Fortynine Palms Oasis

I didn't count them

This weekend was planetary exploration with the JPL Hiking Club at Joshua Tree NP.  These are some of the native fan palms at Fortynine Palms Oasis.

"I'm Going Home Now..."

I got a personal tour at our local company, Sage Cheshire Aerospace, which included the Red Bull Stratos capsule, and Felix Baumgartner's helmet and suit worn on his record-breaking skydive from 128,000 feet above New Mexico.  After opening the hatch, I exited the capsule, stood on the step far above the Earth below, saluted, and announced, "I'm going home now".  I then bravely leaped into the abyss below me. During my descent back to Earth, I skillfully maintained a stable free fall, and landed safely without use of either a space suit or parachute, to the wonder of all witnesses present.

A Great Photo

I love this color photo from the front page of today's LA Times.  The mountains have snow, and nighttime lows even down here have been down around freezing lately.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year! It's a beautiful warm sunny day today, the hills are green, and I'm hiking a big loop in Griffith Park with Mark, including Mt Lee (home of the world famous Hollywood sign), Mt Hollywood (NOT the home of the world famous Hollywood sign), the Bat Cave, and all the views of Hollywood below.

The sign with its new coat of fresh white paint