Leave Monterey, we’ve had a fabulous time there, and drive over to Sacramento.
Been past Sacramento a few times but never stayed.
Pleasant sunny drive. Check into a Home 2 Suite and as usual it’s a great all round, suite complete with a kitchen.
It’s in a nice neighborhood so we have a stroll to a local supermarket to get our tea (dinner for southern snowflakes).
Pat Condell – Appeasing Islam
Start the sunny day with a good breakfast.
Then after a lazy start, we’re off down to old town Sacramento, yes they actually have an old town, complete with river boat steamer. Very pleasant to walk around.
The next stop is the state capital. It’s only half a mile away but in true American laziness we drive to it.
Car parking in this city is expensive, typically $3 an hour.
There’s an indigenous Peoples Protest. What are they protesting about. Well, it appears that some of them have gone missing or been murdered. When I ask a so what question they point out that indigenous people are 7 times more likely to be murdered or go missing. Apparently, they’re not blaming police negligence. Fortunately, there’s a protest march followed by a cultural dance event in front of the state capital.
We sit down to watch, not all that impressive, no dancing and just a lot of singing of very repetitive “Girls Coming of Age” songs, which apparently solve most known social problems. Each song is unique to that girl and seems to consist of about 3 words chanted to death. Haven’t a clue how it solves problems unless it’s just the song’s so repetitive and boring that it drives you nuts.
They all have flags of their Nation but of course some woke snowflake has to spoil it with a Palestinian flag – disgusting they allow it.
Have a free guided tour of the palatial state capital building, similar to the one in Washington. What is it about politicians the World over splashing out taxpayers money on extravagant palatial offices, what’s wrong with a few low-cost portacabins. Apparently ND or is it SD has a very basic, low-cost capital – must look it up
Signs to the tour are wrong, point this out but everyone knows they’re wrong and nothing can be done about it, too much bureaucracy and politics involved so instead they just f..k with customers and waste their time. Typical politicians.
The Guided tour is great, very informative and interesting, without being too long and boring.
Yeah, it’s pancake day or as the Americans call it Mardi Gras. When I was a kid this was one of the highlights of the year. Just English pancakes for tea with orange juice, if you were lucky, and sugar on them, no Maple syrup or other exotic toppings. Times were hard and it’s a reflection of the times that his was one of the highlights of a kids year.
So, in loving memory, it’s going to be just pancakes today. Off to iHOP, I imagine tey’ll be packed out, it’s their day of the year. Surprised hardly anyone in, what’s wrong with Americans? It’s two Lemon Ricotta Mixed Berry Crepes and two Cinnamon Bun Crepes drizzled with Cheesecake Mousse. Heaven. A cholesterol special will bugger up my diet.
After a lazy start we set off on a long, 5 hour drive, down Bakersfield. Fairly pleasant drive down I5.
Stop overnight in Bakersfield, nothing much there really, just a big city.
The religion of fear
We’ve decided to add a stay Thursday and Friday at our Desert Hot Springs Airbnb rather than stop over two nights in Motels somewhere. So it’s a 3 hour drive down to Desert Hot Springs. A lovely scenic drive and very little traffic.
Arrive at our Airbnb for the next 9 days. It’s lovely, in a pleasant neighborhood. A real home from home, loads of gadgets and everything you need.
Spend the first 5 minutes on arrival looking for the button to open the drive gate, until I realize it’s manual. Can you believe that this is America, and this is California – bizarre.
Have to say the photographer did a good job of making the rooms look way bigger than they actually are, but they’re big enough and lovely furnished, so it’s not a problem.
Tea for me tonight is a Beef Burrito from a local Mexican restaurant. Good, plenty of beef.
Sort Apple TV out and we’re settled in for the night with a couple of beers and some Zinfandel.
How come there’s no cave paintings of salads?
Lazy start to what will be a lazy day and for Wendy the excitement of a supermarket trip.
Wendy has a shower and then can’t turn the water off. I try everything. Ring owner who gets her Uncle to come round. Meanwhile turn water off at the mains.
Uncle can’t fix it so a plumber is on the way. Meanwhile, we have the joy of a trip to Ralphs in Palm Springs.
After a lazy start to a warm sunny day we’re off to Joshua Tree National Park, I’m excited.
Call in the visitors centre, tempted into buying another JT hat and then buy an annual NP pass, ready for summer.
Devastated at how busy the place is. Mind you perhaps coming on a Saturday was not such a good idea, and to top it off it’s a bank holiday weekend – Presidents Day on Monday. But the child in me could hardly wait. Nearly all the parking areas were chockablock, just too many damn tourists. Managed to park and have lunch sat by skull rock along with thousands of other pesky tourists. take a small stroll around the area, decide the best philosophy is to just drive around and enjoy the scenery as we will be coming back another day. scenery is awesome especially the rocks never mind the Joshua trees.
Back home for steak and salad for tea.
Joshua Tree rock formation animation:
The giant boulders found in Joshua Tree National Park were formed through a geological process called exfoliation, which is also known as “sheeting.” This process typically occurs in areas with granite rocks, such as Joshua Tree, which is part of the Mojave Desert in southeastern California.
Here’s how it happens:
* Formation of Granite: Granite is an igneous rock that forms deep underground when molten magma cools slowly over thousands to millions of years. This slow cooling allows large mineral crystals, such as quartz, feldspar, and mica, to form within the rock.
* Erosion and Weathering: Over millions of years, the surface of the Earth undergoes weathering and erosion due to wind, rain, temperature changes, and other environmental factors. These processes slowly wear away the outer layers of rock, exposing the granite beneath.
* Exfoliation: As the granite is exposed to the elements, it undergoes a unique type of weathering called exfoliation. This occurs when the outer layers of the granite expand and contract at different rates due to temperature changes. During the day, the surface of the rock heats up and expands, and at night it cools down and contracts. Over time, this repeated expansion and contraction cause the outer layers of the granite to crack and flake off, similar to the way layers of an onion peel away.
* Formation of Boulders: As exfoliation continues, large sheets of granite break off from the main rock formation. These sheets eventually break down further into smaller pieces, which are then shaped and rounded by additional weathering and erosion processes. The end result is the formation of the giant boulders that are characteristic of Joshua Tree National Park.
These boulders are scattered throughout the park and often stacked on top of each other in fascinating formations, providing a unique landscape for visitors to explore and enjoy.
Joshua Tree is beautiful, but we missed this beauty.
I’ve been told how busy the National parks have become, but never yet experienced it. Well, this place is infested with damn tourists. So have come up with a few ideas and thoughts on how to get rid of them.
1 Use the obvious tactic of pricing them out of the market, but that would spoil it for the poor people. Are there any poor people in America?
2 You could limit the number of people allowed in per day, that would mean I’d have to get up early.
3 I think this solution is simple. Get rid of the car parks near the attractions and build replacement car parks at least a mile away on the basis that no Americans walk, it would easily get rid of 90% of the tourists. The distance between the attraction and the car park could be directly proportional to the popularity of the attraction. So really attractive attractions would have a car park, at least 5 miles away, while, the less popular would be a mile away.
Warm and sunny so decide on a lazy day as Mike’s arriving.
Nip out to the supermarket and Mike turns up while we’re out. Great to see him.
Quiet night in.
The Joshua tree (Yucca brevifolia) primarily grows in the Mojave Desert of southwestern North America, particularly in California, Nevada, Utah, and Arizona. While it’s true that Joshua trees have specific habitat preferences, including certain altitudes, their distribution isn’t solely determined by altitude but rather by a combination of various environmental factors.
Here are some key factors influencing the altitude range of Joshua trees:
* Climate: Joshua trees thrive in arid and semi-arid environments with low rainfall and high temperatures. The Mojave Desert provides these conditions, which are typically found at lower elevations. However, they are also found at higher elevations within the Mojave Desert where the climate is suitable.
* Temperature: While Joshua trees can tolerate extreme temperatures, they are limited by freezing temperatures, which can damage or kill them. Higher elevations generally experience colder temperatures, and Joshua trees may be restricted from growing at very high elevations due to the increased risk of frost damage.
* Soil Conditions: Joshua trees prefer well-drained, sandy or gravelly soils. Altitudes with certain soil types conducive to their growth may influence their distribution.
* Precipitation Patterns: Altitude can influence precipitation patterns, with higher elevations often receiving more rainfall or snowfall. Joshua trees are adapted to low rainfall environments and may not thrive in areas with significantly higher precipitation.
* Competition and Ecosystem Dynamics: At different altitudes, the ecological communities and species compositions vary. Competition with other plant species and ecological interactions may limit the distribution of Joshua trees at certain altitudes.
While Joshua trees are commonly associated with lower elevations, they can be found at altitudes ranging from about 1,300 to 6,000 feet (approximately 400 to 1,800 meters) above sea level. Within this range, they occupy habitats that provide the specific conditions necessary for their survival and growth. However, outside this range, environmental factors become less conducive to their persistence.