Before the wind

At the conclusion of our Palm Springs trip, we woke up the last morning prior to dawn and headed out before it got too hot. Heading north back toward the San Gorgonio pass, we got to see the turbines of the wind farm. This time by the light of sunrise.

This first shot is not all that good, really, but it was taken the moment I spotted the sun appear. We were at a gas station. I shot the mountains to the west, aiming over the buildings (which seemed a good idea at the time). But that's first light you see.





9/10/08

Answer blowing in the wind

Driving east along I-10 on the way to Palm Springs it's impossible not to notice the rows and rows of wind turbines lining the edges of the San Gorgonio Pass (a "wind farm").
For any passenger who's not driving, it's very difficult to refrain from taking pictures out the window. Which I did on our drive out there.




9/7/08

Buzzing in the desert

I saw these red and orange flowers all over the Coachella valley during our trip in Palm Springs. They were included in these shots of flowers and plants at the Living Desert (although there was no sign next to them), but these were easier to find: They were planted next to the entrance to our hotel.
The bees found them very interesting at this point in the morning.



9/9/08

Desert life

Cactus and clouds from the path at the Living Desert.

Prickles

Brown spine prickly pear cactus.

Living Desert Zoo and Garden. 9/9/08

More than giraffes too

At the Living Desert, they do have animals other than giraffes. You don't get to feed them, however, and mostly they're (understandably) lethargic, but they are there.

Ostrich in palm shadow (they share the same pen with the giraffes).
Zebra butt.

Cheetahs not being the fastest land animal.

Oryx (the "unicorn of the desert").

A headless vulture in the aviary.


A caged owl who doesn't seem that happy to be looked at.

A butterfly. (You can tell by the way it rests with its wings up that it's not a moth.)
I think it a cicada. They make a lot of noise in the trees throughout much of the park.

9/9/08

They're alive... alive! Well, mostly...

Some of the plants and flowers at the Living Desert Zoo and Gardens (most of which I don't know the names of):

The second one is monkey thorn.






These cacti are barrel cactus.

Where's the neck?

More pictures of the giraffes at the Living Desert. These were all taken by my talented fiancée (credit where it is due).

Is that giraffe saliva? Yes.

At the Living Desert Zoo and Gardens in Palm Desert, they have a number of animal exhibits, but the big draw is the giraffes. It's not merely that they are the only animals who aren't listlessly lying around in the midday heat.
There's a baby giraffe, named Maliki. He won't come too close, but that's what zoom lenses are for.




The adult giraffes also show their special skills.
And there's a platform from which you can feed them! The staff have pellets that you can place on their tongues.