Getty Villa

When oil man J Paul Getty's art collection outgrew his home, he commissioned a villa built to house the collection.  He modeled it after a first century Roman country house, the Villa dei Papyri in Herculaneum, Italy, which was buried by the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 A.D.  Villa dei Papyri is believed to have been owned by Lucius Calpurnius Piso, who was Julius Ceasar's Father-In-Law, and is so named because of the huge library of papyrus scrolls that was buried inside it. Those scrolls were carbonized by the heat and ash, but with scientific advances some parts of them are now becoming readable.  Architectural and landscaping details of the Getty Villa and the gardens are modeled after the Villa dei Papyri whenever possible.  When details of the original villa are unknown the Getty Villa is as consistent as possible with ancient Roman times.  The Getty Villa now houses J Paul Getty's extensive antiquities collection and is open to the public free of charge.  When we first decided to see the Getty Villa, we were planning to visit Italy within a year.  Italy has since been dropped from our travel plans to focus more on Northern Europe... but the reservations for the Villa were already made and we are still both interested in that part of history.

We found it an interesting counterpoint to explore early Roman culture and architecture at the Getty Villa so soon after exploring early Puebloan ruins and learning so much about early cultures from our own country.  Here are some pictures from our day at the Getty Villa...

Looking into the courtyard that was the main living area of the Villa.

This is the actual size of the outer courtyard of the Villa, which contained a 300 foot long pool, lush gardens, statuary, and exquisite marble everywhere. 

Statuary in the Getty Villa gardens is reproductions of works found in the Villa dei Papyri

This fountain is in the East garden, where the ladies of the household spent most of their time.

A section of marble floor

Although we were told this statue originally held some sort of implement, we believe she was actually the bass guitarist  in Herculaneum's hottest girl band. 

Nice backyard, eh?

We expected the Getty Villa to occupy only a portion of the day, and had planned to visit the larger Getty Art Museum as well. But this was so fascinating that we spent the entire day wandering through this beautiful villa and the collection of art inside.

We have cancelled our reservation at Sequoia/Kings Canyon National Parks.  Highs were predicted to be in the low 20's the days we were planning to be there.  Yes, Highs.  We are talking Fahrenheit.  Maybe snow too.  Didn't sound fun.  So we are headed on home.  It has been a wonderful and interesting trip!

Joshua Tree Day Two and the Drive to Malibu

Our second day in Joshua Tree we took a couple of walks to old deserted mines.  Weather was perfect.  Ed was particularly taken with the remains of two old trucks, one of which was actually a car with the back seat removed and discarded nearby to make it into a work truck.  The roof had been customized, to fit it's new truck-ness, by nailing sheet metal onto the wooden frame.  The second truck had the tires still attached... well, parts of them, anyway.

I can make such a deal for you! ---Imagine the surprised look on your wife's face when you pull up in this baby!

We also saw an old tank with a very strong rim!

The second site, Lost Horse Mine, was reached by a longer hike, way up at the top of a very remote hill. It was supposedly discovered by an old prospector while searching for a wayward steed. He sold his rights for $1,000 ---big bucks in the late 19th century.

Looking down from Lost Horse Mine, to the rock piles of Joshua Tree.

Colleen displays her Happy Hiker step.

It was the best preserved old mining structure and equipment we have ever seen.



Then, a drive to a mountain top view point.  We encountered a bit of wildlife along the road...

It was VERY windy and cold on the mountain top, so Colleen wore the new hat Ed had bought for her earlier in the day, and got a compliment from a passerby.

Looking south to the Salton Sea at upper left. The farthest mountain is in Mexico.

Next morning we were up early, knowing we had a long drive ahead of us.  Six hours... with no stops and no traffic.  Of course lots of both slowed us down considerably.

Ed took a couple of last minute photos of the very creative little studio where we have stayed for the last three nights...

Looking out our front door. 

A creative way to diffuse light from the skylight.

We decided to go out for breakfast.  We had heard that "Country Kitchen," a little restaurant close to our studio, served up a darn good breakfast.  We seated ourselves at a little table in this tiny little place, and the no-nonsense proprietress, Mariene, who immigrated from Cambodia over 20 years ago, plopped menus in front of us.  We barely had time to look at them when she returned to take our orders.   She asked in very brisk and efficient fashion what Colleen wanted, then said... "Got it!" and moved on to Ed.  After his "Got it!" she left and we began looking around.  On the wall were photos of Mariene, a few years younger, smiling happily standing beside Anthony Bourdain from the Travel Channel.  Sharing the same wall were quotes from the Dali Lama and more quotes from maybe her grandmother, which were for sale for $3, plus hand made roses for sale for $5.  A handwritten sign by the register says, "In God we trust. All authors (sic) pay cash". We laughed when another customer asked if she could substitute a biscuit for toast and Mariene tapped her finger on the menu and commanded, "Read the menu!"  She is a wonderful character and kept us chuckling, and our breakfast was excellent!

Another beautiful cactus...

We had never seen the Salton Sea, and since we were so close, we decided to take a detour to view it. Pretty amazing to think this immense body of water resulted from a goof in plumbing, when in 1905 the folks in charge of levees failed to manage the water flow. The Colorado flowed into this basin for 2 years.

Once we got back down off the mountain, it was straight freeway to suffer through....125 miles of misery through the LA basin. We were reminded how much we dislike this area.  Well after dark we finally checked into our sweet little studio for the next two nights... an air bnb in Thousand Oaks.  Tomorrow, for something completely different, we will explore the Getty Villa in Malibu.

Joshua Tree National Park

Neither of us knew much about Joshua Tree National Park before we came here.  We arranged our stop here because we wanted something else to do on the long drive home from the Grand Canyon South Rim. So we scanned the map...  "Oh yeah... Joshua Tree National Park...  I've heard of that.  Let's go there!"  And so we did.  Now let me also say that we are not so much desert people.  We both like to be around water and cool weather.  However, on this trip we are both appreciating the charms of the desert... as a a place to visit, not to live.  And Joshua Tree National Park has turned out to be particularly beautiful!  Our first day here we explored the park to give ourselves an overview.  We found many beautiful rock formations here.  In fact, Joshua Tree attracts rock climbers from all over the world, especially in the winter months when the temperatures here are quite pleasant and many climbing destinations are covered in snow.  And the Joshua Trees are also quite spectacular...

We have found the sky here to be pretty spectacular too....

You may notice from the sky that this is quite an air traffic corridor...



Okay, a few obligatory words about rocks: There are lots of them here, mostly in what appear to be enormous piles. This is called monzogranite, and is the remnants of magma plugs that were formed 15 miles (!!!) below the earth surface. All that land above them has been worn down. Because they cooled very slowly, the grains are much larger than regular granite, so it has a very rough and grippy surface. Excellent for climbing on, but not so good if you fall.

We love the shapes of the Joshua Trees. This group reminded us of an unsychronized squad of multi-armed cheerleaders. 

We took a self-guided self-drive geology tour as far as our all wheel drive Subaru would take us.  Beyond this point four wheel drive is required, but we gazed wistfully at the road not taken. We also wondered if the guy who continued past this point in the Honda ever made it out.  We were warned that a tow out of here will cost at least $1,000.

We have also become familiar with Cholla Cactus. But have avoided getting TOO familiar. It may look soft and cuddly, and indeed is known as "Jumping Teddy Bear" because of it's cuteness. But each of those bazillion spikes has microscopic barbs which will easily attach to clothing or skin, and are apparently extremely difficult and painful to remove. 

This Cholla wants to give Ed a little innocent hug.

Nestled among different plants we find these mounds of old dead Cholla parts, blackened with age. These are the nests of Desert Wood Rats, who pile the spiny balls around the entrances to their burrows. All their natural predators except snakes will find this to be an impenetrable barrier to the mammals inside. These burrows have been used by so many generations, that excavations and studies have shown some to be around 10,000 years old!  

We also found a grove of the enormous spiny plants we first encountered near Sedona, which we have since learned is called an Ocotillo.  This plant can look dead in dry times but after a rain leaves and blossoms appear.

And some lovely cactus for a bit of color.

With a new layer of dust on our car, and on ourselves, we head back to our place at sunset. Another splendid day. 

Grand Canyon to Joshua Tree

Our last morning at the Grand Canyon South Rim we were a little disappointed, but mostly relieved, to wake to barely a hint of the predicted snow.  Of course we would have loved to see the canyon dusted in snow and get some photos.  But we didn't want any snow on the road to complicate our driving, so that would have been a difficult balance to achieve.  We started off on snow-free roads and we were happy.  We both assumed that we would be dropping in elevation as soon as we left the park and the possibility of snow would therefore end. ---WRONG!  We were surprised to be GAINING elevation, while watching the outside temperature gauge drop to 33 degrees.  Bits of snow began spitting not far outside the park... and continued... and gained strength... and by the time we reached the Interstate at Williams.....

Ed did a great job of negotiating the driving challenge and, though the conditions slowed us down considerably, we made it safely through to clear, dry weather. But at 6 hours, it was one of the longest days drives we have had.

'Nuff said

We drove down a section of the old Route 66, through the once-bustling town of Amboy, which is now mostly a ghost town collection of abandoned shacks. Further down the road, we were quite intrigued by this sight...a vast valley with thousands of these shapes. What was going on here?... Remnants of ancient civilizations?...Aliens at work? ...Large desert moles?

Once we were able to get online and do some research, we found that this is actually the results of a massive surface mining operation for salt. This is a dry lake bed with immense deposits of sodium chloride.

Our little place in Joshua Tree is pretty funky but quite comfy. From what we gather, this area attracts a lot of folks who don't want to deal with pesky things like building permits. Our place features some creative wiring, with many extension cords and signs asking to not plug in too many things at once. Someone has done some beautiful tile work here, but old doors are set into the walls and ceiling for windows and a skylight.  There is a mirror conveniently placed on one wall. However, it is placed so low that it only gives you a reflection of your feet. But we find this kind of quirkiness to be charmingly individualistic. We have our own little private outdoor area with a bbq, outdoor table, a large hammock and a fire pit surrounded by chairs. Across the road and down a trail we are told we can find petroglyphs on the rocks. We are right outside of the National Park, which we will explore tomorrow.

Grand Canyon South Rim

Our first morning at the Grand Canyon South Rim we had scheduled a flight-seeing tour in a small plane over the canyon.  When we woke to gusty wind we wondered if the tour would take place.  It was our lucky day because, not only did the tour go, but we were two of only five passengers signed up for the flight.  So we flew on a smaller plane than the usual plane used for this tour, which meant all seats were window seats.  And, though the other group of three boarded the plane first and took first choice of seats, they left us two seats on the left side of the plane, which, since the plane circles the canyon counter clockwise, is the side overlooking  the canyon for the entire flight.  It was spectacular!  Here are some photos from the flight...

The Kaibab Forest ends abruptly at Canyon's edge

Occasional glints of sun off the surface of the Colorado River

After the flight we alternated walking with riding the shuttle bus along the rim trail, all the way to Hermit's Rest at the end of the road where we found another beautiful stone building designed by Mary Colter.  Of course we saw many more beautiful views of the canyon along the way...

Despite Colleen's unruffled appearance, the winds were pretty brisk. 

The muddiness at low center is the Colorado, which an early explorer described as "Too thick to drink, too wet to plow."

And this sweet creature as well... with a mouth full of something tasty for his winter pantry...

By late afternoon the wind was strong and gusting and we noticed there were no more planes or helicopters flying over the canyon.  We were glad we took the first (and maybe last) flight of the day!

We had another simple dinner at the Bright Angel Coffee Shop and called it a night.  Tomorrow morning we are considering a walk down into the canyon...  No, not to the bottom... but we would like to get at least a little way below the rim.

We woke to cloudy skies which gave the canyon a whole new look.  Patches of sun and shade move across the landscape creating a constantly changing palette of colors.

Once again, a passing Raven wanted to be in our blog. 

The weather report for our last day here is... well... shall we say not perfect.  Windy and sixty percent chance of rain.  We decided to give the canyon a go anyway, choosing the Kaibab Trail, one of two trails into the canyon from the South Rim.  Kaibab is the steeper of the two trails but has a viewpoint just 1.8 miles and 760 vertical feet into the canyon.  The trail started out switchbacks and stairs, with some less steep sections farther down.  

If you look carefully, you can see many switchbacks up the cliff face.

Further down the trail. In the lower right there is a mule train winding their way up. Some of their passengers did not look particularly happy. I would prefer to be as close to the ground as possible on this trail.

It became increasingly windy as we walked but the view from the appropriately-named "Ooh Aah Point" was totally worth it. From there, we had about a 180 degree panorama.

On the way back up the wind increased and rain began falling.  We made it to the top before we put our rain gear on... and then the downpour began... soon turning into hail.  By the time we boarded the shuttle bus we were dripping water and other visitors with less appropriate clothing were soaked to the skin.  We made it back to our warm dry little cabin and spread our wet clothes out to dry.  We sneaked a contraband rice cooker in, heated some canned soup for lunch and settled in to catch up on email and write a little on the blog for the rest of the day.  Now, after a fabulous dinner at the Arizona Room we are done for the night.  Tomorrow we drive to Joshua Tree for a three night stay.  Weather reports suggest we may wake up tomorrow morning to the first snow of the year...