Another day, another desert landscape. Nice and quiet out there since the campgrounds are closed. Got 3.9 miles in 🥾📍 Joshua Tree NP 📷 iPhone SE
Today we set out to find what was over the saddle we could see while hiking last weekend. Expecting to find more hills, I was pleasantly surprised to find this view only 1.5 miles up the trail. 🥾
First hike in the new neighborhood! Trying to make the most of living next to a National Park 🥾 📍 West Loop Trail, Joshua Tree NP 📷 iPhone SE
Feeling a bit more like myself after 6.4 miles in the Laguna Coast Wilderness. The ocean breeze was heavenly.
📸 iPhone SE (2020)
I’m an aspirational morning hiker, so morning hikes are perpetually “things I like” and very rarely “things I did today.” But I got up and out there this morning with the pup, and it was lovely! Working on getting some exercise and ourdoor activity goals into the mix next month.
Springtime in California 🧡
I ended up skipping the poppy superbloom, in part because the stories of large crowds of people trampling to flower fields to take photos were really stressing me out. Flowers were everywhere though, and I found these poppies in Laguna Coast Wilderness park. The blooms at Laguna Coast Wilderness Park were stunning this year. Gotta love that rainfall.
📷 Samsung Galaxy S8
📍 Laguna Coast Wilderness Park, California
Desert bloom in Anza Borrego
The Desert Lily doesn’t bloom every spring. It has a deep bulb that can remain dormant underground for years until it gets enough moisture. Needless to say, this is a great year to see them!
📷 Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark II
📍 Anza-Borrego State Park, California
Sand Verbena and Desert Sunflowers out in full force, with a few Brown-eyed Evening Primrose tucked in there. I loved getting out for the early season bloom and playing around with my camera.
📷 Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark II
📍 Anza-Borrego State Park, California
Chile
🗺 Los Torres. Day 1 of the W trek through Patagonia.
📷 Samsung Galaxy S8
📍 Torres del Paine National Park, Chile
Our first sighting of the Andean Condor. Their wingspan can reach up to 10’ 10”.
📷 Canon PowerShot SX280
📍 Torres del Paine National Park, Chile
I never want to leave this beautiful place.
📷 Samsung Galaxy S8
📍 Torrest del Paine National Park, Chile
Balmaceda Glacier. In 1991, it reached all the way down to the water level. Large catamaran (~25M?) for scale.
📷 Samsung Galaxy S8
📍 Seno Última Esperanza, Chile
The weather in Patagonia was not cooperating and our excursions kept getting canceled. Wee decided to return to Punta Arenas to try and make a penguin watching expedition. After some major disappointments, it felt likee a miracle when it didn’t get canceled. Here is a Magellanic Penguin, shot with my old beat up point-and-shoot on it’s last gasp of life.
📷 Canon PowerShot SX280
📍 Magdalena Island, Chile
🗺 My friends bought a house in Joshua Tree, and now this is basically their backyard.
📷 Samsung Galaxy S8
📍 Joshua Tree, California
Costa Rica
🗺 Chasing waterfalls
📷 Samsung Galaxy S8
📍 La Fortuna, Costa Rica
We hit the resplendent quetzal jackpot today - 3 males, 2 females, and a chick in his nest. First is the fanciest male, then a female Resplendent Quetzal nomming on an insect.
📷 Samsung Galaxy S8
📍 Monteverde Cloud Forest, Costa Rica
Baby spider monkey
📷 Samsung Galaxy S8
📍 Parque Nacional Manuel Antonio, Costa Rice
🗺 This weekend's adventure took us back to the desert
📷 Samsung Galaxy S6
📍 Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, Nevada
🗺 Final hike of 2016. I wasn't able to be as active as usual this year due to injury, but I enjoyed strolls around Lake Hollywood, a trip to Rainier, my first backpacking trip, and a handful of other hikes with good friends. Looking forward to a healthy and active 2017!
📷 Samsung Galaxy S6
📍 Mt. Tamalpais State Park, California
