Tag: desert

Birds, Stars, Our Lands represented in La Jolla.

A large, very beautiful mural in La Jolla shows three birds–a Black-throated Sparrow, a Rock Wren, and a Cactus Wren–in their native habitat. It’s titled Mukikmalim, Su’ulim, Chem-tema-ki’ay, which is in the Kupa language. It translates as Birds, Stars, Our Lands.

According to this article, it’s the first public display of the Kupa language. The artist, Gail Werner, who descends from three of the county’s native peoples, Kupa (or Cupeño), Luiseño and Kumeyaay, received her inspiration for the mural from her hikes in the Anza-Borrego desert, beyond the mountains east of San Diego.

The public art debuted in downtown La Jolla in 2023, and is part of the ongoing Murals of La Jolla project. I saw the artwork last weekend on Herschel Avenue as I approached the bus stop on Silverado Street.

According to the Murals of La Jolla website: The bird imagery is inspired by traditional Southern California Native American songs, called Bird Songs, and the accompanying dance, the Bird Dance. These songs and dance weave a story of how the people came to be where they are and the accompanying journey that brought them to this land, which is said to parallel the migration of the birds.

In my own opinion, Mukikmalim, Su’ulim, Chem-tema-ki’ay is one of the most beautiful murals I’ve ever encountered in La Jolla

The imagery transports me to wilder places around San Diego . . . to hikes I’ve enjoyed.

With all its buildings, streets and parking lots, it’s hard to imagine how La Jolla (or any San Diego neighborhood) might have appeared before the first Europeans and settlers transformed the natural world they found.

And now for my photographs–of unspoiled nature represented on a building, taken from across an asphalt parking lot…

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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.

Bull, saguaro and coyote in Bay Park!

Fun art in San Diego’s Bay Park neighborhood celebrates elements of the American Southwest.

During a recent walk, I spotted the above bull sculpture, a saguaro cactus and other works of street art in front of San Diego Charter’s building on Morena Boulevard.

A coyote howling to the moon in Bay Park? Yes! Courtesy of artist Beth Emmerich.

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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X (formerly known as Twitter)!

The beautified Kate O. Sessions Cactus Garden!

Did you know the Kate O. Sessions Cactus Garden in Balboa Park was renovated and greatly beautified last year?

I hadn’t realized the “Old (1935) Cactus Garden” behind the Balboa Park Club had been renamed the Kate O. Sessions Cactus Garden until I walked through yesterday and noticed a new sign.

Look how amazing it appears! An initial revitalization of the historic garden had taken place in 2019, but now, with the help of Forever Balboa Park volunteers last year, it really shines! Paths are wide and inviting, there’s more seating, and the cacti and succulents in their cleaned out beds appear like elegant works of natural art!

This is one of three gardens started by Kate Sessions in Balboa Park about century ago. You can read about how she said San Diego had the ideal climate for the best cactus garden in the world by clicking here.

If you want to see historical 1935 photos of Kate Sessions in the beautiful Cactus Garden, click here!

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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!

The surprising Coral Reef Garden at Scripps!

There’s a surprising garden on the campus of Scripps Institution of Oceanography. It’s called The McReynolds Family Coral Reef Garden.

Desert cacti and succulents planted among rocks strongly resemble an ocean’s underwater coral reef!

This isn’t coincidental. I read several information signs around the Coral Reef Garden and learned how two very different environments are alike in many respects.

You can view this fantastic garden for yourself by walking along the Scripps Coastal Meander Trail, where it heads down Biological Grade. Look for it by the Eckart Building.

Fascinated? Read more about this very unique coral reef-inspired garden here!

As I explored the garden, I saw this plaque by a bench. It reads:

Ricky Grigg

Big Wave Surfer

PhD Scripps Institution of Oceanography

Pioneer Coral Reef Ecologist

Devoted his life to the sea and all it’s [sic] splendor

Two different ecosystems compared: a coral reef and a desert environment. Harsh habitat and abundant life. A seeming contradiction called Darwin’s Paradox.
The fore reef, with its many ridges and channels, contains the greatest diversity of corals, fishes, invertebrates and algae.
At the reef drop off, deeper, less turbulent water allows corals to grow taller and make more intricate shapes. Much like plants not subject to strong winds!

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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!

You can easily explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on my blog’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There are thousands upon thousands of photos for you to enjoy!

A small desert garden inside an old fountain.

A side door to San Diego's City Administration Building lies beyond a small garden containing cacti and succulents.
Side door to San Diego’s City Administration Building lies beyond a small garden containing cacti and succulents.

I was waiting for a trolley at the Civic Center station the other day when my eyes wandered over to the City Administration Building. A small desert garden caught my attention, and I remembered how a few years ago that semicircle of garden used to be a fountain.

The next Blue Line trolley was still five minutes away, so I walked over to look at a nearby plaque and a sign.

Plaque near the small desert garden that has been planted in the basin of The Phil Swing Memorial Fountain, which was dedicated on July 6, 1967.
Bronze plaque near the small desert garden planted in the basin of The Phil Swing Memorial Fountain, which was dedicated on July 6, 1967.

Sign explains the Phil Swing Memorial Fountain was re-purposed to a Desert Garden. In 1933, Mr. Swing introduced a bill to establish Anza-Borrego Desert State Park.
Sign explains the Phil Swing Memorial Fountain was re-purposed to a Desert Garden. In 1933, Mr. Swing introduced a bill to establish Anza-Borrego Desert State Park.

Philip D. Phil Swing was appointed to the California State Water Resources Board in 1945. This beautiful garden honors his contributions to the conservation of desert lands and water resources.
Philip D. “Phil” Swing was appointed to the California State Water Resources Board in 1945. This beautiful garden honors his contributions to the conservation of desert lands and water resources.

A trolley arrives at the Civic Center station near a small desert garden in downtown San Diego.
A trolley arrives at the Civic Center station near a small desert garden in downtown San Diego.

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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!

You can easily explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on my blog’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There are thousands upon thousands of photos for you to enjoy!

Sunrise at Balboa Park’s Desert Garden.

This morning I spent a few minutes in Balboa Park’s Desert Garden, enjoying a beautiful sunrise.

I had hoped to take photos of new snow on the mountains east of San Diego, but they were too distant for my small camera. What I did discover as I walked down one path was completely unexpected, and indescribably powerful…

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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!

Beautiful photos of sunrise on Mount Laguna.

The sky turns red and yellow just before sunrise on Mount Laguna. Photo taken at the Storm Canyon Overlook on the Sunrise Highway.
The sky turns red and yellow just before sunrise on Mount Laguna. Photo taken at the Storm Canyon Overlook on the Sunrise Highway.

This morning I left downtown San Diego very early and drove an hour east to Mount Laguna. I wanted to see sunrise from a mountaintop.

I began taking photos from the Storm Canyon Overlook a bit north of the Laguna Mountain Lodge and Store. Breathtaking views of the desert below can be enjoyed at various points along the Sunrise Highway.

I then drove a short distance farther north to the Penny Pines Trailhead, parked, and hiked about a mile and a half northward along the Pacific Crest Trail. I didn’t go all the way to Garnet Peak, because the sun came to me!

Looking down toward a section of Anza-Borrego Desert State Park northeast of the beautiful Laguna Mountains, which rise to around 6000 feet in San Diego County.
Looking down toward a section of Anza-Borrego Desert State Park northeast of the beautiful Laguna Mountains, which rise to around 6000 feet in San Diego County.

Sign at the overlook explains Trails Through the Ages. Storm Canyon below was used by the Native American Kumeyaay for thousands of years for seasonal migrations.
Sign at the overlook explains Trails Through the Ages. Storm Canyon below was used by the Native American Kumeyaay for thousands of years for seasonal migrations. (Click photo to enlarge for easy reading.)

Trees west of the Storm Canyon Overlook are still a bit dark before sunrise.
Trees west of the Storm Canyon Overlook are still a bit dark before sunrise.

I've started toward the Pacific Crest Trail from the Penny Pines trailhead. The eastern sky is slowly brightening.
I’ve started hiking toward the Pacific Crest Trail from the Penny Pines Trailhead. The eastern sky is slowly brightening.

A chilly early November morning in the Cleveland National Forest near the top of Mount Laguna.
A slightly chilly early November morning in the Cleveland National Forest near the top of Mount Laguna.

I'm now heading north along the Pacific Crest Trail, which stretches 2,650 miles from Mexico to Canada. I'll go about a mile and a half toward Garnet Peak before turning around. Sunrise is imminent.
I’m now heading north along the Pacific Crest Trail, which stretches 2,650 miles from Mexico to Canada. I’ll go about a mile and a half toward Garnet Peak before turning around. Sunrise is imminent.

Many of the trees in the Penny Pines grove have died due to an ongoing bark beetle infestation. The recent drought caused many trees in the Cleveland National Forest to struggle, too.
Many of the trees in the Penny Pines grove have died due to an ongoing bark beetle infestation. The recent drought caused many trees in the Cleveland National Forest to struggle, too.

Looking roughly northeast as color creeps over the desert below.
Looking roughly northeast as color creeps over the desert contours below.

Miles of beauty, to the horizon.
Miles of beauty, to the horizon.

The trail here is still in shadow.
The trail here is still in shadow. Not for long…

Early sunlight touches a rocky rise.
Early sunlight touches a rocky rise.

That shiny strip in the distance is light reflecting from the inland Salton Sea.
That shiny strip in the distance is light reflecting from the inland Salton Sea.

The sun is about to clear a rocky desert mountain.
The sun is about to clear a rocky desert mountain.

The sun appears.
The sun appears.

Sudden morning light brightens vegetation near the trail.
Sudden morning light brightens vegetation beside the rough trail.

The sunshine is warm. I will soon have to remove my light jacket. Even though it is late November, the dry air from the desert is very pleasant.
The sunshine is warm. I will soon have to remove my light jacket. Even though it is late November, the dry air from the desert is very pleasant.

Slanting sunlight on small leaves.
Slanting sunlight on small leaves.

Looking down into a small canyon beneath the trail that descends toward the desert.
Looking down into a small canyon beneath the trail that descends toward the desert.

I'm rounding a corner, approaching a light-splashed peak.
I’m rounding a corner, approaching a light-splashed peak.

Garnet Peak, on the left, rises into the morning sunlight. A short trail leads to its summit from the Pacific Crest Trail.
Garnet Peak, on the left, rises into the morning sunlight. A short trail leads to its summit from the Pacific Crest Trail.

Light on one side of a boulder above me.
Light on one side of a boulder above me.

A beautiful view. I encountered nobody else on the trail this morning. Perhaps because today is Thanksgiving.
A beautiful view. I encountered nobody else on the trail this morning. Perhaps because today is Thanksgiving.

I am thankful that I saw this.
I am thankful that I could pause for a moment and enjoy this.

New light all around.
New light all around.

The smooth, dry contours of one part of Anza-Borrego State Park become more apparent. I believe the bulky mountain on the left is Whale Peak.
The dry contours of one section of Anza-Borrego State Park become more apparent. I believe the bulky mountain on the left is Whale Peak.

Looking east, shadows are retreating from mountain green.
Looking east, shadows are retreating from fresh mountain green.

Looking south, bright light on a broken boulder.
Looking south, bright light on a broken boulder.

Leaves feed on sunshine.
Leaves feed on sunshine.

I'm now headed back south toward the Penny Pines Trailhead. One last look north at Garnet Peak.
I’m now headed back south toward the Penny Pines Trailhead. One last look north at Garnet Peak in full daylight.

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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! Occasionally, when I get the itch, I travel to more distant parts of San Diego County. You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!

You can easily explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on my blog’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There are thousands upon thousands of photos for you to enjoy!