THE INDIAN CANYONS, PALM SPRINGS, CA

Andreas Canyon Pride Rock

I always try to visit the Indian Canyons south of Palm Springs when I stay here. They are some of the most beautiful canyons and oases to visit and today was my fifth time. I never tire of hiking and photographing them.

We packed a picnic and set off about 10am on a cloudless day with temps expected to reach about 77F. The Andreas Canyon has a gurgling stream running through it, one of the few, and the mile loop is one hike everyone should do.We set off heading west on the north side with

fantastic rock formations on our right hand and the tightly packed palms along the stream on our left. 

The narrow trail climbs with rock steps and winds around the outcrops. I heard the stream all the way up as I stopped round every corner to take photos. I remembered to always turn back to see the views behind me as we would not return this way. It's cool here as the trees provide shade in most places.

I felt I would never reach the turn-around point but, of course I did. Pausing for a rest and looking high above us, I could see houses built into the barren rock of the mountain side.

Cahuilla Indians have lived here for thousands of years, artefacts have been dated to 3,000 years ago but the oral tradition indicates they have been around a lot longer. Andreas Canyon must have been a paradise for them in this barren, inhospitable desert.

Tops of the palms with the mountains
behind that I'd just walked beneath

The hike back to the trailhead is totally different on the south bank of the stream. It's high above the canyon floor and there are distant vistas of the mountains that I walked below on the way up. Here we were in full sun all the way down to the car.

Animals that also frequent the canyon include coyotes, deer, bobcats, to name a few. I saw none, but the scat of coyotes. Lots of birds too.

Out came the picnic and we rested under the shade of palm trees listening to the song of the stream flowing past us as we ate with good appetites. I always love a picnic. 

I wanted to go to the gift shop to find some American Indian flute music that I love. The shop is at Palm Canyon that lies at the head of the valley, a place I'd also visited many times. It's very different from Andreas Canyon — wider and much longer. One feature of the road in is Split Rock. One car can just squeeze through at a time.

I recommend a day out in the canyons to anyone who can walk on rough terrain. Hiking boots make it easier and safer. Take water with you and a camera. Rangers give interpretive talks and lead hikes.

There is a small concession stand at the parking lot at Palm Canyon but nothing at Andreas. Neither are accessible for people with mobility issues. But the drive is also enjoyable.

IF YOU GO:

• www.Indian-Canyons.com
• Cost: Adults USD $9.00; seniors and students $7.00; kids (aged 6-12) $5.00; military free.
• Hours: 8am to 5pm (last car in at 4pm)

IMAGES: © Photos by Pharos 2016. All rights reserved.

SPINNING MY WAY TO THE TOP OF MT. SAN JACINTO

The Palm Springs Tram

I finally rode the famous spinning Palm Springs Aerial Tramway to the top of Mount San Jacinto after twenty years of visiting the Coachella Valley in Southern California.

The closest parking lot had space, thank heavens! The walk up to the Valley Station is very steep and then three flights of stairs. We were just in time to photograph the tram coming in. It carries a max of 80 passengers for the two and half mile ride through Chino Canyon to the top.

Everyone sees everything because the floor slowly rotates about three times on the journey. And, what a journey it is! To me it was the highlight of the visit. We swooped over the four towers as we passed changing rock cliffs and views down the canyon. As we rose, the flat Coachella Valley came into view — the wind farms and Palm Springs in the west to the Salton Sea in the east. Cameras clicked, people oohed and aahed.

The four storey Mountain Station perched on rocky outcrops has an elevator, a cafeteria and a restaurant, two movie theatres, a natural history museum, a gift shop, and a park ranger to assist. Out back are the trail heads through the evergreens and there are many to choose from, the shortest being a mile loop.

Atop at the Mountain Station

We went up to the top storey and out to the observation deck that leads up to Grubb's View. The sky was deep blue and criss-crossed with con trails below thin high cirrus clouds. Visit when the sky is clear, not when clouds cover the peak! The views in various directions at 8,500 feet were, for me, another reason I came. I was not disappointed.

Usually the temperature at this altitude is about 20F to 30F below the valley heat, but today it was surprisingly warm. I took many images but missed the shot of the tram coming into dock.

I came for lunch too and chose to eat in the more expensive restaurant — Peaks. Every diner has a view here as the tables are arranged on terraces. The food was not worth it — my avocado BLT on crispy French bread was poor. Wilted lettuce, a scrape of avocado, stale bread, unripe tomatoes, and overcooked hard bacon.

The ride down was crowded but, if anything, more exciting than zooming up. There is more sensation of speed as the rock walls flash by and the valley rises to meet you. Cameras overheated again!

If you go:

• Wear stout walking shoes or hiking boots.
• Take a sweater or jacket
• Book online at https://www.pstramway.com/ 
• Cost in USD: Adults $25.95; seniors $23.95; Kids (3-12) $16.95
• Arrive 30 mins before departure from Valley Station, some parking lots are a long way away.
• Accessibility for visitors with mobility challenges — it would be wise to call ahead and find out more about assistance from the parking lots. The Valley and Mountain Stations are accessible, but not the short climb to Grubb's view or the hikes.

IMAGES: © Photos by Pharos 2016. All rights reserved.

FAREWELL SCOTLAND – HALLÓ ICELAND

Leaving Scotland and the Hebrides was a painful wrench for me. I really didn't want to leave Stornoway on the Isle of Lewis with so much left to do and see. I knew I would miss the hospitality and friendliness I had enjoyed so much. Also the mostly sunny, warm weather.

However, the welcome on board Iceland Air at Glasgow diminished the glumness and I began to anticipate my new adventure. The Boeing 757 was only half-full and our Premium Economy seats were big and comfortable. The flight departed and arrived bang on schedule and took 2.5 hours to Keflavik. I enjoyed flying over Skye and the Outer Hebrides on the way. Puffy white clouds dotted the skyscape and I was able to recognize a few of the Isles we had visited. I read most of the way and I munched on an Icelandic doughnut that was long and thin without a hole. Yummy! The flight was very smooth, and I'm delighted we are returning to Canada with Iceland Air. We will use this airline again from Vancouver to get to European destinations – it's excellent.

Keflavik

My first sight of Iceland as we came into Keflavik was a golf course along the coast. Not a tree in sight! Soon I saw the city hugging the sea. It was smaller than I expected. The airport is both civil and military. Immigration and customs were a breeze – no line-ups and just a walk through "Nothing to declare." I never saw a customs officer!


I had to change airports to catch a plane to Akureyri in northern Iceland. It was a 50kms journey to an airport on the outskirts of Reykjavik. Visitors can either take a shuttle bus or a taxi. Both are more expensive than I expected, but soon I learned that Iceland is about two and a half times as expensive as Canada.

This road journey was quite eye-opening. The coastal plain is as flat as a pancake with high purple mountains rising up from it in the distance. One, slightly closer, was a perfectly triangular cinder cone. The plain is covered in lava rock, some smooth, some craggy. All the rocks are covered with thick moss and lichen, which made me hope to see reindeer. And, yes, Iceland does have reindeer herds, probably imported and farmed. Wherever the land had been cleared, all you could see was cinders, looking like black coal.

The flight north was with Air Iceland (Flugfélag Íslands) from a tiny airport. We flew in a Fokker 50, twin prop plane that was small but quiet and comfy for the forty minute flight. The views through the clouds showed a desolate, wild landscape of mountains, deep valleys, glaciers, and winding rivers. The pilot said we could see the smoke and fumes from the active volcano, but I was on the wrong side of the plane. I did see an ice dome poking up through the clouds as we flew ever northwards. I've never been this close to the Arctic Circle before.

The descent into Akureyri was intimidating. As we lost altitude the mountain tops grew closer. Soon the plane was flying below them along the valley, lower and lower. Then I saw the sea and we were landing.

The town is a five minute drive from the airport and lies at the head of a long fjord. It is attractive with red-roofed homes and an astonishing church on the hillside.

By now it was 7:30pm and we were very tired and hungry. We dropped our bags at the Hotel Nordurland and found the nearest resto. We ate langoustines with gusto and then fell into bed dreaming of a day of rest on Sunday and maybe a walk around the harbour in the morning.

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

IMAGES: All taken with my phone except for the last.  

                                                               © Photos by Pharos 2014. All rights reserved.

MY SASQUATCH SAFARI

The weather didn't cooperate and we waited until the very end of our June 2013 stay in Harrison Hot Springs, BC, for the grey clouds and rain to clear off the lake and mountains to do my first Sasquatch safari. My husband checked the weather forecasts hourly and I scurried in and out to see if the clouds were lifting. Phone calls to and from Bill Miller the operator of Sasquatch Country Adventures punctuated our wait.

Tom (L) and Bill with casts of
Sasquatch foot prints they've found

The Harrison region has the highest number of Sasquatch sightings on the planet and I was determined to talk to experts. A year before this visit I had interviewed two of them—Bill and his colleague, Tom Steenburg. Truthfully I had been expecting crackpots and was delighted to find that they were serious, conscientous researchers who investigate every reported sighting. Yes, they are certainly obsessed, but very careful, and have an encyclopaedic knowledge of the subject back to the 1970s.

Finally I got my chance to go out into the back country with Bill and experience what it is like to try and find evidence of the elusive animal. It was an adventure worth the wait.

The June morning was cool and the mist hung between the mountain ridges as we piled in Bill's small Polaris 4-wheel drive vehicle. Cameras at the ready we roared off, climbing steadily on the eastern side of Harrison Lake. The bush was dense beside the narrow trail—so dense it was impenetrable. How were we to see a Sasquatch? Bill reminded me, " You won't unless it steps out to cross the trail."

I tried to focus about fifty yards into the bush as we bounced along. Bill kept his eye on the trail for scat and other indications of wildlife. Black bear, deer, and cougars are common here where there is no habitation for hundreds of miles north. I had noticed the bear spray on the dashboard. But we saw nothing except a mother Ruffed Grouse protecting her young. She was not about to move as we edged forward through the greenery. Then in a great flurry of beating wings she flew onto a branch and watched us pass.

Soon the trail narrowed and we pushed through wet new growth from the night's rain that soaked us. Still climbing we popped out into open country and the view of the lake and mountains opened up for us. Wild flowers grew in profusion at 3000 feet and we stood transfixed by the view of Mt. Breakenridge and Long Island as Bill told us stories of the sightings that had taken place all around us.

It is an awe-inspiring tale starting with the First Nations' oral histories from thousands of years ago, to the fur traders' journals of the 1800s, and ending with the sightings reported in the last year.

Bill's Polaris vehicle that makes the expedition
possible for all ages.

I never saw anything resembling a Sasquatch or even a foot print, but the safari was an experience of a lifetime and one I want to do again.

Bill ended the adventure by giving me a cast of one of the foot prints he had taken in the bush in the Harrison area. Meanwhile, until I go again in September, I'm reading all I can on the subject and want to believe. However, Bill warns me, "It's better to be sceptical and not carried away by emotion, or you may think you've seen one when you haven't."







IMAGES:  © Photos by Pharos 2013. All rights reserved.

OUR WEEKENDER IN VANCOUVER

One of many images taken from our room at the Westin Bayshore in Vancouver last weekend (October 15, 2011.) Here I'm looking east up Burrard Inlet just after sunrise at a bank of fog rolling towards me.

We were blessed with perfect fall weather and colours. Vancouver can be spectacular to visit if you time it right.

The Westin Bayshore provided superior service, great food, and unbelievable views both night and day from our room. We enjoyed it so much we booked a suite over Christmas as our kids are away and home will feel horribly empty without them.