The trip went great. We saw a Steller Sea Lion right away and saw quite a few California Sea Lions later on. We were also treated to a large pod of Common Dolphins checking us out. As for whales, we didn't see any Grey Whales, but we did get to see a few Humpback Whales.
Upon getting back to Laura's place, we let her nap a bit before going in to work. We decided to go with her since we hadn't been to the Beverly Hills area and because she only had to work a few hours. We explored the area, including walking down Rodeo Dr. We found some yummy food and frozen yogurt before Laura was done with work.
-Miranda
Steller Sea Lion
Common Dolphin
Humpback Whale tail.
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Laura had to work in the morning, so we headed walked around her area some to explore. Afterwards we went off to check out Koreatown. One of Joe's goals for this trip to LA was to go to the different ethnic centers to try different foods and explore. The issue with Koreatown is it is a pretty large area. It's not as dense as Little India. There are random areas that will have restaurants but that was all we could really find.
Once Laura got off work she met us there. We found a restaurant that had Korean pancakes. We were going to have dinner with Chris later so we didn't want to eat too much, but we still wanted to try the pancakes. We ordered two for the three of us and that ended up being way too much food. The kimchi pancake was super good. With the food came a number of small dishes with things in them that were also very good.
Once we were done there we headed back to Laura's place to meet with Chris. We ended up just going for a long walk, stopping to get Boba tea and eventually stopping at a pita joint and getting some really yummy felafel.
-Miranda
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In the morning we decided to head back up to the Salton Sea and see if if there were more birds up in the Salton Sea National Wildlife Refuge. We did a walk from the parking area 2 miles (round trip) to the southern edge of the Sea. There were a lot of different birds there than we had seen the previous day, so it was worth it.
From there our plan was to head to Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. After at least an hour to an hour and a half of driving we came upon I-10, which confused us a bit. Upon checking the map we realized that we had missed our turn a very long time ago. After looking over some options, we decided to take a different route towards LA and go through Idyllwild. The mountain road was very windy and beautiful. The town was very cute. We walked around a bit and found a yummy dinner. Once we were done there we headed back down the mountains to Hemet where we stayed the night.
The morning had us heading into LA and right for Little India. We spent quite a bit of time walking around and checking out the shops until it was lunch time. We had a very yummy lunch, then continued to explore the area for a bit. Afterwards we headed to Huntington Beach. There's a small conservation area there. We looked at the visitor center then Joe and Sarah went to the beach while I walked the path around the reserve to see more birds.
Once it was getting a bit closer to dinner time, we headed to Little Ethiopia. This area was not nearly as dense or defined as Little India was. There were some shops and quite a few restaurants but definitely fewer shopping and general browsing opportunities. We found a yummy dinner and then said goodbye to Sarah. We took a bus towards the direction Laura lived so she wouldn't have to drive as far to pick us up.
A funny thing is we chatted with a couple guys at the bus stop. We then hung out in an open air mall while waiting for Laura. After being there for a couple hours, those two guys showed up and were yelling "Minnesota!" It was pretty funny and random that we would run into them again.
Laura picked us up not too late and we headed to her place. Definitely fun to see her again.
-Miranda
Lots of neat birds.
The terns taking a bath near Huntington Beach.
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Our friend, Sarah, moved down to Twentynine Palms, which is right next to Joshua Tree NP, so she picked us up and we headed into the park. We stopped at quite a few of the spots of interest and went on a couple short hikes. This is a very neat park and fun to explore. Joe and I had been there back a number of years ago. It was fun to go back and check out a section of road that we hadn't seen yet.
After going through Joshua Tree NP we headed towards the Salton Sea. It is a sea that flooded because of the Colorado River early in the 1900's. It's incredibly salty and doesn't have anything that is feeding it, so it keeps getting saltier. The "beach" we stopped at in the Salton Sea Recreation Area is essentially all barnacles and fish skeletons. It was super weird. But there were so many birds. Logs of gulls, herons, pelicans and shore birds. I wondered for at least an hour just getting photos.
We moved along to see if there were other spots but didn't have a ton of luck anywhere else before where we were planning on staying, which was in Westmorland.
-Miranda
Cholla Garden
Ocotillo
Sarah hanging out in Joshua Tree NP.
A cute chipmunk.
Quite the variety of birds.
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We left the casino town and headed into the Mojave Desert National Preserve. The change in scenery from the beginning of the drive to the end was pretty crazy. There were tons of joshua trees to start and none by the end. We stopped frequently to listen for and find birds. We got to see a few American Kestrals as well as a Shrike and Cactus Wren.
One hike we did was really fun. It was Ring Trail in Banshee Canyon. There were a couple spots where metal rings were pounded into the rock so you could use them to climb up or down. Once we got to the open area we were once again on the lookout for birds. It got a bit toasty in the sun, but was a good hike.
After leaving the park, we headed down to Yucca Valley to return the car. Once we got there we found a place to stay and Joe returned the car. So, you remember that gash in the paint we got in Desert Valley that we were worried about? We rented from Enterprise and they have this index card. If the card can cover the "blemish" then there is no charge. Fortunately, the mark did fit within the card. So, no need for us to worry. That was pretty nice.
-Miranda
Mojave Desert National Preserve
Lots of Joshua Trees
Tracks crossed through the preserve and they were transporting tons of military vehicles. Humvees and tanks along with quite a few other things.
Ring Trail
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