After landing at LAX and being picked up by my boss "Mook" in his extra loud Chevy truck, we were immediately greeted by the infamous LA traffic
After some delicious and much needed Mexican food and a good nights rest Hua and I headed out to 29 Palms
A California sized mountain at the edges of the desert, still covered in snow and green:
Hundreds of windmills surrounded us at the transition point between the mountains and the desert.
And the desert. The past three pictures all took place in about a 2 mile stretch of highway. It was a very drastic and stark difference:
A very interesting and reassuring sign on the 29 palms base.
Hua's methlab looking house, but probably the cheapest three bedroom rental rate I've ever heard of.
The next day we got our lazy butts up and went for a hike up Mt. Ryan, I believe it was called, and did some bouldering in Joshua Tree National Park:
Interesting fact, apparently Joshua Trees (as seen below) only grow in two places on Earth, in Joshua Tree/29 Palms area, and Jerusalem. In the Bible, according to Hua, it says that Joshua Trees only grow at the entrances to Heaven and Hell. So since Jerusalem is tied to Heaven, Hua's Marines are convinced they are stationed at the gates of Hell.
The next day we made a trek to Big Bear Mountain and went skiing for the day. This is probably one of the few times I'll be able to say that I skiied in just jeans and a shirt because it was probably over 40 degrees out and it was a gorgeous day for skiing.
View of the desert coming down out of the mountains.
That night we were treated to dinner by Laura Scotto, who is married to a Marine stationed at the same base as Hua, and her little sister Stephanie Jones. Seen here is a genius idea I had to make homemade ice cream since we didnt have any for brownies. Followed up by an equally genius idea to use oven mitts to shake it.
Thus ended another adventure. Now back to work for another two weeks.
Stay tuned for my next adventure to Cotulla, TX for an annual tradition with good friends.
