Travels in the southwest states
We spent this past week in Death Valley National Park and I was reminded of how beautiful a place it is. It is ironic that such a hot, dry and inhospitable place with so little rain (on average less than 2 inches per year) is so significantly shaped by rain! Arriving in Death Valley from… Read More Death Valley – Jan. 2016
Just when you thought it was safe to head west… Arghh! The Roberts’ are doin’ it – again! Sad but true, as I write these thoughts we are but miles from the California border, sitting on BLM (Bureau Land Management) lands in Quartzite, AZ. But I get ahead of myself. We started our journey west… Read More Heading West – Jan 2016
Throw back to January… I am at a loss to describe the traumatic physiological or psychological disturbance in my life that has caused me to want to operate earth-moving equipment. To satisfy my testosterone imbalance, Karen and the kids bought me for Christmas a session with an excavator in, you guessed it, Las Vegas, NV!… Read More Vegas, baby – Jan 2015
Spend ten minutes watching the news and you are subjected to countless stories of selfishness and man’s inhumanity to man. Yet we spent 10 weeks on the road across this great country and were treated with nothing but kindness, selflessness and interesting people. We traveled thousands of miles and have seen some of the most… Read More Winter 2015 Road Trip Recap
If your palate is looking for an off-the-beaten-path camping location, this is it! The Indian Bread Rocks Recreation Area, situated in Bowie, AZ on BLM lands (Bureau of Land Management) in southeast Arizona, is at the base of the Dos Cabezas Mountains Wilderness. There are zero services available, so whatever you need, bring (which includes… Read More Indian Bread Rocks – Feb 2015
Recommended to us by hiking friends Dave and Terry, we attended the Tucson Rodeo! The rodeo is a festival/celebration of the cowboy/cattle herder/horsemen, and participants are young, old, male, and female. And it is a great place to pick up a little cowgirl! We had an unbelievable day watching the rodeo: blue skies, stunning views… Read More Fiesta De Los Vaqueros (AZ) – Feb 2015
Sitting at the base of the Santa Catalina Mountains just north of Tucson, Catalina State Park is a great campground! If you like outdoors activities, this area is like a playground. We settled into one of the sites without water or electricity, but most of the sites do have those services. Yesterday I took a… Read More Santa Catalina Mtns (AZ) – Feb 2015
This is not your father’s camper. Oops… my bad; maybe it is! During Modernism Week in Palm Springs, CA there was a vintage camper collection on display that was to die for. There were approximately 50 various Airstreams, Streamlines, Greyhound buses, Shastas… too many different and unique brands to remember. The common theme was that these… Read More Modernism Week (a) – Feb 2015
Palm Springs, CA is my shiny new object, particularly as it relates to residential real estate. This town gushes with architectural design, to the point that you could write a book about great architectural design and never walk more than 3 blocks! The silly part is trying to provide just a few good examples when… Read More Modernism Week (b) – Feb 2015
Palm Springs, CA is rich with architectural design, and one of the areas you see this reflected is in commercial buildings. Banks, county buildings, hotels… you name it; there are examples from a number of noted architects that, in particular, demonstrate mid century modernism. Here are but a few examples.
I will be the first to admit to knowing very little (that means nothing) about Modernism Week, held in Palm Springs, CA for the last 10 years. If it hadn’t been for some particular people (our friends Chuck and Susan Nesbit, Jim/Lynda Polk, Mona Heath, and some of the great people involved with the Greater… Read More Modernism Week (d) – Feb 2015
Having woken up in our boon docking site nestled somewhere between the Picacho Mountain Wilderness and the Imperial Valley Sand Dunes, we used this day as a pretty relaxed “road day”. Both Lucy and Rosie got a little off-leash exercise (keep in mind Lucy is at least 17 years old – and still runs like… Read More Road Day, Southern CA – Feb 2015
I don’t know exactly where we are (other than on BLM lands in southern California), but we are camped for the night and late this afternoon had some absolutely beautiful views from our “campsite” of the Picacho Mountain Wilderness. My bride, a little campfire, a cold beer, a little dinner… all is right with the… Read More Somewhere (CA) – Feb 2015
We visited the Frank Lloyd Wright “camp” known as Taliesin West in Scottsdale, AZ – terrific! We have previously been to Fallingwater (western PA), and as anyone who has visited a Frank Lloyd Wright destination knows they are in for a treat. We had a terrific tour guide to lead us through this facility, which… Read More Taliesin West (AZ) – Feb 2015
R If you don’t like gorgeous desert sceneries, biking/hiking on endless miles of dirt trails, beautiful desert flowers, and reasonably private campsites, you may not love the McDowell Mountain Regional Park campground. But it seems like everyone else in the world loves this place – hard to get a campsite, so reserve in advance. North of the… Read More McDowell Mountain RP (AZ) – Feb 2015
Situated in the Sonoran Desert at the base of the Superstition Wilderness (Tonto National Forest), Lost Dutchman State Park feels like you are cast out in the middle of the desert (oh, that’s right – you are). Our campsite has 360’ of intense beauty that changes constantly as the sun makes its daily journey. Tans… Read More Lost Dutchman SP (AZ) – Feb 2015
Well, I’m running down the road trying to loosen my load… We departed Grand Canyon and thought it would be cool to visit Winslow, AZ on our way to our final destination. How cool is this? Don’t let the sound of your own wheels make you crazy! The two women you see me with are… Read More Winslow (AZ) – Feb 2015
A German Sheppard with opposable thumbs could probably take great pictures of the Grand Canyon, but here are a few of ours captured earlier today. The Grand Canyon, particularly if you have not visited, is nothing less than spectacular – takes your breath away. You could see the rapids on the Colorado River, but being… Read More Grand Canyon (AZ) – Feb 2015
After a month in California, we headed to Prescott, AZ. If you have never been to Prescott, it is a summer destination for Phoenix residents to avoid the summer heat, and the home to Prescott College. Located in the mountains north and west of Phoenix yet south and west of Flagstaff it is a cool… Read More Prescott (AZ) – Jan 2015
Assume for a moment that there are not a million acres of beautiful desert surrounding you, and you have just landed in this really quaint town called Borrego Springs, CA. Borrego Springs has had a champion (since passed away) named Dennis Avery (heir to the Avery Dennison label company) as a huge benefactor. Aside from… Read More Borrego Springs – Jan 2015
Just when you thought you had seen everything there was that was beautiful, we entered Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, located in southern California. Wow. We camped at the Borrego Palm Canyon Campground, in the sites that have no facilities (no water or electric). Clearly these sites are the prettiest (and most private) in the campground.… Read More Anza-Borrego SP – Jan 2015
What a week in San Diego, CA! There is just so much to see and do here, all encompassed in beautiful weather. For our week in January, the lows were around 50 degrees and the highs were in the low 70’s. We enjoyed a couple of bike outings around Mission Bay (we were camped at… Read More San Diego – Jan 2015
The Yin to the Yang of the Mojave Desert is Palm Springs, CA. We only spent a couple of days in Palm Springs but got to celebrate Karen’s birthday at a great restaurant, go to a fabulous farmer’s market for some great fruits and veggies, peddle around the city on bike trails, go to a… Read More Palm Springs – January 2015
The Salton Sea, located in southern California, was created in accident as a result of (mis)-directing the Colorado River some years back, and today is a (huge) land locked sea. The water has close to 40% more salt than the ocean, yet is a habitat for all kinds of wildlife and transitory birds going north/south.… Read More Salton Sea – Jan 2015
Here are a few pictures from our days at Joshua Tree National Park. I know this is repetitive, but 360 degrees of beautiful and interesting. PS: Last picture is a Joshua Tree; cover photo is a Cholla plant.
South of Las Vegas by a couple hours, a hundred miles and a world away is the Mojave National Preserve where we have camped and hiked for the last 4-5 days. With 1.6 million acres located mostly in the Mojave Desert, this is a must-see destination. We camped at the Hole-in-the-Wall campground, which is a… Read More Mojave Desert (CA) – Jan 2015
Death Valley is simply one of the most amazing places on earth – indescribably beautiful, and yet brutally harsh. Temperatures for us have been down into the high 30’s and low 40’s at night, and up to the 50’s during the day. We camped at Furnace Creek, took several hikes, and I played golf at… Read More Death Valley (CA) – Jan 2015
Going to the post-parade viewing of the Rose Parade floats is like going to the Balloon Fiesta in Albuquerque – you take a million pictures, and each one is better than the one before. AND, you have a hard time trying to figure which ones to delete. We viewed the Rose Parade floats this morning… Read More Rose Parade Floats (CA) – Jan 2015
We did not go to the Rose Bowl game, but we did get to scout out the Rose Bowl prior to the game. What a gorgeous setting, and of course Pasadena is really a gorgeous place with beautiful scenery, homes and people (very friendly). Karen and I got to get up close and personal at… Read More Rose Bowl (CA) – January 2015
The Rose Parade was fabulous! The parade route was jammed with people, there was a flyover by a B1 bomber, and then the highlight of the day – the Rose Parade. A few quick pics… note the celebrities like the original cast of the Love Boat and Jack Black amongst those in the parade. What… Read More Rose Parade – Jan 2015