Return to the Salton Sea

During Sharon's visit we took her to the Salton Sea and Salvation Mountain...here's a few snaps...this time with a fancier camera and more post editing...

The bird-life doesn't seem to mind the salt/smell/dead fish

Leave a beautiful corpse...

Looking West across the Sea

Ok I got a bit excited about some of the clouds that day

Just like the Marshes of the Dead from Lord of the Rings, only with fish

More clouds...heheheheeee

The old bit of Bombay Beach looked even more decayed than six months ago...there isn't much left

Salvation Mountain still rockin' it, although Leonard (the artist) is getting old and can't really stay out there anymore....its future is uncertain.

Baldy Mountain

We decided to try to catch the last of the snow (before it all melted) in the mountains to the north of LA.  Baldy Mountain is an hour and half or so away from Long Beach so we trotted up there with Sharon our Aussie friend who has been visiting her sister and brother in law who also live in LA and staying with us a fair bit too.  The snow was a bit patchy but that didn't stop us having a crack at sledding...and we discovered a whole new sport called "gravel sledding".

 Fairly picturesque

 It's melting!

 Remnant snowman

 

 

 

 

 

 Me in my winter gear

 Me and Sharon

 Raquel and Sharon and Sharon's teddy bear 'Blackie' (who has faded to be sort of 'Brownie') staying warm

 Sledding

 

 Gravel Sledding - step 1 - Get a plastic thinggy

 Gravel Sledding - step 2 - Attach it to your butt

 Gravel Sledding - step 3 - Get up some speed on the snow

 Gravel Sledding - step 4 - Yay gravel !!!! Wheeeeeeeee!!!!!

 Gravel Sledding - step 5 - Try to look like cool...."I totally meant to do that"

 Gravel Sledding - what could be more fun?

 

Apparently a snowball fight could be more fun, so Sharon started a snowball fight

 Chris responded

 Snowball fight over...

 ...no it isn't dandruff.

Blackie made a new friend...

Bye bye Baldy!

The Prom (Part II)

On to Tidal River...

 Marshy bits at Tidal River

 Whale Rock

 The Olds

 Tidal River footbridge

Pillar Point trail

Erosion from flooding on the Pillar Point trail

 Looking at Mt Oberon from the Pillar Point/Squeaky beach trail

 Tidal River beach (Norman Bay)

Squeaky Beach (Leonard Bay)

 Squeaky Beach (Leonard Bay) 

Norman Bay from Pillar Point, with Mt Oberon crowned with cloud

Looking out from Pillar Point past Oberon Point with Skull Rock on the horizon

An Orchid

 Granite rocks at Squeaky beach

  Granite rocks at Squeaky beach with Mt Bishop in the background

 Looking towards Pillar Point

Crimson Rosella