Doug's photo site

The Canyon: Gimmick or ingenuity?

During our Palm Springs getaway last week, my fiancée took a couple hours in the late afternoon to go to one of the spas and get a massage. However, because that's not the sort of activity that does much for me, I instead relaxed in the hotel room for a while. Then about 5:30 I realized that the sun would be setting soon (Palm Springs is built to the west of a mountain, so in downtown the sun disappears earlier than areas on the other side of the mountain) and on a whim decided to grab my camera and see if I could drive the couple miles south to Indian Canyons (which I'd seen on the map) before losing the sun.

I didn't make it. Heck, I didn't even get to the car in time. Nonetheless, I still trekked down to see what there was to see down at the canyon, if for no other reason than I was already in the car.

The road was not exactly parking-friendly, so I decided to invent a new activity: Ph-auto-graphy. (Still working on the name.) It's taking pictures without getting out of the car. It increases the challenge by limiting the available shots to what one can get out the driver's window, only from spots where one can safely pull over momentarily.

In that (shall we say) impressionistic spirit of the shooting, the photos have not be cropped or enhanced in any way; these are exactly what I got (well, the better ones of what I got).

You decide whether it worked.

Mountains to the west in shadow.

Mountains to the east still in sun.

Indian Canyons was already closed, but down by the gate it was quite windy.

For this last one, I'd driven out of the valley and down Palm Canyon Drive. This is the back of those mountains that were to the east of the canyon in the shots above. From a parking lot. Hooray, nature!

Egad, this was self-indulgent. Sorry.

Vista

Head south out of Palm Desert along route 74 (aka the Pines to Palms Highway) and after about six miles you'll come to this vista point.

Yes, the road is as winding as can be seen in these photos (look closely), so the drive is not for the feint of heart (especially considering how fast most cars go--particularly downhill).

Stars and stripes

Giant American flag outside the Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage, Ca.

9/8/08

Dated

Date palms at the Shields Date Garden in Indio, California. (The dates are in those white bags below the fronds.)

9/8/08

Yep, there's palms in Palm Springs

Shots from the balcony of the hotel in downtown Palm Springs, last Monday.

It's true; I was willing to walk out the door of the hotel room for my photo fans. I even walked to the end of the walkway.

(Hey, it got up to 120 degrees Fahrenheit; going outside at all was extreme photography.)

For the birds

During a brief vacation in Palm Springs last week, we ate breakfast out on the patio of our hotel. And as you can see, this little guy was not shy about seeing if he could get a bite of my Belgian waffle.