geoart day.

A real highlight of my Vegas time was my trip to Red Rock Canyon. There's no way a description or photos can do it justice, it is just an awe inspiring place.

In stark contrast, from this natural splendour, my last cache in Vegas was at a museum (now closed) to Liberace. The huge 3 storey mosaic wall still remained, though.

from the sublime to the flamboyant

Since arriving back here, I've been caching a few times with Doug & Shannon (Pouncers). We went down very close to the Mexican border to pick up four caches there, and had a great time. We also had a day with the Century of Caches starting in Hemet. Counting all the standalones we got along the way, our tally was 120 for the day. We'll be visiting the College of the Desert street fair on Sunday in Palm Springs, and I have my eye on a few caches there to fill in some challenge gaps. With scarcely more than a week left (winter has flown by), I'll also be trying to wedge in some more geoart while I can.