WanderStruck Adventures

Happy New Years Eve! We have a big deck!!!

Ok! Let’s get this party started!!

Wonderful 13K walk around Inland Lake last week. Toadlets & Toads, chipmunks & squirrels, snakes, woodpeckers and hidden artwork. Weather was perfect but wished we had taken our bathing suits!

Taking a little break from chores and decisions about flooring and toilets and such! A little staycation at our northern Sunshine Coast neighbour!

Stuff is happening!!

So, with travel plans on hold indefinitely due to the pandemic we decided to embark on a different kind of adventure! This time next year we will be enjoying morning coffee and stunning sunsets from this amazing location! Plans are in motion, and so it begins...

Where have you traveled? 1. What has been your most memorable experience/destination and what made it so? 2. What is your top bucket-list experience/destination and why?

1. What has been your most memorable experience/destination and what made it so? 2. What is your top bucket-list experience/destination and why? We will start! 1. Ronda, Spain! We just couldn’t get over the amazing architecture, scenery and history of this ancient mountaintop city. ... 2. Cabo Verde! The mesmerizing music and voice of songstress Cesaria Evora captured Kirsten’s curiosity more than 20 years ago, and visiting the country she called home has been on her list ever since! See more

Haven’t wandered much lately Just walks in the ‘hood and a few visits to the amazing trails and beaches we have access to only minutes away from the house. Been working in the garden and getting the raised beds ready for our 2020 Victory Garden! Soil has been tilled and amended, seedlings are coming along nicely...just need to add some trellis and supports. Dropped off an Easter gift for our honourary granddaughter and enjoyed a beautiful sunny Easter weekend! Stay Safe everyone!

Each year, from October to February, upwards of 10,000 bright orange and black Monarch Butterflies flock to the Pismo Beach Monarch Butterfly Grove to overwinter away from the freezing northern temperatures. They cluster in the gigantic Eucalyptus trees that line and estuary to the Ocean. Unfortunately they had all left by the time we got there We explored the surrounding towns, saw the famed Bubblegum Alley in San Luis Obispo, visited some wineries (yes! we bought some to bring home!) and had the most amazing smoked-brisket sandwich EVAH!!

Joshua Tree National Park is amazing!! 790,000+acres of which almost 560,000 acres (80%) is managed wilderness! We started our 60mile park drive at the southeastern entrance which is in the Colorado Desert (part of the Sonoran Desert) and lies below 3000ft. About midway on our drive northwest we arrived at the point where we entered the Mojave Desert and the landscape started to change due to the elevation. Now above 3000ft we started to see the Joshua Trees which are actual...ly a species of yucca. They were named by the early Mormon settlers who thought they looked like Joshua opening his arms to God! They can reach 40ft, although at a very slow pace of 1inch/year. We learned a lot about desert structures. An oasis is formed when ground water hits a fault plane and rises to the surface, creating an ideal condition to support vegetation and wildlife. And the giant stacked rocks are first formed underground, the result of a form of magma (monzogranite) oozing between other rock then cooling and crystallizing causing the cracks. Then groundwater further weathered the rocks, smoothing the edges and pushed them upward where surface erosion exposed them. I have added info in the comments of specific pictures! See more

If you turn up the volume you can hear the car being sandblasted by the sand!!

The wind here has been crazy! Upwards of 50mph at times...made for a few sleep-deprived nights and several sandstorms on the highway! We are staying about a 10min drive from the San Gorgonio Pass Wind Farm, one of the windiest places in the US. 4000+ wind turbines spread over about 70 acres...quite a sight! These turbines can power the entire Greater Palm Springs area. And when there is no wind they use energy from solar farms. There are several different styles of windmills,... and the newer more efficient ones are HUGE! I understand that there is some controversy surrounding the carbon footprint used in their manufacture as well as the issue of disposal of the retired blades and parts...not sure what the answer will be. The current lifespan is 20-30 years so it will take some time to fully understand the pros and cons. But for now I find them mesmerizing!!! See more

Never again will I underestimate the work involved in producing these sweet jewels! The mere fact that they are hand pollinated and require an exorbitant amount of water while growing in the desert is a testament to the the farmers who produce these. And the variety of different dates is astounding...and delicious!! Skip to 9:09 for the juicy bits!! https://youtu.be/HSHPQWyxZds

In 1905, rancher Louis Wilhelm traded two mules and a buckboard wagon for the 80-acre Thousands Palm Oasis. Now part of the 20,000 acre Coachella Valley Preserve you can walk amongst the giant California Fan Palms (some 60 ft. high) listening to birds and watching for white-tailed jackrabbits and lizards in the cool jungle-like desert brush. The Preserve is a sanctuary for the Coachella Valley fringe-toed lizard and the Desert Pupfish, both endangered species found nowhere el...se on earth, as well as a countless array of indigenous desert flora and fauna. A vast network of trails (more than 25 miles) weave through the Preserve. We walked through the 1000 Palm Oasis, across the San Andreas Fault then through a desert wash to the McCallum Oasis & Pond (a refuge for the Desert Pupfish) but were unable to fully explore the area as it was closed due to breeding and regeneration practices. Maria Muldaur was singing in my head the whole trek! See more

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A morning in La Jolla and and afternoon in Old Town San Diego. Loving the landscaping...will have to try some of these at home so we have some colour when the water gets cut off this summer