April 2015 Annual Birdwatching Trip

Steve and I go to the upper gulf coast of Texas every spring for birdwatching.  I don't have many pictures from this trip as I went to the woods exactly once.  I have never seen the woods so wet and muddy and miserable and overrun with mosquitos.  I freely admit that I am a fair weather birder.

All that water meant pretty flowers though.

Here are my boots before I entered the woods.

And here is what they looked like the next day:

Wrapping up Palm Springs, March 2015

What else did I do in Palm Springs?  I lounged in the spa or poolside, read books, went hiking, and went out to eat.

Indian Canyons

This is such an incredible place in the desert, and tons of hiking available for all levels.  A friend joined me on Thursday morning for a short hike down into Palm Canyons.  I was happy with the trekking poles I bought prior to the trip as they helped me keep my balance going downill as well as over some rocky bits.

http://www.indian-canyons.com

Thai Smile

I went to Thai Smile for a lunch and another day for a dinner.  The meals and the cocktails were delicious.

It was a nice winter interlude, and then I had to say good-bye.

Joshua Tree National Park - March 2015

Since I had rented a car in Palm Springs this time, I decided to take one day to go see Joshua Tree National Park.  It was a gorgeous day with clear blue skies, not too hot, when I headed out that morning.

http://www.nps.gov/jotr/index.htm

I had decided to essentially make a big loop, driving to one of the northern entrances to the park, go through the park, and exit the southern exit.  That way if I decided to go down to the Salton Sea I would already be on that edge.

As I drove out of town I got to get up close and personal with some of the wind farms that you see all over this area.  Lots of wind, therefore wind farms!  Seeing them afar is much differnt than seeing them up close.  Those things are huge!

As I got close to the entrance to the National Park I decided to stop to get gas, water, and some food. There are no facilities in the park.  They aren't kidding about the wind up there, it nearly blew me over!

The drive through the park was beautiful.  I had not realized that the Joshua Trees only grow in the northern part of the park, so thank goodness I decided to make a loop rather than enter and exit from the south.

Lots of pullouts to take pictures, and I did.

This doesn't really capture the  forests of Joshua Trees.  Eerie and beautiful in their own right.

And then you come across these sweeps of what looks completely barren, with hills and mountains in the misty distance, and you can't help but think of what it must have been like to cross something like this on horseback or on horseback.  How unforgiving it would be to the unprepared.

Some of the rocky, rugged hillsides have the remains of old silver mining operations.  See those little buildings?

Naturally I need to stop at the cholla garden.  These cacti are so beautiful, and look so soft and fuzzy, but I am very wary and cautious to keep my distance!

In the southern part of the park there are no Joshua Trees, and the terrain is different. I take a short walk to some springs.

I had somehow missed the Ocotillo patch, so when I spotted a patch I stopped to take a picture of it and some other blooming flowers.

But the most exciting thing of all is that buzzing around the ocotillo was this beautiful Costa's hummingbird.

More Adventures in Palm Springs - Village Fest

I certainly have a lot of catching up to do!  I never finished this visit, and since then have had a few other adventures.  First, let's finish up Palm Springs.

Village Fest

You might know about Village Fest.  Every Thursday night in old Palm Springs there is a big street fair.  A street fair on steroids.

http://villagefest.org

There's a small Farmers Market side street where an old retired couple elbowed me out of way to get to the free tapanade samples.  I think it was their dinner.  Eventually it was fun to talk to the farmer, the daughter in the Farmers Daughter Olive Oil.  All organic.  The oils were really good and it was fun to taste them.  Visit her in Palm Springs or a the San Diego farmers market, or order from her here:

http://www.farmersdaughteroliveoil.com

I was pleased to see that the Ask a Rabbi booth was still there, but couldn't think of anything to ask!  

All I  could think of was the Lucy booth in the Charlie Brown comics.

And there was a Carriage Horse rescue operation.  We fed carrots, stroked noses, and dropped $20 in the bucket.

After selecting from the food booth options (paella and more!) we found a concrete wall to sit on,ate dinner, and headed for home.

The Villa Royale, Palm Springs CA

I stayed a few days after attending a conference in Palm Springs.  I specifically wanted to stay in a place where if I wanted to do nothing but hang out at the hotel, I would enjoy it.  I also had a car this time and so location was not as important as prior times when I wanted to stay in a place that was walking distance to most things.

The entrance to the inn and restaurant was a sign of things to come.

The grounds are a series of courtyards and secret places.  Lots of blooming bougainvillea, lemon trees, palm trees, and tropical foliage.  Fountains, streams, and seating areas abound.  Everything felt very private, even with plenty of people there.

A path through a rose garden leads to a hot tub that is private and separate from the pools.

There are two pools, one unheated in the third courtyard and much more private than the main pool.  My room was in the far corner.

The main pool is larger and heated.  It is in the first courtyard outside the bar and restaurant area.  The bar is not normally open in the daytime but on Saturday they decided to open it up and serve a light lunch.  I didnt have time for the lunch, but spent my last two hours before heading to the airport sitting at poolside drinking a salty dog.

It wasn't perfect.  The rooms could use some tender loving care and my patio could have used a power wash.  But I left there relaxed and happy, and I think that's the most important thing for an inn like this.

Road Trip Wrap-Up

We spent a few days with friends.  Nothing really of note to blog about!

On the Thursday our friend wanted to take us to a local Cajun place in Port Neches that she had not take us to before, Larry's French Market and Cajun Cafeteria. (the site says Cajun Restaurant but the signon the building says Cajun Cafeteria :-)  )

Larry's French Market and Cajun Restaurant

http://www.larrysfrenchmarket.com/?nomobile=1

As we pulled up, we saw a parking lot filled with workers' trucks, usually a good sign.  The place is huge.  Three parking lots, a big dining room, stage and dance floor.  Several nights a week there is live music and dancing, and it looks like the place is hopping.

Unfortunately, our lunch there got mixed reviews.  5 of us went, and one of them because he heard we were going to Larry's and decided to wait a bit before going back to work so he could join us.  

The first thing was that we were definitely misled about whether it was a buffet or not.  We could have ordered off the menu, but they presented the buffet as a buffet so we thought we could try some different things.  There were no signs explaining the lunch line.  As it turns out, it was not truly a buffet. The salad bar was extra, the gumbo was extra, the etouffee was extra, the drinks were extra.

The second thing was that the food itself was really inconsistent.  The gumbo and dirty rice were delicious.  Someone had cornbread that they said was good.  The mashed potatoes were awful.  Some of us got shrimp, and some of it was really spicy and some of it was not.  There was some corn mixture that a couple of people had that looked awful and they reported it was not good.

So would we go back?  Well, I would but I would just get the gumbo and a salad and be done.  Steve and John would not because they felt we were deliberately misled.

The Schooner

Usually the last night in town we go to a local seafood restaurant, so Friday night found us at The Schooner.  The Schooner is old school, nothing fancy, and consistently good.  Steve for some unknown reason ordered the Captain's Seafood Platter, which was far too much food even for him!  I went with the fish Pontchartrain, which was broiled fish topped with crab and shrimp, in a white wine cream sauce.

Other items at the table included gumbo, catfish, and fried oysters.  It was a nice final evening before hitting the road.

http://theschoonerrestaurant.com/main/

Driving Home

The weather continued to wreak havoc with our plans, and icy rain was predicted for Sunday through much of the route we would have to travel.  So, we made the decision to leave Saturday instead.  We were on the road by 7 am.

We drove through Texas.

Most of East Texas, bordering on Louisiana, is covered in pine.  We crossed rain swollen creeks and lakes, and eventually crossed into Arkansas.  We drove through the Boston Mountains and Ouchita National Forest.

We passed many frozen waterfalls.

And made it home a little past 8.

Deja vu deux

We walked into the Holiday Inn Express in Falfurrias to be greeted with a "you're back!" and the next morning the breakfast room lady said "you're back!"  It's nice to be remembered.

After a mostly uneventful stay (except for trying to enter someone else's hotel room-- oops) we headed back to the Brooks County Rest Stop.  After a cool start the sun came out and was much nicer than predicted.  Since we knew this was our last chance for sun for awhile, we ended up staying until 3.  The Painted Redstart was cooperative, as were the bluebirds and golden rumps.

I know I go on and on about these rest stops, but I am fascinated by how much they have beautified them.  Here's a small section of the wall in one of the bathrooms.

We then decided to road trip up to our friends' place in Nederland, TX, arriving about 9 pm.  Nothing notable about that drive beyond how glad I am we got the TxTag before we went.  We were able to skirt Houston traffic by taking the Sam Houston Tollway, and not having to stop to pay tolls.