My Journey up Deep Canyon~Scenic Sunday 030611

I thought that today I would share my weekly journey up Deep Canyon with you. I actually took all these photos two weekends ago, the morning after our area had a snowstorm up in the mountains. Deep Canyon is the huge canyon which runs down alongside these mountains and there are no public roads through it. Rather, we drive Highway 74, the "Palms to Pines" highway, which is now also known as the Roy Wilson Memorial Highway. People from the mountain communities of Idyllwild, Mountain Center, Anza, Garner Valley, and Pinyon also drive this road. There are many beautiful views from it, as you can see, and on a couple of spots, you can even see the Salton Sea briefly. On this Sunday morning, after the snowstorm the previous evening, the CalTrans snow removal trucks were out. There were two of them and I could hear them clinking up the road because they both had their chains on! The "chains required" sign was being enforced further up the road, at Mountain Center, where highway 74 splits into the road that goes into Idyllwild. Idyllwild is the highest point on this road, at over 5,000 feet. Garner Valley is at about 4,500 feet and it is right after it splits to Highway 371, which then goes down into Anza and over to Temecula. I love to see the Coachella Valley below and I also love to see the mountains above, especially Santa Rosa mountain. Scenic Sunday for March 6, 2011. Thank you for coming along on my journey! I take this road every time I drive up to see my horses at the horse ranch, so I drive it usually both Saturday and Sunday, although yesterday I wasn't feeling well, so I stayed home and did laundry and folded clothes.

Thematic Photographic: doubles 030411

Two cattle egrets at the Living Desert Reserve. Aren't they beautiful birds? They are all over our desert here in southern California~~in the fields, in the Salton Sea, around the ponds at major hotels, even in the wash. I see them everywhere! Thematic Photographic for March 4, 2011. To play along or just to visit, please go to:

http://writteninc.blogspot.com/

Yucca, snow, and blue sky~SkyWatch Friday 030311

Just a photo of a yucca and a background of fresh now and blue sky after last weekend's snow storm. Sometimes simple things are best, don't you think? SkyWatch Friday for March 3, 2011.

Nature Notes 030311

For some reason last weekend, my polarizing filter wasn't set at the right position and most of my landscape photos were duds. I mean, they were really awful! And, I drove up to the mountains during decent morning light! I had taken off the filter to clean off some dust particles and I just forgot to adjust it when I put it back on. Well, I sure learned a lesson! There are about the only ones that came out without being overexposed! ACK! I did manage to get this photo of the tree in my header. It juts out of a small cliff and someday, when hubby is with me, I'm going to hike up to it and take a look around! I found some lichens on a rock and a tree limb with snow on it and a beautiful view of the San Jacinto mountains off in the distance. I never know what I'm going to find when I explore Deep Canyon! :-) Nature Notes for March 3, 2011.

Another blog award!

Thank you so much, Shirley, for thinking of me for this award. If you want to visit Shirley's blog, you can do so here: http://shirley-mybookshelf.blogspot.com/. I'm sorry I didn't post it earlier, but it's been crazy around here! First, my laptop was VVVEEERRRYYYY slow loading and hubby finally did a virus scan and it had some malware. Of course, he blames all my blogging for that! He had to defrag it and run Norton twice! I wasn't able to post comments on anyone's blog and I wasn't always able to post comments here, too. So, I'm sorry for the delay in acknowledging this award. This is my newest blog and I actually have ten of them! Most of them are over at: http://deserthorses.blogspot.com/ and you can see them on the sidebar. Some of you know that I'm the same Cheryl Ann over at desert horses! :-) I really wanted just one blog to share the beauty and wonders of the deep canyon that runs from Palm Desert all the way up through our local mountains, the Santa Rosas. Highway 74 runs above Deep Canyon and I love to see the various environments, from the desert, through the pinyon forest, and finally up to the huge Ponderosa pines. I drive this road usually every weekend and sometimes midweek, to visit the ranch where I board my 5 rescue horses. I love driving it in the summer and looking at the thunderheads over the valley. I love it in winter, when snow decorates the trees and shrubs. And, on cloudy afternoons, I can look out and see the Salton Sea from this road.

Instead of nominating people for this award, since I just received another one last month, I'm going to open it up to anyone who wants it. It took over a year for people to begin coming to this blog and I've posted on a lot of posts on various weekly memes, but it seems that it is just recently that I've acquired some followers. I really enjoy the weekly memes and challenges and I feel that they push me and make me a better photographer! And, I love visiting other blogs! If you wish to see the memes, they are all listed below the posts. Please come join in! And, thank you for stopping by this blog. I try to open up Deep Canyon and share it with others, since it IS such a unique spot.

Thank you all!

Just around the pinyon forest~Outdoor Wed. 031111

On Sunday morning, I drove up to my favorite road in the pinyon forest to see the aftermath of Saturday's snowstorm, which I had watched from the desert floor. I was eager to get out Sunday morning and see what nature had left for me to find. I was intrigued by the snow on these logs. There wasn't a whole lot of snow in this region. It was mostly spotty, but I did want to see whatever I could. Outdoor Wednesday for March 1, 2011. To visit other participants, please visit: http://asoutherndaydreamer.blogspot.com/

Pinyon forest~First of the month~March, 2011

On the first of the month, today, I was teaching my class of third graders, but last weekend (on Sunday), I drove up to Pinyon. There had been a ferocious snow storm up there on Saturday (I know because I drove part way through it). So, Sunday morning, I was eager to see all the snow. NOT! It apparently had melted overnight. There was snow in the higher elevations and that provided a beautiful, white backdrop. So, Sunday I took my time and drove up through the pinyon forest, stopping to look at the vegetation and scenery. By this weekend, the desert is expecting temps of 80 degrees, so I'm not sure how much snow will be left by then. First of the Month for March 1, 2011. To visit other participants in First of the Month, please stop by: http://www.murrieta365.com/