Week one cmplete.

After a pretty crazy week getting everything ready for the Donor Banquet, we took a little time to see some of the sites.

Saturday morning dawned partly cloudy and cool.  Rain had come in from the Pacific and tried to climb the mountains, but no go.

It did leave a little snow on the mountains to the south and to the west.

As we headed west on Dillon Road, we had to travel through a couple windmills. (This is just a few of the windmills in the windtunnel around I-10).

Some of them have been here for a long time...

...some are the new "biggies".

After a trip of about 40 miles we came to the entrance of Joshua Tree National Park.  You ask, "what is a Joshua Tree and how did it get that name?"

Well, this is a Joshua Tree.  Looks like a cross between an elm and a palm tree.  It was named by a group of Mormons as they passed through the valley on the way to Utah.  They said that it reminded them of Joshua with his arms outstreched to heaven.

Ocasionally a pretty bird will land and basque in the shadow of a Joshua tree.

The better question is, "how do they survive in all the sand and rock?"  Ask God! I don't Know.

There are quite a few of them here.

This place is a rock climber's paradise.  There are hundreds, probably thousands of places like this to climb and there were climbers in every one of them.

Sometimes the pretty little bird will light in the rocks to sun herself.

Sometimes one can even get close enough to have their picture taken with the pretty little bird.

Even in the middle of the rocks and sand there is signs of God's glory!

And a few furry little critters too.

This fellow is quite at home in the top of this Pinon Pine.

And these delicate nuts are one of the reason he is so fat and sassy.

But mostly there are a lot of rocks!!!!!

If you look carefully for the thin dark line at the top of this picture, you will see the San Andreas fault.  Take a look next year and the two edges of the fault will have moved 2" in relation to each other.

Then came Sunday and we had another wonderful message and worship time.  Pictured is the stage getting ready for the third service of the morning.

This will be the subject of the next two Sundays as well.  We are really looking forward to them.