Spring in Pioneertown and Joshua Tree, April 2010
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April 2010: Spring break! Lisa and I made tracks for the desert,
this stepping back into the days of the Old West at
Desert Willow Ranch, a charming cottage that was about the size of our
own house out in Pioneertown. |
 We'll let Desert Willow Ranch describe more: "Pioneertown
was founded in 1946 as a live-in movie set for the western movies that were
so popular at the time. Roy Rogers, Gene Autry, Russel Hayden ('Lucky' in
the Hopalong Cassidy Series), and other instrumental in the founding of the
town. Since no one felt that this new town should be named after one man, it
was decided to name it after a popular western singing group - THE SONS OF
THE PIONEERS.
|
 Another
photo of the Desert Willow Ranch, out in the back yard where you can keep
horses. We have no horses, and we didn't bring our three-legged cat,
either. |
 The
back of the Desert Willow Ranch, where Lisa and I sipped cold beers, relaxed
and read books, looking out into the beautiful desert. |
 Wagon
wheel on the Desert Willow Ranch. |
 At
some point, I snoozed. Was it at 4:44? The beautiful psychedelic
lights of the alarm clock blinked yes. |
 Desert
view around Pioneertown from the Desert Willow Ranch. |
 Pioneertown
Sound Stage. |
 The
Jack Cass Saloon at Pioneertown. |
 The
desert calm on the five acres at the Desert Willow Ranch in Pioneertown,
just after the sun went down. |
 Peace
and calm in April in Pioneertown. |
 Dinner
at Pappy and Harriet's Pioneertown Palace. The catfish sandwich was
pretty great, and the bluegrass band wasn't bad either! |
 10
April 2010 - You can't really go out here and not go into
Joshua Tree National Park, right? Lisa and I hit the Boy Scout
Trail, eventually branching off to the Willow Hole Trail.April is a great time to head to the desert. Cactus flowers and wildflowers are bursting with color, and the weather's great. The red cactus flowers here are amazing, and I got in close with the Leica DLux 4 point-and-shoot for this and the other close-up shots. |
 And
Lisa joined in on the close-up photography as well! |
 Another
view along the Boy Scout Trail in Joshua Tree National Park. |
 The
snow-capped peaks of San Jacinto as seen from the Boy Scout Trail in Joshua
Tree National Park on a beautiful spring day, with the sun starting to come
out. |
 The
top of a flowering Joshua Tree. The name Joshua tree was given by a
group of Mormon settlers who crossed the Mojave Desert in the mid-19th
century. The tree's unique shape reminded them of a Biblical story in which
Joshua reaches his hands up to the sky in prayer. And nobody seems to mind
that it's actually a yucca, not a tree. |
 Lisa's
friend asked to send her a photo of her hugging a Joshua Tree as proof that
we made it!! And so here it is. |
Spring in Pioneertown and Joshua Tree, April 2010
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Contact photographer/musician Ken Lee
