Winter at the Beach

Late afternoon sun halo over the ocean at San Elijo State Beach, just north of San Diego.

Ghost Town #2

Old Building, Pioneertown

Pioneertown was built by western actors Gene Autry and Roy Rodgers in the 1940's as a movie set outside the desert town of Yucca Valley, near Joshua Tree.  Now mostly abandoned, it's a fun place to stop and look around for some interesting photos.  There is a popular motel next door as well as Pappy & Harriet's roadhouse, with good food and often world-class musical acts play there.

Elfin Forest

Pygmy Oaks; Morro Bay California

Oaks, centuries old, but stunted in their growth by the local environment at El Moro Elfin Forest, near Morro Bay on the central California coast. Can't walk around much in here, that ground cover is mostly poison oak.

Desert Survivor

Borrego Palm Canyon, California

Somehow this little cottonwood survives in the harsh Borrego Desert environment, growing by the little stream that flows down from the mountains, through the oasis of Palm Canyon.