Under a Red Roof

Summer Road Trip 2017: California II

June 21, 2017 in Traveling by Colleen | Permalink

Beautiful Moorten Botanical Garden, with every manner of lovely cacti (and a jaunty hummingbird or two), just down the block from my Uncle’s, though it would have been worth a far, far longer trek.

Frankinbun – the delightful whimsy of the wallpaper is a fine match to the tasty franks in (and out) of their delicious buns.

My kind of irreverence.

At the Noah Purifoy Outdoor Museum now, one man’s hopeful and provocative use of the everyman’s detritus, sometimes beautiful, often strange and humorous. I love the lunch trays!

Pioneertown – a bit lackluster, save the extraordinarily beautiful drive.

wind

Ship of the Desert – 1936

The dazzle of fine architecture overwhelms.

T-Rex meets G-Rex (and Juniper) on our Big Adventure – a fine end to our California desert journey.

Up next – Ventura and Ojai!

Tags: Traveling

Summer Road Trip 2017: California

June 20, 2017 in Traveling by Colleen | Permalink

Hi from Rick, Greg, Colleen, and Chris at the Integratron and part one of the California leg of our epic road trip. The hubster and I got up early, early, early in Bisbee to make it here in time, and did, but only by the skin of our teeth and maybe disobeying a speed limit or two. Maybe. Whew!

All love

The Integratron is located in Landers, California, 20 miles north of Joshua Tree National Park. Its creator, George Van Tassel (1910-1978), claimed that the structure is based on the design of Moses’ Tabernacle, the writings of Nikola Tesla, and telepathic directions from extraterrestrials. This one-of-a-kind 38-foot high, 55-foot diameter, all wood dome was designed to be an electrostatic generator for the purpose of rejuvenation and time travel.

I and my fellow travelers went for a sound bath, with the stunning energy and full body resonance of expertly played crystal bowls, more than a dozen of them, sending us into a state of deep peace and relaxation. It was truly magical. If ever you plan to be in the neighborhood (our digs were at my Uncle’s in Palm Springs), do yourself a favor and go. If you arrive with an open heart and mind, you will not be disappointed. No siree.

Bleached out sunshiney Palm Springs – 100 degrees in the shade and oh, so pretty.

Oh my goodness, I never imagined that I could L O V E a date milkshake or learning about the history of date production in the Coachella Valley, but, dad gum it, thanks to Shields, I am a convert. Yummy and fascinating.

And this? A literal oasis in the desert. 1000 Palms exists thanks to faults and seismic activity that send water to the surface, kinda spooky, really. Much to our delight, the oasis lives up to its name, with a cool 10-20 degree temperature difference. Impressive!

Mirage – Doug Aitken

Since it was so very hot and our dear Juniper Beulah is super spazzy without an a.m. AND p.m. walk, we waited until after sunset to stroll the streets of Palm Springs for the latter. The cherry topped goodness was a peaceful moonlit dip in a pool the temperature of perfection. Life is GOOD!

Tags: Traveling

Summer Road Trip 2017: Arizona II

June 19, 2017 in Traveling by Colleen | Permalink

Sleepy head hubster and our favorite watch dog. Cuties!

Telepoem

Welcome to part two of our Arizona journey. Flagstaff, this first bit, reminds me of Boulder or Breckenridge when I was a teenager – laid back and lovely, breezes flowing, nice people and cool hippie shops (I bought rocks and crystals, of course). We enjoyed stellar Thai food and BBQ (Bigfoot!) a hop skip and a jump from the old Route 66 (sing it, Nat!). Sometimes the past and present collide, and hallelujah, nostalgia wins.

Sedona, red, wonderful, magical. And hot! We hiked to the Seven Sacred pools, scoring the last parking space in the tiny lot, enjoying the beautiful and lizard laden landscape. And what are lizards? Juniper says they are squirrels without fur and behaved accordingly.

I had never seen a cactus bloom in such a dazzling fashion. Eeek!

The Chapel of the Holy Cross is a stunning work of architecture, completed in 1956, the same great year as our house!

This last photo is Bell Rock, another gorgeous wonder of geology. It is also purported to be an energy vortex – a whirling center of masculine and feminine energy. As you well know, I am a pretty open minded person and came to the vortex as such. Believers say the energy is palpable, and I can’t help but wonder if it is true. I got our of the car, moved close enough, and started to feel a pressure around my chest, like someone with massive hands was attempting to turn me round and round while I stood stock still, a bit dumbfounded, before doing what seemed most logical. I adjusted my bra. The sensation remained. I observed the trees, twisted junipers, mostly, looking like I felt. I watched the cloudless sky. I took in the hot air. I sauntered back to the car and the sensation ceased. Maybe something happened. Maybe I was moved by the hands of the universe. I’d like to think so.

Tags: Juniper Beulah, Traveling

Summer Road Trip 2017: Arizona

June 16, 2017 in Traveling by Colleen | Permalink

The Chiricahua Mountains – how cool is that name?

We saw dirt devils galore. Kinda cool.

Almost there…

Hello from Bisbee! This is the Lavender Pit Mine – the town’s bread and butter up until 1974. It was mostly mined for copper, with turquoise and other stones serving as lovely byproducts. It’s a looong way down…

This lovely lady, whose name I never caught, sold us honey made by killer bees! The store is a sliver of a place and chock full of sweet goodness.

These three shots are all of the same GIANT agave. The hubster is 6’1″ for reference. Wowie!

After the mine closed, the town was slowly taken over by artists and other eccentrics. Our kind of place!

So many fine murals…

And great gates!

This photo was a very happy accident.

Take the High Road every chance you get!

Fifty-four steps to our lodgings, complete with Dutch door!

Meet one-eyed Jesus, a marker for for the fabulous Shrine hike that follows. Juniper did NOT like him, growling and keeping as far as caninely (not a word?) possible. Perhaps it was the fact that only one of his eyes was painted. Perhaps it was the fact that he was my height and very life-like, yet remained very, very still. I’m not sure. Nevertheless, we were amused. Also at this spot, on our way down – we spied a wild javelina! Neat.