Mailboxes and clouds

These mailboxes are on Palm Canyon Drive.  No, really...there IS a section of Palm Canyon Drive up by Pinyon.  It's a nasty dirt road which some of the residents near Pinyon use.  I always love to view this row of mailboxes up there and yesterday the clouds provided some interesting relief.

The mountains are magical this morning!

A weather front is moving in today, with a forecast of snow above 5,000 feet.  I headed up to the Santa Rosa mountains this morning because I could see the clouds moving in quickly.  I couldn't wait to get up there!  It was misty and C-O-L-D.  I believe it was snowing at the top of the mountains.  If so, I'll be able to see the snow tomorrow.  I was content this morning just to drive up there, smell the clean air and wet dirt, and leisurely take photos.

Leaves, leaves, and more leaves!

I wandered around on my own last Sunday.  Hubby was off taking his own photos and we just went our own way.  I haven't even seen his photos yet.  I was intrigued by all the colors on the sycamore and cottonwood trees....BEAUTIFUL!

Sycamore leaves and "knobs"~SkyWatch Friday~010413

The sycamore trees still had leaves on them, and their little "knots" or "knobs", too!  I was surprised to still see so many when we visited the Whitewater Preserve last Sunday.  Aren't they interesting?  And, WHAT do you call those bulbs?  To visit SkyWatch Friday, please go to:   http://skyley.blogspot.com/

Amazing fall colors in December and a warning sign

We were so amazed to still see fall colors on the trees at the Whitewater Preserve last Sunday!  Isn't this amazing?  It was like walking back in time.  Oh, and I always stop to take a photo of the warning sign, which is outside the preserve office!  The first time I went there with hubby, I looked up on the cliffs and saw several bighorn sheep.  Not this time, however.  It was pretty quiet up there last Sunday.

More of Whitewater River

There is a river up in Whitewater Canyon.  In fact, this is the main source for the great underground aquifer for the Coachella Valley. As I mentioned yesterday, during some years this river flows all year.  People like to stop further down the river, next to Highway 111, and swim in it during the summer.  Does this look like a river for swimming (...shaking head...).  Several people have drowned in it.  The water runs down QUICKLY from the mountains and doesn't slow down.  It was beautiful up there in the canyon the other day after a snow storm came barreling through the valley, however, and that's when we decided to go for a drive.  We never know, also, what kind of shape the road will be in because the river occasionally can be quite treacherous.  You can see on these photos where the water flowed.

Whitewater Canyon

Today is the hubs' last day of vacation, so yesterday he wanted to drive out to Whitewater Canyon.  Whitewater Canyon backs up to the San Bernardino mountains and is a main source of water for the Coachella Valley, through the Whitewater River.  It ran all year this past year, which is a good sign.  The river flows down into the valley and replenishes our underground water source.  My school is only two blocks away from the water district and every year the kids go down there for a tour of the water district and they come back with LOTS of information.  Anyway, hubby and I were both surprised to still see fall colors on the sycamores and cottonwoods there so late in the year.  There were a couple of girls there with a Weimeraner, so, of course, I had to go over and introduce myself (we cared for our son's Weimeraner for about 3 years)...He now has Atticus at his house.  It was good to get out yesterday.  The day was crisp and clear.  No more rain (or snow) is forecast for a week!  :-)  More photos tomorrow.