The natural oases of the Indian Canyons near Palm Springs have been home to the the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians for a very long time. They had abundant water and were able to plant and harvest melons, corn, beans and squash. Today they welcome visitors to their homeland to hike, relax, and enjoy the natural beauty of the world’s largest California Fan Palm oasis. I was lucky to be there in the middle of a particularly wet spring and the wildflowers were absolutely stunning. Palm Springs didn’t do much for me, but I’m definitely glad I got to visit the magnificent Indian Canyons just outside of town. I hope you enjoy these photos of the super bloom in this wonderful desert oasis.
Located right on Highway 101 between Los Angeles and San Diego is the gorgeous little city of Carlsbad. As you drive down the highway, you can’t help but notice the beautiful Twin Inn on the inland side of the road. It’s the kind of building that just sparks your interest, especially a block from the beach in Southern California. The Inn was built by Civil War veteran Gerhard Schutte in 1887. Schutte and his partners laid out the townsite of Carlsbad as “a town of small farms and gracious homes”. They sold plots at $40/acre and the town grew from there.
This area was originally inhabited by the Payómkawichum and Kumeyaay people who enjoyed the bounty of the sea and the fresh water provided by Buena Vista Creek. When the Portola Expedition came to California in 1769 they camped on Buena Vista Creek and mingled and traded with the native people. During the Mexican period, the area that is now Carlsbad was part of Rancho Agua Hedionda which wasowned by Juan María Marrón.
In the early 1880s, a man named John Frazier dug a well and served up water to thirsty train passengers on their way through. It turned out that the water was quite special and the area became known as Karlsbad after a famous Bohemian spa town. Enter Gerhard Shutte and his Carlsbad Land and Mineral Water Company which laid out and promoted the town as mentioned above.
Today, Carlsbad is a pleasant, medium sized city of about 114,000 people. I really enjoyed walking around on a beautiful, sunny spring day to take these photos. The old train station has been converted into the town’s visitor center and the Twin Inn has been incorporated into the Village Faire shopping area. I also loved the many old and quirky buildings I found as I made my way around the city center and the modern parts of Carlsbad have been tastefully added to enhance the city’s beauty. There are plenty of beautiful murals around and some great shops and restaurants as well. I’m so glad I stopped in to see Southern California’s stunning Village by the Sea. I will definitely be back to visit again in the future. I hope you enjoy these photos of beautiful Carlsbad, California.
Bodega, California is an adorable historic town about 5 miles from the coast and 2 hours north of San Francisco on the Pacific Coast Highway. These were once Coastal Miwok lands and they made use of the bounty of the area’s vast natural resources. Juan Francisco Bodega y Caudra of Spain first sailed into the nearby harbor in 1775, but the area’s first settlers of European decent were Russians. It was fear of the Russians’ southern advances that prompted Spain to set up the mission system and claim and settle the area of what’s now California.
In 1843, Stephen Smith built a lumber yard in the area and John Sutter also bought land nearby. St. Teresa of Avila church was constructed in 1859 and a small community slowly grew up around it. Today, Bodega’s population is still just over 200 people, but it packs a lot of punch for such a small town. Bodega is probably best known as one of the filming locations for Alfred Hitchcock’s 1963 film The Birds. I used to drive through Bodega often on my way from Santa Rosa to the coast, and I was happy that I finally had the chance to stop and look around for a while. Bodega is definitely small-town California at its best. I hope you enjoy these photos from beautiful Bodega, California.
The formations in Pinnacles National Park are thought to come from the western half of the Neenach Volcano which erupted 23 million years ago. Between then and now, this geologic formation is believed to have shifted almost 200 miles north and west thanks to plate tectonics.
This area was originally inhabited by the Ohlone people. Spanish missionaries established a mission at Soledad in 1791, just about 5 miles from the park’s current boundary. When American settlers moved into the area, they referred to the formations as “the Palisades”, and investors once considered putting a resort hotel at their base. The area was first protected as Pinnacles Forest Preserve in 1906 and then as Pinnacles National Monument in 1908. It became a National Park in 2013.
I had a great day in Pinnacles during my visit to the west side of the park. It had been raining for days and it was nice to see some blue sky for a change. I arrived early and was able to park in Bear Gulch, although there is a shuttle to bring people up from the Visitor Center as well. From there I hiked up the Condor Gulch Trail to the High Peaks Trail and then returned on the Bear Gulch Trail to the parking lot. It was a wonderful 6-7 mile loop through the pinnacles and provided great views in every direction.
The highlight of my day was definitely seeing the endangered California Condors which call the park home. I saw no fewer than 6 of them, which would be around 2% of the entire wild population of California Condors in the world. Some came so close I could’ve touched them if I’d have been sitting on your shoulders and I had never seen condors so close before. Watching them in flight is a truly special experience as they are enormous and cover a tremendous area in a short time. They move so quickly that they are tough to photograph, but there is one in the photo directly below. The condors alone were worth the visit, but I had aa awesome hike as well and it was reasonably quiet while I was there. While Pinnacles is one of the lesser known national parks in California, and for good reason, it is still a wonderful place to visit and worth a stop if you are in the area. I hope you enjoy these photos from Pinnacles National Park.
The area that is now Wickenburg was once Yavapai Indian land and the river that runs through it is the Hassayampa which means “following the water as far as it goes” in the Yavapai language. In 1863, German prospector Henry Wickenburg came to the area in search of gold. He found it and opened the Vulture Mine which would eventually produce 340,000 ounces of gold and 260,000 ounces of silver.
Ranchers came to the area as well and soon a community sprang up. In 1895, the railroad came through Wickenburg which spawned even more growth. The town was incorporated in 1909, making Wickenburg the oldest Arizona town north of Tucson and the 5th oldest in the state. In 1866, Wickenburg missed being named the territorial capital by just two votes.
Today Wickenburg is a quaint little community with a real wild west feel to it (some of the light posts are even wearing cowboy hats). There are some amazing art installations around town and the Desert Caballeros Western Museum is one of the best in the state. I love the design of the Saguaro Theatre which was also probably my favorite theatre in Arizona. You’re never alone when you’re in Wickenburg as life-like statues are spread throughout town making for a family friendly feel. I hadn’t planned on staying long in Wickenburg, but it’s a great town worth exploring and I was there way longer than I expected to be. Next time you’re in this part of Arizona, stop in for a spell. You’ll be glad you did. I hope you enjoy these photos from tiny Wickenburg - the Dude Ranch Capital of the World.
Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument was one of the top spots on my list of places to visit during my time in Arizona. It’s a remote park, located two hours from anywhere and right on the U.S./Mexican border, but it’s the only place in the country that you can find naturally occurring organ pipe cactus. In addition to these beauties, there are so many other species of cactus and desert plants as well which has led to this region also being named a part of UNESCO’s International Biosphere Reserve.
Organ Pipe Cactus was made a National Monument by Franklin Roosevelt back in 1937. A special act was passed to allow mining in the area during World War II, an act which sadly wasn’t repealed until 1976. The park’s remote location on the Mexican border used to bring both drug runners and human smugglers through the area, making this America’s most dangerous park. This danger is memorialized in the Kris Eggle Visitors Center which was named for a park ranger who was killed protecting visitors from drug smugglers in 2002. In the wake of his death, the border was reinforced and I felt safe there during my stay.
It was unbelievably hot when I arrived on an afternoon in late April. So hot that I couldn’t actually do anything but hover in the shade of the restroom and wait until the sun started to go down. I did enjoy a wonderful evening hike and an early morning one the following day as well. The area is beautiful and it was great to see the Organ Pipes in their native habitat. It was definitely just a one night stop, but I’m very glad I went. I hope you enjoy these photos from Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument.
Construction on Fort Bowie began in 1862 after two separate confrontations between the United States Army and the Chiricahua Apache. The fort was erected to protect the Apache Pass through the mountains and Apache Springs, a vital water source in the area. Six years later a more substantial fort was built just up the hill from the original fort and would be in service until 1894. The Apache Wars would end in 1886 with the surrender of Chiricahua leader, Geronimo, and the removal of the Chiricahua from the area. As you may remember from a recent post, the U.S. Army was aided in this endeavor by the White Mountain Apache scouts based in Fort Apache to the north who were the sworn enemies of the Chiricahua.
The fort today is a mere remnant of what it once was. The adobe walls have all but melted back into the surrounding desert and the stone foundations and a few odds and ends are all that is left. This park is unique in that it is a “hike-in” park, meaning the only way to visit it is by hiking the 1.5 miles from the parking lot up to Apache Pass. This walk takes you past the old stagecoach stop ruins, the cemetery, an old Apache village, Apache Spring and up to the pass where the fort is located. While the rangers at the park will provide access for people with disabilities, this walk is an amazing way to get a feel for the remoteness of the fort and the isolation the men who were once stationed there must have felt. I was definitely glad I visited in the winter months as I’m sure making this walk in the summer is quite hot and dusty. I was definitely glad I finally made it out to Fort Bowie as it’s been on my to-do list for many years now and I’m glad I finally got there. I hope you enjoy these photos from Fort Bowie National Historic Park.
The area around what’s now Patagonia, Arizona was once a Tohono O’odham village called Sonoitac. It may take its current name from the southern region of South America, christened by Welsh miners who had moved north for work. Another theory is that early settlers found a large footprint, perhaps from a grizzly bear (or Sasquatch himself), and called it “Land of the Bigfeet”. However it got its name, Patagonia is a wonderful little town that’s big on art and seems to have sought to beautify even the smallest details of their town.
When the Spanish moved north into the area, they established the Mission Los Reyes de Sonoitac. The region became part of the United States through the Gadsden Purchase of 1853 and lead and silver mines were quickly opened. Fort Buchanan was established to provide protection for the settlers from Apache raiders, later to be joined by Forts Crittenden and Huachuca.
Fort Apache was constructed between 1874 and 1932 and served as an important military outpost during the Apache Wars. It rests in the midst of the beautiful White Mountains of Eastern Arizona. and is well situated at the convergence of the North and East Forks of the White River. The area is the ancestral home of the Cibicue and White Mountain Apache tribes who welcomed the United States Army to build the fort there, as they had a common enemy in the Chiricahua Apache. The White Mountain Apache are very proud of their service as scouts in the U.S. Army, and the role they played in the defeat of the Chiricahua and the capture of the great Chiricahuan leader, Geronimo. I learned a lot about the Apache Scouts and their campaigns at the wonderful "Nohwike' Bagowa" (House of Our Footprints), more commonly referred to as the Apache Cultural Center & Museum. which should be everyone’s first stop on any visit to Fort Apache.
After visiting the museum, I set off to explore the rest of the fort on a self guided walking tour which took in all of the wonderful historic buildings which remain on the post. After Geronimo’s capture in 1886, the fort remained an active military post for many years, finally closing in 1924 (although several Apache scouts remained in the army until 1947). After the army pulled out, the Theodore Roosevelt Indian Boarding School was established and the land was transferred to the Bureau of Indian Affairs as part of the White Mountain Apache Reservation. The school is still there and functioning today. I had a great visit with the kind and welcoming people of the White Mountain Apache band and really enjoyed my visit to this fascinating historic fort. I hope you enjoy these photos from Fort Apache.
Chiricahua National Monument in southeastern Arizona preserves a magical landscape created by a 27 million year old volcanic eruption. The lava hardened into rhyolite and erosion has carved out a wonderland of rock spires, balanced rocks and hoodoos. This little visited park site is truly spectacular and definitely worth a detour.
I arrived in the park late in the day so I didn’t have a ton of time to explore. After a quick stop at the Visitor Center, I made my way all the way up to Masai Point at the end of the 8 mile scenic drive and did the short nature loop there to get a good overview of the area. Then I set off on the magnificent 3.3 mile Echo Canyon/Hailstone/Ed Riggs loop trail which was really fantastic. When I finished this hike, the sun was on its way down and I enjoyed the glow on the rocks as I made my way back down the hill and on down the road.
While I was only in Chiricahua for a few hours, I really enjoyed my stay and look forward to returning again in the future. I hope you enjoy these photos from beautiful Chiricahua National Monument.
Whenever I am driving to a new town and I don’t have a specific destination in mind, I just put the town name into my GPS and it usually brings me to either the courthouse or City Hall. Wherever it leads me is usually in the center of town and I can sort myself out from there. You can imagine my surprise, then, when I was approaching Bisbee, Arizona and I turned onto Erie Street and found myself not in the center of town, but somewhere in the 1950s. It was quite surreal to drive up the street and see nothing but classic cars, vintage gas stations and old signs with no streetlights burning and not a person in sight. My GPS told me I had reached my destination but my mind was telling me otherwise. It turned out that it had indeed led me to Bisbee’s City Hall, but that building was situated in the midst of a wonderful local art/history instillation called the Lowell Americana Project which commemorates small-town life in the 1950s.
The Lowell & Arizona Copper Mining and Smelting Company began operation way back in 1899 under the leadership of Frank Hanchett, who named his business after his hometown of Lowell, Massachusetts. Three years later, the mine would be incorporated into the Copper Queen Consolidated Mining Company. Two years after that, the town of Lowell was laid out to house local miners and their families and Erie Street became the commercial center. In 1908, Lowell was annexed into nearby Bisbee and the population would grow to 5,000 people. From what I’ve read it sounds like it was a bustling community and a pleasant place to live.
That would all start to change in 1950 when the Lavender Pit Mine was opened and the community’s population had to sell their homes and move out…
Hello Everyone! Time really starts to fly when I go back to work. When last we met, I was headed out on my first trip of the season and thought I knew exactly where I would be the following week. Little did I know that torrential downpours would wash out roads and bridges in the northern section of Yellowstone, closing the park indefinitely the day before our arrival. This meant that my tour couldn’t visit the park around which the entire itinerary was developed, leaving me with an unhappy group and four full days to fill. Talk about crisis mode! Thankfully if I’ve learned anything over the last few years it’s that I can only worry about the things I have control over, so I took a deep breath, put a smile on my face and moved forward.
When I was a kid, I played basketball and when I was a teacher I coached our school team. In both instances, I really admired the kids who wanted the ball when there were three seconds left and we were down by two. That was never me, but there was always someone who believed they were the best person to have their hands on the ball when the pressure was on. That’s how I felt on this tour and I’m glad I was there because this was a great group of people who needed someone to give them 110% and try and pull this tour from the ashes. Throw me the ball, coach, I’ve got this.
And I did. I talked with our General Manager and pulled out my maps and got to work on Plan B. It wasn’t the same as the first thing I would tell a group in that particular park is that there is no other Yellowstone. But that didn’t mean that we couldn’t have fun and see some extraordinary things along the way. After all, planning trips to places I’ve never been is literally what I’ve been doing for most of the last few years and you all have seen the results of that firsthand. I sat my group down and made sure that they understood that I felt terrible about the situation but that, going forward, when I was positive and upbeat it wasn’t that I had forgotten what had happened. I also made sure they remembered that their vacation had been ruined, but others had lost their homes and livelihoods.
We ended up staying an extra day in Jackson which gave us an extra day of hiking in Grand Teton National Park. The weather was stunning and everyone enjoyed our bonus day. From there, we detoured around the park and visited Bannock, an old Montana ghost town preserved as a state park. We hiked the Humbug Spires and spent a quiet night in Butte. We spent an extra day in Glacier National Park as well, my favorite place on the planet.
