The sun is sinking in a bright orange sky over another wilderness 9,000 miles away from my last post featuring a desert in Western Australia. Pictured here are the badlands of California’s Anza-Borrego State Park at the westernmost edge of the Sonoran Desert.
We received a hot air balloon ride as a gift! Here we are looking down on another balloon as it floats above some Southern California orange groves and vineyards.
And here is the flame that kept our own balloon aloft. We learned during the flight that our balloon captain was an airline pilot who flew balloons for fun. That gave me confidence!
We had started early with champagne at sunrise while floating over the Temecula Valley. The captain poured the champagne, but did not partake. That also gave me much confidence!
The street art in L.A., as in many other cities, is colorful and inventive! You can only imagine what the artist was trying to depict, as with other genres of art. I have tried to guess and have added my own titles. May the artists forgive me!!
Eye on L.A.
Welcome Home
440
Rubik’s Design
Topsy Turvy
Photo Shoot
Let Me In!
Drogon the Dragon
The setting sun is giving an otherworldly look to this pleasant spot in Laguna Beach, California.
Death Valley is extremely hot–one of the hottest places on earth. This valley, 282 feet (86 meters) below sea level at its deepest, is walled by heat-trapping mountain ranges. Moreover, sparse vegetation allows the California sun full access to the desert soil.
This clever gull chose the best possible place to view the sunset at a cove in Laguna Beach, California.
This state preserve near San Diego, California, features the critically endangered Torrey pine, the rarest pine in North America. The semi-arid parkland, which overlooks the Pacific Ocean, is subject to fierce winds that sweep down from the desert. But on this quiet, windless day the uniform gray-greens of the pines and chaparral give the landscape a strikingly understated elegance.
