Joshua Tree Landscape

Joshua Tree - March 2008

Date Harvest

Paper bags protect maturing dates. The ladder provides access at harvest.
Old date grove.

Dunes Panorama

First ladies' tee at the La Quinta Resort Dunes course.

Snow

Snow at the top of the tram. Catch it now before it melts into Summer.

Spring Morning

A beautiful Spring morning in PGA WEST.

Joshua Tree

The West entrance to Joshua Tree National Park is a short, 1-hour drive away from La Quinta. The views are surreal and spectacular - especially at dawn and dusk.

Dunes

View from the 18th hole at the LQ Resort Dunes course.

Spring

Modern in Nature

Tahquitz Canyon Visitor Center.

Tahquitz

View of Palm Springs from Tahquitz Canyon.

Nice Helmet

Gazebo

By the La Quinta Public Library.

Another Sunset

Don

"Don" by Bill Ware

Trellis 2

Trellis by the La Quinta Public Library

Fall Sunset

Trilogy La Quinta

Trilogy Golf Club in La Quinta on a summer afternoon.

Mosaic

A desert bird mosaic by the La Quinta Public Library.

Full Moon

Full moon over the bighorn statue at The Cliffhouse.

Snow

In light of the fiery nature of the previous photo, lets go back to early 2006, when the snow-capped Santa Rosas were the talk of the town.

Fires

A change in wind direction sweeps smoke from the SoCal fires over the Santa Rosa mountains.

Path

Detail of Sun

"Sun and Moonbeam"

!

"Sun and Moonbeam" by Louis De Martino

Grid

Overlapping grids of tile, steel and concrete wrap around the La Quinta Public Library.

Peak

View from hike to San Jacinto Peak

Straddle

A house straddles the space between two mountains.

Eggs

3 eggs outside my office door. Pilfered or mis-laid?

Hog's Breath

El Ranchito

Pretty entry. Good food.

Swirl 2

On trail to San Jacinto Peak

Raven

At Wellman's Divide

Swirl

Tree - Willow Creek Trail

Banana candy swirl

Roundabout

This rotating sculpture is the latest addition to the City's "Art in Public Places" collection - you can't help but gaze upwards while tooling around the roundabout in Old Town.

Silverrock Path

Pure paradise for runners

Roadside Memorial

Memorial on Washington

Palmer Course - PGA WEST

Water hazard on Palmer Course at PGA WEST

Old Town's new fountain

Over the Wall

Wall along PGA Blvd.

Thai Smile

The bar at Thai Smile

PGA Boulevard

Nothing says CEO's retire here better than a grand boulevard lined with perfectly spaced, non-indigenous palms.

View From My Office

Skies over Target

Entry

Pink

Spotted at the Palm Springs Visitor Center

Quartzite Miner

This biking miner sporting a bikini and a sombrero can sometimes be spotted in Quartzite - an old mining town half way between Phoenix and La Quinta. Quartzite is also the home of Hi Jolly's pyramid tomb (historically relevant but unimpressive) and the annual Gem and Mineral show that draws hundreds of motor homes from across the country.

Quartzite Mr. Peanut

Bird

Old Town Steps

Decorative steps in Old Town La Quinta

Blooming Cactus

Roadrunner in the Parking Lot

Entry - Stone Creek

Entry to Toll Brothers' Stone Creek development

Owl's New Friends

An bronze owl (on top of bus stop awning) watches as workers install a few bronzed friends (turtle and hare).

Silverback

Slayed by lightning, a dead silvery tree rests at the Willow Creek trail.

side view

Land Anemones

Odd planting in front of my apartment

Sea anemone courtesy of Flickr

Close-up

Purple sno balls courtesy of Flickr

Entry - Fun House

Playful entry to a private residence replete with donkey statues and palapas


The gate

Tennis Trellis

Pathway to the Sunken Tennis Court at the La Quinta Resort

Afternoon Rooftops

1:00pm - Stacked clay tile roofs at La Quinta Resort

New Industry

Trusses - Luxury housing replaces agriculture as the highest and best use for desert land.

City of La Quinta 2007 population housing estimate

Old Industry

One of the few remaining date farms - some palms still have the harvesting ladders attached.

A date farm you can visit: Shield's Date Garden

Desert Tuscan

Attractive niches line the perimeter wall in Toll Brothers' Stone Creek development.

Divine Replica

Desert mountains stand in for Umbrian countryside as the backdrop for St. Francis of Assisi Church which is modeled after the famous Basilica of St. Francis in Assisi. Interestingly, both churches sit precariously above major fault lines (San Andreas and Apennine respectively).

Summer Color Change

Hearty flowers in PGA WEST- will they survive the summer heat? Forecast high today - 109

Toasted Marshmallows

Dusk - tufts of perfectly manicured bushes line the Silverrock pedestrian path.

View From My Office

3 months ago, I had great views from my office.

Premium Roadway

Washington Street - Sand dunes, mountain vistas and lush landscape line eight lanes of La Quinta's main traffic artery.

Wraparound Views

360-degree mountain views in PGA WEST

Sushi Stage

Sky-blue tile in a dark room sets the stage for sushi magic at Okura in Point Happy.

Ornamental Entry

Filigreed elements at the entrance to Las Casuelas Quinta in Point Happy.

Girls and Pots

Cahuilla Family by Felicia of Colorado
Located at Point Happy

The plaque reads: "E-Pah, Chem, Mingkem Hem Wen: Here our relatives lie." I asked the City of La Quinta if I should take the message literally. I was told that the statue is part of the City's "Art in Public Places" program and that the Point Happy parking lot is not an old Indian burial ground.

Girl and Pots

A girl passes between the decorative pots at the patio of Okura in Point Happy.

Wind Storm

3:30pm - Forecast 65mph winds- palms steel themselves in response at a traffic circle near Old Town La Quinta.

The Cove Trailhead

7:00pm, 90 degrees, 1 more hour until sunset - June in the desert.