The guys we met hiking at Rainbow Basin suggested a site for us to check out - Things to Do within 100 miles of Barstow. Found a good list of day and afternoon trips for us to check out, including this little gem. A pair of state parks are located in the town of Lancaster, CA, on the northern side of LA County, so that's where we headed the Saturday before last (yeah, I'm just now getting the pictures up!). These are the Arthur Ripley Desert Woodland State Park, and the Antelope Valley Poppy Preserve. I'll talk about these two in separate posts, since there were so many pretty pictures from the day :)
First up, the Desert Woodland State Park. It was our first stop of the day (just how directions went) and just a tiny little stop in itself. Desert woodlands are not the most impressive views. Joshua trees just don't compare to thick forests back east, or redwood forests farther north in CA. Still, it is a nice change from the Desert itself, where we live.
The Joshua Tree is the most noticeable tree in the desert woodland habitat in this area. It's like a twisted palm tree. The little walking tour guide pamphlet we were following through the park described it as "grotesque configurations" of the branches. Each one is really pretty distinct, and especially out where we are, they are quite noticeable dotting the landscape. Here at the park they were still distinct, but blend in more with the junipers and taller shrubs. Back in the high desert, there just aren't that many shrubs to blend in with the trees :)
The Joshua tree is really pretty interesting as a plant. Botanists, etc have to estimate it's age because it doesn't have rings. The trunk is all fibrous, like palm trees. (Check out the picture on the right there!) People studying the trees estimate that some of the trees can be 800 years old, and some estimate even older!
It was the little things that were striking us as we were walking through the park. The smell of flowers (things don't bloom in Ft Irwin) or birds chirping and twittering (the most common bird we have on post is the raven). It was really very refreshing, experiencing those things that you don't even realize you're missing. On the same track, I've been noticing flowers a lot more too - bright splashes of color just brighten up an area. The post is so many shades of brown, than when you actually get splashed of color, you notice them! :)
The Joshua Tree is the most noticeable tree in the desert woodland habitat in this area. It's like a twisted palm tree. The little walking tour guide pamphlet we were following through the park described it as "grotesque configurations" of the branches. Each one is really pretty distinct, and especially out where we are, they are quite noticeable dotting the landscape. Here at the park they were still distinct, but blend in more with the junipers and taller shrubs. Back in the high desert, there just aren't that many shrubs to blend in with the trees :)
The Joshua tree is really pretty interesting as a plant. Botanists, etc have to estimate it's age because it doesn't have rings. The trunk is all fibrous, like palm trees. (Check out the picture on the right there!) People studying the trees estimate that some of the trees can be 800 years old, and some estimate even older!
It was the little things that were striking us as we were walking through the park. The smell of flowers (things don't bloom in Ft Irwin) or birds chirping and twittering (the most common bird we have on post is the raven). It was really very refreshing, experiencing those things that you don't even realize you're missing. On the same track, I've been noticing flowers a lot more too - bright splashes of color just brighten up an area. The post is so many shades of brown, than when you actually get splashed of color, you notice them! :)
PS - and one of the flowers.... elderberry! I do not know if it is the same elderberry as the Frenchmen's taunts, but I couldn't help but say, your mother was a hamster and your father smells of elderberry! And as a side note, elderberry actually smells very nice :)
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