We were lucky to see a ranger presentation on Condors. The ranger was great, she acted out all the things as she taught us about condors and their habits. They are not particularly attractive to look at but they are kind of interesting. It was really interesting to learn about the program to save them. They wanted to collect them to breed in captivity but they didn't want to risk losing any so they collected some from S. America and raised those. It worked so they collected the US condors - imagine being the person who collected the last wild condor?? The program has been successful, they have released populations and they are growing in number. Both the condors bred in captivity and the wild are doing well. If you want to read more try this site:
http://www.nps.gov/grca/naturescience/condor-re-introduction.htm
The drive to Joshua Tree was long and boring and hot. We stopped in a place called Bishop, not very interesting. We were all a bit unprepared for the heat! It had been quite cool in the Grand Canyon and now we were scrambling to find shorts and sandals in our very full car.
Finally we arrived at Joshua Tree (everyone knows the trees from the U2 album). Joshua Tree is in the desert but actually combines 3 deserts. The rocks are mostly granite, weathered into these incredible shapes and forms. The rocks are a golden red color and seem to glow at sunrise. We found a campsite and settled in - climbing tomorrow! It gets dark fast in the evening but it is so warm it is kind of nice to sit around outside.
Last time we went to J tree, it was in the middle of winter, and it got REEEAAAAALY cold at night, and there was still snow on the ground. I liked that better (so did Christopher). It was cooler in the daytime, so it was much nicer to climb then, whereas in the summer, its so hot that you can pretty much only climb early in the morning or in the evening.
Mom wants to put something educational and informative on J tree in here =D, so here you go:
Joshua Tree Geology
>Joshua Tree National Park is situated on the edge of the Pacific and the North American plates (tectonic plates), which is marked by the San Andreas Fault.
>The San Andreas Fault runs just south of Joshua Tree (but we didn't go there).
>There are several types of rock that make up J tree, most of which is granite. Granite is an igneous rock (formed volcanically) and is formed of quartz, silica and feldspar.
>Another type of rock found at j tree is gneiss ,(pronounced nice) which is a metamorphic rock. (metamorphic rock: rock that has been changed by heat and pressure.)
>There is gold at j tree, too, and people would look for veins of quartz to find it. (as rock hardens, the quartz takes longer to cool, so it runs into the cracks in the rock, forming veins. Gold and silver are associated with quartz)
( if you want to add something or correct what's already there, please do =D )
Anyway, J tree was lots of fun, (as always!) and then we went to Lake Tahoe to see some friend, mountains, at last! It was so nice to finally have, fresh, COOL air, because the desert is really nice, but after a while, its just too hot.
At Tahoe, we went on this great hike, and it was so pretty! We hiked around these glacial lakes, which you could swim in, the water wasn't too cold, but we didn't because the air was a little cold. After that mom, Christopher, Tony (we were staying with her and her husband, Russell) and I all went on a bike ride up to Squaw Valley, and we made some candles. (it was pretty cool!)
From Tahoe, we went back to Sausalito, and then we set off (sailing) down toward Morro Bay. On the way, we stopped at San Simeon, it was really sweet, and there's some of castle, called Hearst Castle or something. Then we went down to Morro Bay, which is where we are now. when we gor there, we went into town, and found some boogie boards, wet suits, and a skim board in a 2nd hand store! When we went boogie boarding that day, it was horrid and cloudy and raining a bit, but the wave were great, it was sooo much fun!!!!!
Now we're just kind of hanging out in Morro Bay, relaxing and boogie boarding. Don't know when we head to San Diego, probably in a week or so?
More on that later....
(we'll add pictures, too!)
