Wednesday, April 4, 2012

California Desert, Route 66 and Sunshine

Rob leads me through a local park where parts of the M*A*S*H TV show were filmed.
I took a visit with my college roommate, Rob M. in southern California.

We saw several venues around LA, then camped in the desert for a few days, including some gold mining!

Although a bit desert-like, it was a beautiful park.

The one rock struck me as having facial features.
This tree seemed dead, but it may have been the dry conditions.
Our tourist travels included Hollywood.

We rented a motorhome to go camping
in the southern California desert.

As a member of a national gold-mining club, Rob has access
to this and many other camps around the country.
This is a mechanism for dry mining, separating the gold from
the other materials when there is no water available.

The main building in camp provided a social center. 
If anyone was in camp, they could gather together for cards and yarnin'.
We enjoyed our sunrises and sunsets.
A Joshua Tree.  One of many we saw on the return drive.
We spent a day at the termination of US Route 66, the Santa Monica Pier.

Panoramic view looking north from the Santa Monica Pier