Back to our travelogue:
The next day we hiked up Ryan's mountain. It was cold and blustery. There weren't many birds about, just the ubiquitous white-crowned sparrows, house finches and the black-throated sparrows.
Nice view from up top, but we didn't stay long in the howling wind.
In the afternoon we headed to Barker's Dam, which was very busy with people.
Right at the start we encountered the Bird of the Day.
A Western Scrub Jay opening an acorn. Because of the water and the shade between the boulders here there are liveoaks and pinyon pines here, attracting woodland birds like the jay and titmouse.
We arrived at the petroglyph site at the same time as two Rangers who explained to us that Walt Disney "improved" the petroglyphs for a movie they were shooting here before Joshua Tree was made a park.
Nice view from up top, but we didn't stay long in the howling wind.
In the afternoon we headed to Barker's Dam, which was very busy with people.
Right at the start we encountered the Bird of the Day.
A Western Scrub Jay opening an acorn. Because of the water and the shade between the boulders here there are liveoaks and pinyon pines here, attracting woodland birds like the jay and titmouse.
We arrived at the petroglyph site at the same time as two Rangers who explained to us that Walt Disney "improved" the petroglyphs for a movie they were shooting here before Joshua Tree was made a park.
The authentic petroglyphs are the unpainted ones on the lower right.
We also saw this early flowering hedgehog cactus:
Hi Leo and Connie, long time no see!! I was just reviewing my saved items and came across your blog, I'm afraid I haven't checked in for awhile. Great photos as always, glad you are safely out and about in this Brave New World!
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