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!)
Dear Steff, Charlie, Emily and Christopher
ReplyDeleteSounds like an exciting adventure that you are on. Please continue to include pictures. Makes reading about your journey that more interesting. Include a family shot, as I am wondering if Christopher is already taller than his Mom.
Like your information about Joshua Tree. When I read something, like it to be informative and to learn as much as I possibly can. It is probably a pain to do the research, but in my own personal experience, you retain information if it is relevant and current. I bet in 20 years from now, you will not forgot the names of the trees, or how the quartz is produced.
I too have been to the Hearst Castle. Would be a nice house to live in, but would need a housekeeper to help keep it clean. The outdoor pool has been featured in several movies. On the day that we went, the pool looked very tempting to dive into. It was interesting that when Mr. Hearst, who owned a nickel mine and then a publishing company, when he stood at the top of the hill and looked east, west, north and south, that as far as his eye could see, was the land that he personally owned. He was also a creative builder who had artesian wells that helped produce electricity and heat that pool.
There is a research project for you. What is an artesian well - how can it produce electricity?
Also, Mr Hearst had wild animals on his property, elephants, tigers and other African animals.
If you could have a crazy pet, what would it be? What would it eat? How expensive would it be to feed it for a year?
I remember going to my brother in laws one weekend to look after his dog. He had a Cairn Terrier and we had a lab/shepard mix. We had to bring a huge bag of food for our dog in order to feed him for the weekend. They had a magarine container full of food for their dog. I am not very clever at math, but new my dog ate more - therefore was more expensive to keep - and because he ate more....he did more work in the backyard if you know what I mean. Maybe my choice of a large dog, versus a small dog, was not the wisest choice.....for several reasons.