Look and spot the climber.
Here he is close up.
Spot this climber,
resting on the top.
Here she is, getting ready to come down.
This guy at the top is waiting for his climbing friends (do you see them),
to come up.
He climbs barefoot.
Here are all three without zoom. There is a fourth person at the bottom that you many be able to spot.
(Click to enlarge)
Cheers to you from the Joshua Tree National Park climbers~
fit the battle of Jericho,
and the walls,
came tumbling down.
These tumbled boulders,
are in Joshua Tree National Park in Southern California.
Despite Southern California’s endless severe drought,
the Joshua Tree’s are still surviving, although under threat.
The desert desperately needs water.
Only the rocks are unperturbed.
Cheers to you from elegantly jumbled Joshua Tree National Park~
Is a 2,851 acre protected nature and wildlife preserve,
located in the southern California desert and extending up into the adjacent San Bernardino and San Jacinto Mountains.
These photos were taken in late October.
Southern California is still in the worst drought in memory,
but the year round Whitewater River is still actively flowing in the desert, aided by earthquake faults trapping water run off from Southern California’s tallest mountain, the 11,500 foot Mt. Gorgonio.
This geological anomaly creates a natural oasis,
that sustains a host of wildlife including bear, bighorn sheep, and mountain lion,
as well as plants, palms and flowers, all in the midst of the baking hot desert.
Cheers to you from Whitewater Preserve~
For more information on the preserve see: https://wildlandsconservancy.org/preserves/whitewater
To the desert, (click to enlarge)
following the clouds,
hoping to watch the rain,
bathe the sand.
The clouds came,
but not the rain.
La Quinta Resort built in 1926,
has seen many rainless days and nights.
Cheers to you from the cloudy desert~
The classic osprey glare.
This distant osprey has a fish clutched in his talons.
He lands with his prize,
and spots me.
He immediately mantles to cover his prey from the potential thief.
You can see the nictitating membrane, or third inner eyelid, starting to cover his eye for protection as he subdues the thrashing fish. (Click to enlarge).
Up on the safety of the high wires,
he can ignore me more comfortably.
Cheers to you from the well fed osprey~
Crescent City, nearing the border with Oregon.
Battery Point lighthouse began operation in 1856.
Coastal Oaks covered with moss in temperate rain forests.
Southern forests are much drier.
Point Reyes National Sea Shore. (Click to enlarge)
Fierce winds have bent the trees at The Point Reyes Lighthouse.
Klamath California (click and see if you can spot the distant grazing elk herd).
Cheers to you from coastal California~
Curious & handsome,
baby,
Stellar Jay,
wanted to be friends.
I was most happy,
to oblige.
Cheers to you from the Oregon Coast~
from my elk,
said the big red bear.
The elk were happy to have us around,
we distracted Mr. Bear.
I always agree with wild bears,
regardless of what they say.
I couldn’t bear that I didn’t have my wildlife camera,
and had to settle for shooting with my non-zoom lens,
when Mr. Bear showed up with barely a sound, and surprised us!
Cheers to you from The Sierra Nevadas~
The Klamath River Estuary is where the 257 mile Klamath River empties into the sea in the community of Requa California.
Requa is located,
on Yurok Native Land.
Portions of Redwood National Park lie within these Yurok lands.
Jim provides perspective.
This is Northern California wilderness,
centered around the wild Klamath River.
The Yurok’s are California’s largest Native American tribe with a population of nearly 5000.
Their territory extends about 40 miles up river. Click to enlarge and you can see the small community of Requa on the left bank of the river.
Cheers to you from Klamath River and Requa California, in Yurok Country~
For more on Yurok lands & The Klamath River, see:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klamath_River
https://www.yuroktribe.org/our-history
I seek out solitary wilderness. (Click to enlarge).
But,
when it comes to wild elk,
especially calves,
you’ll find me,
hanging,
with the herd,
especially the nursery!
Cheers to you from Requa California~
cindyknoke.com 