Visited on: January 14, 2025
Esther had a talk to give at the International Plant and Animal Genome Conference in San Diego in the beginning of January 2025 and I decided to tag along. A few days before our flight a major winter storm was predicted for our area. Not wanting to miss our flight we decided leave Athens a day early and book a room at the Airport Marriott. The system moved a little faster then expected and we almost didn’t make it out. We left the house around 8AM and by the time we got to Watkinsville, just 15 miles away, you could even make out the edges of the roads for all the snow. We should have turned around then but thought maybe the conditions would improve further on.
We travel 30 mile per hour the whole way and it took 3 hours to get to the hotel. Shortly after we checked in the hotel was booked solid and the lobby was packed. We made the most of our stay and flight delay by using the hotel gym, pool, bar and restaurant.
We made it San Diego, rented a car and made it to the Town and Country Resort Arlo fairly easily and for some reason we got our room upgraded to a suite. While Esther was doing conference things, I kept busy exploring San Diego, Old Town and other attractions, The wonderful trolley system made it very easy to set around without a car. The food and scenery was amazing!
After the conference ended headed to our VRBO in Temecula stop along the way to visit and have lunch with Millie and Lisa, Esther’s mother in-law, who just moved in to a new room in her retirement village and Lisa is her sister-in-law.
We had a very nice VRBO that was secluded and pretty far up the side of a mountain. There were some comments by visitors that the VRBO was difficult to get to especially after dark. Before the conference was over I made a run up to the place to make sure we could get there in case it was after dark. I also made a grocery run so we would have things for breakfast – and also beer and wine for that night.
Joshua Tree National Park, located in southeastern California is a stunning destination known for its rugged desert landscapes, iconic Joshua trees and unique geological formations. It sits at the intersection of two distinct desert ecosystems – the Mojave Desert and the Colorado desert – creating a diverse range of flora, fauna and scenic views.
The desert teaches us about the marvels of adaptation. Relentless sun, summer temperatures over 100F or 38C and little water can make a forbidding world for non-desert dwellers, yet hundreds of of plants and animal species adapted to conserve moisture and beat the heat. Today the park protect 792,510 acres, over 80 percent of it managed as wilderness, where the Mojave and Colorado deserts converge.
The wild armed Joshua tree is truly a sign you are in the Mojave Desert. It is not a tree but a yucca species. Like other desert plants, its waxy, spiny leaves expose little surface area, efficiently conserving moisture. Joshua trees can grow over 40 feet at a leisurely rate of 1 inch per year. Clusters of cream-colored flowers bloom February through April, then the tree grow its branches.
How Did All Those Rocks Pile UP?
The rock piles began underground long ago as a result of volcanic activity. Magma- in this case a molten form of rock called monzogranite – rose from deep within the Earth. It intruded the overlying rock, the Pinto gneiss formation. The granite cooled and crystalized, forming horizontal and vertical cracks. The granite continued to uplift and contacted ground water. Chemical weathering resulted and worked on the angular granite blocks widening cracks and and rounding edges.
Eventually the surface soil eroded. leaving monzogranite heaps scattered across the land like piles of toy blocks.
Miramonte Winery – Nothing like an early dinner at a California winery after a hot day in the desert. The food and winery were excellent.
On our last day in Temecula we drove to the coast did a nice 3 mile hike, visited a Lego Land to make Robin jealous (but it was closed) and visited and visited and old Spanish Mission – it was a fun last day.
