Joshua Tree facts

Foresters might be slightly offended by the Dr. Seuss-like Joshua Tree's inclusion in the general category of "tree" when it seems so inferior to mighty monarchs of the forest. Except for the bark, the weak-rooted, spiny-leafed, slow-growing Joshua Tree shares no characteristics with a tree. Squirrels don't even climb them! Of course, it does enjoy the status of a protected species.

Worry no longer!! The Joshua Tree, yucca bevifolia, is NOT a tree at all. It is a Yucca in the Agavaceae family. The main trunk, for lack of a better term, has a soft, loosely-fibrous, spongy center where moisture is held. It has no growth rings to determine age. It is quite tempermental and has very specific needs for healthy growth and sustainability. Elevation, precise amounts of rain at strategic times, sunshine and just the right number of winter frosts determine whether there will be blossoms. Not all will blossom every year.

Not being a Forester myself, I'll just leave it at that...lest my ignorance come shining through.

Snow in the Desert!

We are feeling housebound as it is cold and windy much of the time. There was more fun to come; two weekends in a row a little blizzard blew in and we awoke to snow on the cactus. Yippee. There is nothing more to say.

Joshua Tree Nat'l Park

What an adventure we had Down Under, but it feels great to be home just in time for Christmas! A month is a long time to be away. That said, here we go again...but just up the road 25 miles. I brought back a bit of Koala Bear Flu from Australia that tried to kill me. Imagine, Americans have no immunity to that sort of virus.

We've settled ourselves into the Camp Host site at Black Rock Canyon Campground. Al will spend his volunteer time in and around the campground and adjoining Ranger Station. I will volunteer at the busy west entrance Visitors Center in the little town of Joshua Tree. We've spent time hiking, biking and getting familiar with the Park...so we can tell people where to go and how to get there.

We do not tire of waking up every day in a National Park. The Joshua Trees are unique...in a Dr. Seuss kind of way. The weather at 4000 ft. elev. is not very warm and the wind howls down the canyon at unbelievable speeds. Palm Springs is 25 miles...downhill. One can leave Joshua Tree dressed in winter clothes and arrive in Palm Springs where everyone is dressed in shorts and sundresses. What were we thinking??

Our uniforms are so cute, we've decided we'll stay until the end of March!

Crossing the Tasman Sea

The Tasman Sea is very rough. Every day the ship's Captain suggested those "susceptible" to rough seas (that would be me!)should take the appropriate precautions. Thank goodness for drugs!

Our itinerary will take us into Milford Sound in Fjordland Nat'l Park in New Zealand's deep south rainforest, up the eastern coast of both the South and North Islands, around the volcano--White Island, into the Bay of Islands, around the North Cape and back to Sydney--nine ports in 14-days.

New Zealand is breathtakingly beautiful, the people are incredibly hospitable, there are more sheep than people, and NO snakes live there! The economy, I would describe as conservative. Wood is exported to Japan, but one must search to buy something imported. Outside of the few large cities, it feels like one has stepped back in time to the 70's. Not necessarily a bad thing.

We traveled via train west across the countryside from Christchurch to see stunning scenery in Arthur's Pass Nat'l Park in the Southern Alps, we biked through the vineyards of Napier--dodging the sheep and tasting the wine along the way, we climbed a mountain (albeit small) on the coast of Tauranga, and we saw the Christmas Trees in glorious bloom. We watched Albatross soar through the sky. We saw penguins, Kaka birds (bush parrots), Tui and a rare baby Tuatara (dinosaur lizard). The elusive kiwi bird, we found out at the end of our visit...is nocturnal.

NZ is overrun with non-native oppossum which are industriously harvested and turned into sweaters, hats, gloves... They pose a great threat to the numerous non-flying birds--like the kiwi. Sheep sacrifice their wool to make all manner of wonderfully luxurious and expensive rugs, slippers, pillows etc.

Christchurch, on the South Island, was my favorite. The beautiful Cathedral in the center of town with the huge angels suspended from the high ceilings, destroyed by a recent earthquake, is now tragically gone. Al,I suspect, would choose to return to Arthur's Pass, also on the South Island, where many tramping trails meander through the beautiful mountains.

After the long sea voyage back to Sydney, I think we are all feeling a bit tired and dazed. The sensory overload, the unfamiliar and vast quantity of food, and the unnatural lifestyle of awakening to a daily shore excursion, all unique to a cruise vacation, is exciting and exotic but overwhelming as well.

We miss the kitties! It is time to go home--such as it is. Bev and Jim have a very long trip ahead of them.

What an incredible adventure we all had!!! So many places to see, so little time...

DETOUR!

Australia has been on our LIST for some time, and our traveling companions The Runyans are ready to go! The Bighorn does not fly nor does it float; it will stay in southern California. After an unbelievable amount of planning, we are ready to leave on Thanksgiving Day. We'll be gone until Christmas. It is so exciting!!

First stop Sydney, Australia. After +/-18 hours in an airplane, one is fairly sure that home is VERY far away! We picked up our "drive on the wrong side car", and away we went 150 miles south to a small town on Bateman's Bay. Al drove; my job was to say "stay on the left"--repeatedly! The Jacaranda Trees were in full purple bloom! The Runyans arrived in Bateman's Bay the next day having safely navigated the left-hand drive.

Kangaroos were a highlight of our visit...both on the hoof and on the plate(for Al and Jim.) Koala Bears and exotic birds--Cockatoos, assorted parrots, parakeets and various others birds and little animals we struggled to identify were plentiful.

We drove (almost always remembering to stay on the left)a lot on some interesting narrow, winding roads but really saw only a small fraction of the country. It is a big place. A week doesn't even make a dent.

Jim and Al visited a local sawmill and found little of the wood they could identify, along with rather obsolete operations. Many varieties of Eucalyptus and Banksia are common. I bought a beautiful cutting board made from Camphor Laurel--smells wonderful!

Some trivia: Australia is home to many, many snakes--all venomous!
Delicious cappuccino is available everywhere...even at McDonalds.
Kangaroos are so cute, but a nuisance.
Crumpets take up an entire half aisle in the grocery store.
Driving on the left through a round-a-bout takes a lot of concentration.
Americans have no immunity to Koala bear germs...apparently.
We still don't know what a Wombat is...but, something climbed out of a tree by our patio early one morning and scared the daylights out of Bev.
The Metric System makes good sense, but not to us.
The Southern Hemisphere night sky...is not the same. Jim searched tirelessly for the Southern Cross and found it!

It's time to get back to Sydney to board a ship for New Zealand!