This Magical Desert

Take a quick look at my instagram or my facebook page and there is NO question that I LOVE this desert and all the adventure and exploring it has to offer.

I often think back to the days when I had first moved here to the Palm Springs area from my lifelong hometown near Detroit, Michigan.  We had just survived another humid summer dodging mosquitos the size of hummingbirds and watching the rainstorms all weekend long give way to bright and sunny Monday mornings.  You could almost count on it every week.   But here I was, driving down Highway 111 staring up with the sun in my eyes at these mountains wondering how long it would take somebody to walk to the top of each ridge.  I remember thinking how I couldn’t wait to meet somebody who might be willing to get up there with me and show me the way.

In all honesty, I still look up at the mountains with that same yearning.   At almost any given time, I’d prefer to be making my way up the mountain simply to enjoy the peacefulness and the view.   I just feel as though I truly come alive on the trails.

Over the next several weeks my plan is to share some of my adventures with you.  Funny, and sometimes frightening, stories from the trails along with some of my favorite views.  Check back soon.  I’ll be back with some good dirt. 😉

Sundown at Sawmill

Pandemonium

I’m still laughing at the excitement that was caused on Twitter last night where the subject “Earthquake Warning” was at the top of the trending list.  Really?  Earthquake Warning!   Wow!  I didn’t know that it was possible but obviously thousands and thousands of others believe it to be true.  They retweeted it over and over again.   But did they really retweet because they felt that it was a credible warning or did they retweet so in the odd chance that SoCal did experience an earthquake as predicted that they could tell all their followers that they warned them!?!  I’m betting on the latter.

Ok, so say they DID come up with a reliable method to predict an earthquake.  Then what?  So we know an earthquake is eminent and we do . . . . .what?   Evacuate?  Seek shelter?  Board up our windows?  Run out for supplies?  What?   Seems to me that an earthquake warning would merely generate widespread fear, panic and pandemonium.  Those who are truly terrified or who work in high-rise buildings would reasonably opt to stay home from work.  Those who live in high rises would leave home.   Parents would keep kids home from school.  Would everybody just hang outside for the next 72 hours until the warning expires?

Not only does it seem very unlikely that they’ll be able to predict these seismic events but it seems to me that warning the general public of them might actually be more harmful than helpful.     Just sayin’.