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.All Trips / California / North America / Southwestern USA
The Living Desert Wildlife and Botanical Park
Unless you’ve driven across them, it’s hard to comprehend how vast the deserts of the American Southwest are. While at first glance the region seems nearly lifeless, it’s rich in a diverse variety of hardy plant and animal life. An excellent way to see this assortment of desert life is to stop everywhere and explore. A much easier and more convenient way is to visit a botanical garden which, while not a perfect experience, is highly educational. A place I’d recommend is the Living Desert, located in Palm Desert, California (very near Palm Springs), which provides a one-stop chance to explore the flora and fauna of America’s deserts –with an African sampler to boot!
Giraffes, Living Desert Museum
The Living Desert occupies …
Tagged garden, Living Desert, Palm Desert, wildlife, Zoo
.All Trips / California / Food / Southwestern USA
Signs of Grand Central Market, Los Angeles
Even though I lived in the Los Angeles area for more than 2 decades, it was not until I moved away from the city that I visited its famous Grand Central Market. Situated in downtown Los Angeles (on Broadway), near many of the city’s massive skyscrapers and businesses, the market has been a landmark for 100 years (established in 1917).
The market has changed with time and it’s not like most of the markets you’ll visit. Sales of fresh and bulk food , while a component, are a small part of the operation. It seems these traditional market elements have been pushed out to make room for more restaurant vendors. People now go to the market to buy prepared food. …
Tagged food, Grand Central Market
.All Trips / Food / Nevada / North America / Southwestern USA
In ‘n Out — That’s what a Hamburger is all about
Many of my Canadian friends find it difficult to understand why someone would want to move away from California. There were good reasons to stay and, in our case, better reasons to leave, but there are definitely things about California that I miss. Foremost among these are dear friends, the meyer lemon and fuyu persimmon trees in my yard, and the beautiful winter weather (summers I wasn’t too crazy about — blasted hot). And …
Tagged cheeseburgers, food, fries, hamburgers, In n Out
.All Trips / California / North America / Southwestern USA
Backpacking to Ostrander Lake, Yosemite National Park
From time-to-time I enjoy looking at some of my older photos to remember bygone adventures. It’s from one of these periods of reflection that today’s blog germinated.
When I lived in Southern California, I enjoyed spending time each summer exploring the beautiful Sierra Nevada Mountains — John Muir’s Range of Light. While much of California is hot as an oven in the summer, these mountains offer a pleasant climate and excellent backpacking opportunities. In the summer there’s enough water in the lakes that you don’t need to carry more than a day’s worth — very different and much easier than what’s required when backpacking in the Mojave desert. The weather is warm in the day, cool at night, and almost without …
“Pic of the Week”, February 11, 2017: Canter’s Deli, Los Angeles
When recently visiting Los Angeles I returned to one of my favorite places in L.A.’s Miracle Mile district, Canter’s Deli. Canter’s is an authentic Jewish deli which never closes. Besides ordering items from the menu, there are a wonderful assortment of fresh baked goods available for sale at the deli’s bakery.
When I was a resident at UCLA I’d eat at Canter’s from time to time with my peers. The corned beef and pastrami sandwiches are wonderful, as are the pickles, pickled onions and everything I’ve ever tried here. It seems the place hasn’t changed in the 30 years since that time.
Canter’s opened in 1931, was and remains very popular, although it has changed locations more than once. It’s now run by …
Feb 11, 2017
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.All Trips / Arizona / North America / Southwestern USA / Utah
Monument Valley, Arizona/Utah
Monument Valley has been featured many times in classic western movies, especially those starring John Wayne and directed by John Ford. Ford loved the beautiful scenery of Monument Valley and perhaps more than anyone helped put it on the tourist map. The valley floor is not that large — around a half dozen square miles — but it’s been filmed from so many angles you’ve likely come to think of it as being representative of the entire American West.
You’ll have seen Monument Valley in the movie Stagecoach, this photo including the Three Sisters rock formation….
Stagecoach, 1939, with the Three Sisters formation.
And in the classic film, The Searchers…..
The Searchers, 1956
Henry Fonda’s “My Darling Clementine” (a screening of which my father-in-law told me was the first date he and my …
Tagged erosion, geology, John Wayne, Monument Valley, movies
.All Trips / California / North America / Southwestern USA
“Pic of the Week”, January 20, 2017: Kelp Forest, Monterey Bay Aquarium
The finest aquarium I’ve had the privilege of visiting is in Monterey, California. Built alongside the old sardine canneries of Cannery Row (a site immortalized in John Steinbeck’s novella of the same name), you’ll find yourself fully immersed in the underwater world when you visit.
There’s dozens of great exhibits, but there are two that are my favorites — the jellyfish, and this one, the Kelp Forest tank. I’ve spent a lot of time watching this latter tank because there seems to be no end as to what’s going on. A giant shape approaches in the tank, only to be broken into thousands of individual sardines as the school splits apart. The moving light and shadows of the kelp, the sharks …
Tagged Aquarium, California, kelp forest, Monterey, Monterey Bay
.All Trips / California / Food / North America / Southwestern USA
Roadfood — the best “American” food out there!
When many people think of “American food” they envision fast food — McDonalds, Burger King, Taco Bell and the like. These have their place — inexpensive, reasonable meals, quickly served and widely available. Those who have traveled with children know how handy stopping at a McDonalds with a play gym can be. Fast food is successful because people support these restaurants. That said, except when needing a quick meal while traveling, I rarely eat at fast food chains.
That’s because I enjoy reasonably priced, family-run restaurants which prepare great food, of which there are thousands in the United States. You might find some of these by searching “Yelp” or “TripAdvisor”, but by far the most useful website for me is …
Tagged El Campeon, food, Mexican restaurant, roadfood, San Juan Capistrano
