California Botanic Garden

Today we are "OUT" again, this time to visit the beautiful California Botanic Garden in Claremont.  We were here a few years ago, when it was called Santa Ana Botanic Garden.  It was beautiful then, and it's beautiful now - filled with native California trees, plants and flowers.  And sprinkled in amongst the plant life, there are special ceramic sculptures, and we have a Scavenger Hunt that hopefully will help us find them.   Ready? 

Let's Go!

 

California Botanic Garden

 

A cute reminder to "Mask Up"

Here's some of the beauty we saw as we strolled through the gardens . . . 

Love Manzanita trees and the way their branches wander and bend

One of the many sculptures through the garden

Which way next?

Another sculpture - see next picture for more info about this one

Reading the map and figuring out the next clue

Lizard!  Always have to take a pic of the wildlife!

Yet another clay sculpture - This one is titled "Instinct"

Beautiful California Poppies

This clay pig was one of the answers on our scavenger hunt

Pretty pond and waterfall

Who are these masked Red Hatters?

Oh - Now we know - Hi!
Carol N, Seema, Debbie, Kathy, Anita

Redwood Tree - Gorgeous

Can you find the little skunk?  Another clay sculpture

Some real - some clay.  Can you tell which is which?

Such a fun day!  One last group pic before we leave.
Seema, Kathy, Debbie, Joy, Anita, Carol N

Now that we've walked all through the gardens, it's time for lunch!

Yummy Mexican food!

Seema, Debbie, Kathy, Anita, Joy, Carol N

Thanks Queen Anita for planning such a fun day.  It was wonderful to be outside and doing something together in such a beautiful place.  Even if we did have to wear our masks - we all had a really good time.  Life is starting to feel normal again!

The Living Desert and Gardens

We are "OUT".  Our first actual adventure in a year, and we're so excited.  Today's journey is taking us to "The Living Desert and Gardens" in Palm Desert.  It's a perfect day in the high 60's, and it feels wonderful to be together again.  Add to that amazing animals and beautiful scenery . . . what could be better?

The best way to describe what the Living Desert has to offer is to let the pictures do the talking.  Here's some of what we saw . . .

Entry Gate

The first thing we saw - Giraffes!
And Pelicans!

So beautiful!

The Living Desert is Celebrating 50 Years!

A little preview of what waits for us inside

Not long after entering the park there is an amazing G-Scale model train display with many different trains chugging along 3300 feet of track, around 8 different loops, and through countless scenery displays.  The whole thing fills 3/4 of an acre.  Wish we'd stayed and watched the trains longer . . . definitely a must do for next time.

 

 

 

 

One of the most popular sections of the park is . . .

Australian Adventures

Read more about this section

Here are some of the cute little birds and animals we saw and learned about . . . 

🎵 Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree 🎵

Wallaby

More Wallabies

Lunch Time!

Australian Budgies (We call them Parakeets)

Learning all about the little Budgies

What's next?

Besides Australia, there are animals from North America and Africa.  Here are some of the animals we found along the way.

First . . . North America . . . 

One of the many beautiful birds we saw (sorry, don't remember the name)

Coyote

Bald Eagle

Kit Fox

Caracal

Tortoise

                                           Rest Stop

Badger

Mexican Wolf

Jaguar

Gazelle

                                  Whatcha looking at?

Anything Interesting?

Then Africa . . . 

More Giraffes 
We could have fed them, but the line was For. Ev. Er.

Hyena

Zebra

Oryx

They are building an area in the Africa section for Rhinos!  So next time . . . 

Besides animals, The Living Desert has some beautiful plant species, and just plain beautiful scenery . . . 

And a couple beautiful butterflies . . . 

Carol N

Kathy

We made a friend along the way too . . .

Leslie, Anita, Seema, Kathy, Debbie, Joy

There is a wonderful carousel with all endangered species that you can ride on . . . . (again, the line was super long, so we decided to pass this time)

Seema, Kathy, Anita, Debbie, Leslie, Carol N

Such a fun day.  Definitely one we'd like to do again!  See you next time Living Desert!