Cleveland -- Warblers and Rock & Roll

We arrived in Cleveland on our second day on the road and set up camp at the Cuyahoga County Fairgrounds. Nothing fancy, but convenient to downtown Cleveland. It was still early, so we drove to the Lakefront Nature Preserve to do some birding. We had heard that this area is on the migratory path for warblers. 

The Preserve is on the Lake Erie waterfront, with about three miles of loop trails. This red-wing blackbird is showing us the way.

We weren't disappointed. We saw several different kinds of birds, including ones I had never seen before. My four "firsts" are:

 Yellow warbler (there were lots of these)

   American Redstart (so high up in the tree I almost couldn't see him)

                    

Indigo bunting (this one is just starting to change to its breeding color of solid bright blue)

Blackpoll warbler (he just took a bath and was busy fluffing up his feathers)

Along the trail was an overlook with a view of the Cleveland skyline across Lake Erie.

The next morning, we headed to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. This was the main reason we had decided to stop in Cleveland. Because of Covid, we had timed entry tickets. Ours were for 11:00, the first of the day. There was so much to see and read about that we spent three hours just on the first level before taking a break for lunch in the cafe. We then continued up the remaining levels before returning to the first level to finish watching a special video about the Beatles. At 5:00 closing time we finally left after completely immersing ourselves in R&R history. It was a wonderful experience. That's me standing in the sign!

It was a fun start to our adventure. Our next stop is Indiana Dunes National Park.

Joshua Tree NP South/Palm Springs/Cathedral City, CA

The week before Thanksgiving we traveled south from the high desert to the low desert to a private campground in Desert Hot Springs, CA. This is where we discovered pickle ball! It's kind of a cross between tennis and paddle tennis. What a fun game, and a nice change from hiking.

An interesting fountain in the center of Palm Springs

We explored some of the neighboring towns while we were in the area. The main streets of Palm Springs were lined with shops and restaurants. There were gated homes on many of the side streets.











Cathedral City was all lit up for the holiday season.

The Civic Center

Street Scene

Fountain in the square

Sunset in Cathedral City

And, as luck would have it, there was a balloon festival the evening we were there. We watched as they laid out their balloons in the park and began to inflate them.

Eventually, the small park was filled with inflated balloons, and the crowd was invited to walk among them.

There was music playing, and the balloon pilots lit up their balloons to the beat of the music.












Joshua Tree National Park South

After leaving Desert Hot Springs, we arrived at Cottonwood Campground at the southern entrance to Joshua Tree National Park. When we arrived, we were greeted by Jeff and Carol, two friends whom we met on our Alaska trip a few years ago. It was great to have a chance to spend an evening with them to catch up before they took off the next morning.

A hike around the Cottonwood area

As I mentioned in my earlier post, this portion of the park is in the Colorado Desert. The low desert is much drier. Some of the vegetation is the same, but there are no Joshua trees in this area.



There were a variety of plants along the trail. The ocotillo is one found in all areas of the park. It can lose and regain its leaves several times during the year, depending on rainfall. Most of the ones we saw were leafless, but this one had most of its leaves.

Ocotillo flower

Ocotillo

Paperbag Bush

A group of palms at the Cottonwood Oasis

This sign was at the end of the trail was a beautiful description of the way the Cahuilla Indians respected and cared for the land.

Cholla Cactus Garden

We drove north on the park road to the Cholla Cactus Garden. There were hundreds of them. This cactus is a favorite nesting place for the cactus wren.

Cactus wren nest from the back

Cactus wren nest

Skull Rock (named for obvious reasons)

Creosote Bushes

In this typical scene in the park there are many creosote bushes. These bushes are well adapted to arid desert conditions and are commonly seen throughout the desert southwest.











This is the farthest west we're going on this trip. Time to head east again. Next stop, Tucson, AZ.

Joshua Tree National Park/Mohave Desert, CA

The view from our campsite in Black Rock Campground

Joshua Tree National Park straddles the high Mohave Desert to the north and the low Colorado Desert to the south. They are two distinct desert ecosystems. We started our visit in the northern Mohave Desert portion of the park. This high desert area is where the Joshua trees are found.













There were several hiking trails that started from the Black Rock campground. Lee and I chose the West Side Loop, a moderate 5-mile hike.
















On this hike, I was looking for birds. I saw several different kinds.

Phainopepla

Western Scrub Jay

Western Bluebird

White-crowned Sparrow

That night in the park, we were treated to a beautiful sunset.

Eileen on the trail. We're trying to keep up!

One of the highlights of our stay in the west section of Joshua Tree was getting together with our friend Eileen from back home who was in town to visit her daughter. One morning, we went for a short hike along the Black Rock Canyon Trail.

Lee, me, and Eileen after the hike

Claire and Eileen at La Copine

Another day we joined Eileen for dinner at La Copine, the wonderful gourmet bistro in nearby Flamingo Heights co-owned by her daughter Claire and daughter-in-law, Niki. If you're ever in the area, you should treat yourself to one of chef Niki's delicious creations. You won't be disappointed.

Later, Eileen took us on a tour of Pioneertown, established by Roy Rogers in 1946 as a movie set. It was named after the Sons of the Pioneers, Roy's band. The rustic buildings are now home to a motel, some jewelry shops, a barn (where a wedding was being held), and Pappy & Harriet's, a popular local hangout, where we stopped in for a beer.



It's a short drive from the campground to the park's West Entrance Station. You can follow Park Boulevard all the way around to the North Entrance Station in the town of Twentynine Palms. When you drive along this loop road, you see a very diverse landscape....Joshua trees, a variety of cacti, and huge piles of boulders.

We stopped at various pull-outs along the loop road to explore the different sections of the park. The first stop was in Hidden Valley, a one-mile loop trail that winds among huge boulders that were once a hide-out for cattle rustlers.

Joshua Tree is a popular place for rock climbers. Here are two climbers we watched in Hidden Valley.



















Another stop along the park road was for Barker Dam, another one-mile loop trail. The dam was built in 1900 to hold water for cattle and mining use. Today, it is a rain-fed reservoir used by park wildlife.

More scenery as we wandered through the park.

Petroglyphs on the rocks

The cholla cactus glowed in evening light

Near the North Entrance in the town of Twentynine Palms, is another area of the park called Fortynine Palms Oasis. It's a 3-mile round trip hike to an oasis of fan palms. We didn't have time to get all the way down into the canyon, but we could see the palms from a viewpoint above.

Close-up of the palms

These colorful cacti were sprinkled over the landscape

The sunset view toward Twentynine Palms at the end of our hike

The perfect ending to a busy day was the best pizza ever at Pie for the People in the town of Joshua Tree. The "David Bowie" pizza was amazing!











Next, we'll be exploring the Colorado Desert portion of Joshua Tree National Monument.