ME2 @ JOSHUA TREE

One of my favorite albums (and yes, I'm dating myself) is U2's "The Joshua Tree" released in 1987. Living at the time in a dorm room at UNC - Wilmington, little would I realize that I'd be living near the place over 20 years later where it was inspired. Joshua Trees were named by Mormon settlers in the 1800's who thought its branches looked like "Joshua beckoning them to the promised land." Joshua Trees grow only in the Mojave Desert, and are considered neither cactus or tree, but simply a giant yucca plant.

Joshua Trees have been described as having "an other-worldly appearance unlike anything else that can be found in the national park system." Located a stone's throw away from the town of Joshua Tree, the national park with the same name is a visual treat. Formerly a national monument since the 1920's, it was upgraded to a national park in 1994, becoming one of America's newest national parks.

Joshua Tree National Park sits at an elevation level of 3,000 feet, spans 793,000 acres, and has over 2 million Joshua Trees spread throughout in "sparse-forest" fashion.

In the Spring, an explosion of color breaks the monochromatic landscape.

It is a great place to get away ... to think... to enjoy nature.

Its ascending boulders are a lure for rock climbing enthusiasts from around the world.

Joshua Trees are believed to surpass 700 years in age.

Resting under the spell of the Joshua Tree....

There is a timeless beauty to Joshua Tree National Park.

Like, OMG.... it's a Joshua Tree!!!

Please Be Kind & Summer Rewind

Can't help but smile on my Summer of Fun. Shall I rewind? Went home to NC for my 40th.



Gotta love blackmail cake!
Yeesh! I thought I had destroyed all copies of this photo. LoL.

Early on, I enjoyed a "staycation" at Lake Havasu, AZ where I sun, swam, and fished. While there, I took a gander at the original London Bridge that came out of Merry Ol' England.

In 1968 London Bridge was bought by eccentric millionaire Robert McCulloch for over $2M to boost tourism in his beloved city.

"What Happens in Vegas Stays in Vegas," but I gotta tell ya -The Beatles LOVE Cirque du Soleil show at The Mirage "was a gas! gas! gas!" [Get back, Jo Jo!!]


The hourly fountain show at the Bellagio was spectacular! A water n' light show set to music that was simply mesmerizing.


Visited friends in Maryland, and then took a trip to Philadelphia, the "City of Brotherly Love". While there I toured Independance Hall, the Liberty Bell, Betsy Ross House, and the Founding Fathers statue exhibit at the National Constitution Center.

"Crack is Wack!" ~Whitney Houston (do ya think the Liberty Bell was her inspiration?)

Visited friends in Rochester, NY. Their Victorian home they restored was impressive, and their city pleasantly charming.

Pics courtesy of their collection.

... and then it was off to Niagra Falls,
which I found awe inspiring and best seen from Canada's vantage point, aaaay.



Mid-Summer found me at Sea World San Diego.

I totally was in tune with my inner child and in love with acrobatic whales!


Went horseback riding Labor Day weekend on the ridges of Pine Mountain, CA located outside of Los Angeles. After a summer vista of every shade of sand, it was refreshing to see other colors for a change.

Summer ended at Six Flags Magic Mountain, which carried me awaaaay on a tumultuous ride!

Don't Touch the Butterflies!

I love God's "artwork", but out of all His creations none has impressed me more than His sculptwork and artistry of the "Butterfly". This summer I visited the Butterfly Conservatory at Niagra Parks in Ontario, Canada. Reportedly, it is the largest glass enclosed butterfly conservatory in North America housing approximately 2,000 free flying tropical butterflies in a Rainforest-like environment. It was a sight to behold, and so beautiful --- that even an amateur photographer like myself was able to capture postercard perfect pics. I hope you enjoy them!


Niagra Parks Butterfly Conservatory (borrowed pic)


Ground Rules Were Set: DO NOT TOUCH!


Doesn't this look like a broach?

Isn't their "home" simply luscious?


Model Pose: THE PROFILER

Model Pose: FREEDOM

Model Pose: THE SUNBASKER


Model Pose: CORAL CAMOUFLAGE

Model Pose: THE BUTTERFLY STROKE


Model Pose: THE THINKER

Model Pose: THE BUTTERFLY BELLE

Wowed by Powwows

Writing about the Native American ceremonies in my previous blog transported me to last year's Powwow experiences. Last July I was home visiting family in NC when I attended my first Powwow with my father and niece. It was a small affair, but the exposure to Native American culture and tradition were priceless. There were about 50 Native American participants, 13 vendors, and about 60 onlookers, but it was still fascinating. It was interesting to watch the dancing and costumes come together to the sounds of chanting and big barrell tribal drums.

My niece Yasmine especially enjoyed it. She had eaten a blueberry slushy that day and her big blue smile was full testament of her joy. However, my hometown Powwow was remarkably inferior to the one I attended two months later in Cabazon, CA. To even describe the "17th Annual Thunder and Lightning Powwow" will be a challenge in and of itself. I hope my pics give it justice. It was bigger, louder, brighter, and much, much frenzier ---- and I LOVED IT! About 6,000 Native Americans from various tribes all over the Southwest participated. Over 200 vendors peddling Native American food, music, crafts and jewelry dotted the perimeter while the middle packed an enormous tent stadium that corraled dancers,

muscians, singers, and audiences. I gleefully walked around that day munching on buffalo burgers and Indian frybread, admiring beautifully handcrafted silver and turquoise jewelry, and clapping madly at the frenetic dancing that went on for hours under the big white tent. It was so wonderful to experience a different culture in such a festive way. If my mouth had demolished a blueberry slushy that day, I too, would've walked around flashing a big blue smile. :)

Sound Bathing in the Integratron

Bare with me as I go out of the past and into the present, but this recent tale had to be shared. I have grown to love the idiosyncracies of "SoCal" (Southern California): health food stores, medicinal marijuana clinics, spas dedicated to every facet of your body, assundry of plastic surgeons, celebrity run-ins, UFO conventions and the alien-associated Integratron.... Ok, let's talk about the latter. Several weeks ago, my girlz and I were having our weekly Saturday morning eatn'commiserate (think Sex and the City) at this funkydelic cafe' in Joshua Tree called "Crossroads"; a popular hangout for locals, artists, rock climbers (which Joshua Tree is known for), and tourists. While we were waiting for our food, we were poring over local event to-do's and noticed an advertisement for a Sound Bath at the Integratron located in Landers, CA about 40 min. from the cafe'. The advertisement read: "The Sound Bath is a 30-minute sonic healing session in the deeply resonant Sound Chamber. Pure quartz crystal singing bowls keyed harmonically to the body are played live while you relax yoga-style". If this didn't capture our interest, the Integratron where the session was held certainly did. The Integratron was built in the early 1950's by George Van Tassel, an eccentric entrepreneur and author, who claimed to have been abducted by benign aliens whom he continued to have telepathic communications with after he was returned. Reportedly, his contacts inspired and assisted him with building the Integratron. The Integratron is a dome-shaped building that was constructed out of plywood and fibergrass WITHOUT use of nails and screws that sits atop the intersection of geomagnetic forces deep within the Mojave Desert. Per Van Tassel's extraterrestrial contacts, the purpose for this building was to help with human body rejuvenation for a longer life span and to be a vehicle for time travel. While the main structure was erected, completion was grounded on the heels of Van Tassel's mysterious demise in 1978. Van Tassel funded the construction of the Integratron by hosting annual UFO conventions at Giant Rock 3 miles away. Until his death, 17 conventions were held there. Extraterrestrial enthusiasts, curiosity seekers, and former abductees gathered in droves greater than 11,000. Incidentally, Giant Rock is reportedly known to be the largest free standing boulder on Earth measuring 5,800 sq. ft., 7 stories high, and pre-historically aged. Prior to its extraterrestrial connections, Native Americans associated a different form of outerworld connection to the rock as Northern and Southern tribes met annually to conduct their tribal ceremonies. Native Americans considered Giant Rock mystical and its surrounding lands "Holy Ground". Powerful medicinemen prophesied that "one day the Mother would split open [Giant Rock] and a new era would begin." Incidentally, Giant Rock split open in February 2000...... so annnnnyways here I am, 2 weeks after my eatn'commiserate with the girlz, lying in the Integratron closing my eyes in deep meditation listening to the hypnotic effects of the quartz crystal singing bowls as I fall into the soundest sleep everrrrrr. The dome of the upper level chamber of the Integratron is an accoustic phenomenon. There are no amps, but when you speak in this chamber it sounds as if you are talking into a microphone amplified at high decibals. Imagine quartz crystal bowls being lightly gonged and its sound waves reverberating in this accoustically amplified room. It's the eeriest most haunting - yet calming sound - that you'll ever experience. The energy vibe I felt there was indescribable. After 1.5 hours, I awoke totally relaxed and wonderfully rejuvenated. This experience may not have given me a longer life span, but it was certainly well worth the time invested. After my Sound Bath, I spoke at great lengths with one of the owners who conveyed that all walks of life have sought Integratron: renown scientists, astronomers, yoga and meditational groups, men-in-black-type officials, celebrities (Charlize Theron and boyfriend Stuart Townsend came this summer), and even recording artists have rented the sound chamber for accoustic purposes such as Robert Plant (Led Zeppelin) and Billy Corgi (Smashing Pumpkins).... so come one, come all and head out to Landers, CA for this rather enlightening experience!