I was very recently recruited, out of the blue, by one of the major tech companies out there. I was contacted via LinkedIn, which surprised me, as I didn't realize companies are actively using that for recruiting purposes (which has since made me really want to go over my profile with a fine-tooth comb). I've also previously worked for Epic, which, while not a household name, is a major software company in the healthcare industry, and hires a couple hundred people each month. They have similar recruiting/hiring policies, and claim to hire only about the top 1% of applicants. So, I've had to jump through all these hoops on many occasions.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that I wish these companies jumped through as many hoops to impress me as I am supposed to to impress them. That's the position I feel I'm in with my experience, and, especially when a company comes after me, as these two did, as opposed to when I apply for a position. It's a two-way street.
One of my pet peeves in this industry is that every company has its own programming aptitude test they want you to take, which is time-consuming for all parties, stressful for the applicant, and, I maintain, not an accurate indicator of programming ability. I wish the industry could get together and create some kind of GRE/LSAT/MCAT test for programming algorithms, which could be accepted universally. We could take it once and for all, or retake it at our leisure if we don't like our score. When you apply for a job, just submit your score. It would save both sides time.
Frankly, I've been a developer for 15+ years and I resent being treated like a precocious toddler when I apply for a job. I know that makes me sound a little entitled, but I just find it annoying and a waste of time. I know companies have every right to set the bar however they want for their employees, I'm just not convinced this is the best way to do that. In the real world, you rarely have to come up with an algorithm at the drop of a hat for a totally unfamiliar problem in a domain you've never worked in. Yeah, I guess it's great if an applicant can do that, but does that make them a superior programmer? Code quality and development time are often inversely correlated.
Second, and more importantly, I really take issue with the "indentured servitude" model that has grown popular in this industry. There's a fine line between providing incentives to stay with a company, and levying harsh penalties for leaving. This is abused especially with work visas, where employers almost literally have a "captive workforce". They know they can get away with overworking them, because people don't want to get kicked out of the country, have to pay back signing bonuses and relocation costs, forfeit stock options, etc. I really think this practice is borderline unethical in some cases.
I know there's no easy answer there ... of course a company that lays out a lot of money ahead of time has a right to protect themselves from a loss. I just wish burnout was an exception, and certain employers were more concerned about enticing employees based on a great work environment, which, in my opinion, is much more influential in my decision to stay with a company. In many cases, the employer's best financial interest may be to work someone so hard they will quit.
That said, I'm really thankful to have a job without many headaches, and a reasonable work-life balance. Leaving would be an extremely hard decision for that very reason. I don't look forward to making it.
Did Barack Obama really defend American exceptionalism today?
When I first heard the story, I did some research to confirm that he's actually stated his belief in the position several times throughout the years, so I guess he either really believes it, or wants us to think he does. I sincerely hope it's the latter. Not much shocks me, and this shocked me, coming from a supposed liberal, and a man I generally find to be intelligent and well-spoken, and not prone to jingoism, regardless of my political opposition.
To be fair, he did previously qualify this statement, by saying "the Brits believe in British exceptionalism and the Greeks believe in Greek exceptionalism". But, this definition is clearly meaningless, like the kindergarten teacher who says one child is unique ... just like every other student.
As a libertarian and social liberal, I never imagined I would write these words, but Vladimir Putin hit it out of the park when he said "It is extremely dangerous to encourage people to see themselves as exceptional, whatever the motivation." In my mind, that's irrefutable. Once a group decides the rules don't apply to them because they're "special", bad, bad things happen.
I'm an American, but I had the opportunity to live in Brazil for a while, and I have friends from a few different countries. I can tell you, unequivocally, Americans are not "better" than any other people, and the US is not "better" than other countries. That belief is absurd, and frankly, ignorant and dangerous.
I'm worldly enough to know that Americans are often stereotyped as arrogant and ethnocentric, oblivious to world history and current events. I've seen the political cartoons in other countries. Comments like our president made today is precisely why. It's one thing to believe, or act like we're exceptional, but it takes a whole other level of arrogance to proclaim it. It certainly wins us no friends,
We need to be humble, and admit we've made mistakes, that we don't have all the answers, and that we have a lot of room for improvement. We need to move past nationalism, Einstein's "infantile disease". We need to start thinking of ourselves as "Earthlings" or just "people", just like everyone else.
This back-to-school season is a little somber for me, as my only child would have been off to school for the first time, this fall. This blows my mind. I'm not bringing it up to garner sympathy, but to serve as a reminder to "gather ye rosebuds as ye may." Your days are numbered, and so are the days of those you care about, so take advantage of your time.
Five years has been enough time for me to make peace with the loss, of course. What sticks with me more than missing these milestones is not having the opportunity to try to raise a wonderful human being. But, the tragedy was her loss, not mine.
I had planned on Wednesday being a laid-back day, and I got an early start on it thanks to my Channel Islands trip being canceled the day before.
My first stop was the Compton cemetery where my grandfather is buried. I wanted to see if I could find his grave. Long story short, he died well before I was born and I had never even seen his grave. Unlike many of my cemetery explorations, this time I actually had a section to go by, so that narrowed my search down a lot. Thanks to my unsuccessful trip the day before, I knew exactly how to get there.
There was no one else in the cemetery, except for a cat. I actually found some other Duncans first, which was almost certainly a coincidence, and then finally came across Lerton's grave, which was really neat. I wasn't sure if he actually had a headstone, and there was a scandal at the cemetery about recycling graves, so I didn't have my hopes set that high. To remove any shadow of a doubt, there was even the Arabic "Greatest Name of God" symbol of the Baha'i faith engraved on his headstone. I took several photos and even filmed a video to show my family. His wife's name wasn't engraved on the headstone, but my information said she was buried there, and there was a blank space for her name on the right side. I also found some other Kadries (her maiden name), so I think they were likely her parents or older relatives.
Having taken care of that bit of business, I went back to my hotel room, quickly posted the most clear picture I had taken to show my family back home, and headed over the Queen's Way Bridge again to Long Beach.
My first stop was the Aquarium of the Pacific. I'm not sure whether every day is like this at an aquarium (I haven't been to that many), or if it was a special occasion, but there were TONS of kids there. Some were on some kind of field trip, So, I was surrounded by screeching and general madness. I spent a couple hours there, It was a nice place, but I'm not sure it was worth the price of admission, at least for an adult. I did get a free ticket to a "4D" movie, which was cute, but underwhelming. My last stop was the gift shop, and I picked up a book for my nephew. I thought about getting a shirt for myself, but decided that I already have too many t-shirts.
By this time, I was feeling pretty hungry, so I walked around, trying to decide where I wanted to eat. I considered California Pizza Kitchen, but it was packed, so I went to Boston's Gourmet Pizza instead. I filled out the rest of my postcards as I waited. The food was good; it was the first time I'd eaten at one.
I had a harbor cruise scheduled for 6 PM, and nothing else on the agenda, so I explored the city, taking pictures. It was a warm day, and, after a while, I started thinking that ice cream sounded pretty good. It had been months, at least, since I'd had ice cream, but I was on vacation, so I figured I could indulge a little. I found a Cold Stone Creamery and ate my ice cream outside. The downtown tourist/commercial area is kind of odd. It's really nice, and you can tell they've gone out of their way to attract tourists and families, but there are many places out of business, so it was hard to gauge how successful it really was.
Next, I walked down to the namesake of Long Beach, the long beach itself, and spent some time there. There is a long trail that winds along the beach, with many runners and bikers taking advantage. I spent some time at the beach, and had the unfortunate luck of being defecated on by a seagull, which was really gross. The beach is huge, and ideal for small children, as there aren't any waves.
I then walked back toward Shoreline Village, checking out some of the tourist shops. It was almost time for my cruise, so I went over to wait for the boat, reading while I waited. The tour gave me some good photo ops of the Queen Mary and panoramic views of Long Beach. We also approached an oil tanker and a couple of the petroleum islands. We also came across 3 seals sunning themselves on a buoy. That was the second time I'd seen any seals on the trip, and I took tons of photos. The trip took about 45 minutes to an hour.
After that, I walked back to the hotel and pretty much wound down the day, since I knew I had to be up early the next morning in order to get to Ventura for my trip to Santa Cruz Island (if it wasn't canceled).
This was a Murphy's Law day and I had to roll with the punches.
I had scheduled a boat trip to Santa Cruz Island (one of the Channel Islands, and part of Channel Islands National Park) at 9AM, and had been told to be in Ventura by 8:15. I left Long Beach about 6AM, figuring that left plenty of time. I learned the hard way how bad rush hour traffic can be in LA. For a while, I thought there was no way I was going to make it, as I sat at a dead stop on the freeway. I finally made it to Ventura about 8:30 and got to the check-in a few minutes later. Someone was ahead of me in line, so I ran for a much-needed bathroom break. I got back, handed over my ticket to get checked-in, only to learn that the trip had been CANCELED! They were only taking overnight campers, not day-trippers due to the choppy seas.
So, I had a decision to make, whether to reschedule or get a refund. I really wanted to go, but I had a tight schedule. So, I quickly thought my plans over and decided to try again on Thursday, which was the day I had planned to have a tourist day (Beverly Hills, Hollywood, and iam8bit). I figured it might be canceled again, so maybe I wouldn't have to alter my plans, anyway.
There I was, all the way up in Ventura, with no idea what to do the rest of my day, having not researched any destinations in the area. I went to see the Channel Islands visitor center. I saw a film about the history of the islands, and picked up a few souvenirs and postcards. I bought myself a book, and got a toy shark for my nephew. I saw a stuffed Island Fox and other island wildlife, and they had a Torrey Pine outside.
Next, I went to the beach. It was still early, and a weekday, so the beach was pretty deserted. There was a lone surfer that I watched for a little while. There was only one other person on the entire beach (at least within eyesight), an older woman, walking around, like me. I had just been to the Malibu beaches the day before, so I didn't really feel like spending another day at the beach, but I walked around and took some photos.
Not knowing what else to do in Ventura, I decided that I may as well drive back home. I stopped for gas and groceries on the way home, and decided to go out for lunch. I went to a Chili's, and was surprised to see the signs "food served here is known by the state of California to cause cancer". I wrote out some postcards as I waited, and had a nice, leisurely lunch.
I got back to the hotel, and decided I would head out to Compton to try to find my grandfather's grave, which I had planned to do the following morning. So, I got out my map and headed out. I found the cemetery with no problems, except it was gated, and I then I saw a sign saying it was CLOSED Mondays and Tuesdays. I don't think I'd ever even HEARD of a cemetery being closed before.
By this time, I was laughing at my bad luck. When I got back, I decided to take the self-guided tour of the Queen Mary, which was really neat. I had been there a few days, but hadn't seen much, besides my hotel floor. I managed to find my way to the deck, and see the crew quarters, etc. I also learned, via a helpful employee, which were the stairs that Fred Astaire had been photographed by. They call them the "Fred a-stairs" now in his honor.
There was still time left in the day, so I decided to go a little farther into Long Beach and see what I could see. I was a little unsure of how safe it was, so I left my nice, new camera behind, as a precaution. I was walking along the shore, to cross Queen's Way Bridge, when I saw a head bobbing around in the sea! It was a seal! It really surprised me, because I wasn't aware seals were even around in those waters. I managed to get one halfway-decent shot of him. That redeemed the day a little bit for me.
I crossed the bridge and wandered around the marina, near the aquarium (which I would visit the following day), and through the commercial area downtown. There are remnants of the old amusement park, including a large ferris wheel. The downtown is actually very nice and tourist-friendly. I saw cops all over, so I think they patrol the area very frequently to keep it safe.
I went back over the bridge, and as I neared the Queen Mary, there was a Great Blue Heron in the parking lot. I took several pictures of him. I didn't have my nicer camera with me, so I couldn't zoom much, but a few turned out ok.
I went for a run in the gym and called it a night. My Wednesday plans were pretty laid-back so I didn't have any anxiety about having to get moving early the day.
This day went almost as planned, and was a pretty great day, except for the drive home. I had a scheduled visit to the Getty Villa at 10AM (when it opens), so that was my first appointment of the day. I let myself sleep in relatively late, and got there a hair after 9AM. The grounds were open, so I planned to just take pictures of the outside while I waited, which turned out to be a smart idea, because the place filled up FAST.
I was really blown away. The building and the grounds are just gorgeous. The collections are fascinating. I could have easily spent all day there, reading every detail about each piece. They have their own collection, and then some of the galleries are rotating exhibits on loan. You are free to photograph the items they own for your own (non-commercial) purposes. I really can't say enough about the place ... entrance is free, but you pay to park. Anyone with any interest in art, history, archaeology, etc. would love it, guaranteed. It definitely made me want to visit its sibling, the Getty Center, on a future trip. They have a deal where you can pay for parking once, and go to both places.
The double-edged sword of traveling alone (and carrying a nice camera, so you look like you know what you're doing), is everyone asks you to take their picture. On this occasion, it was a good thing, as a nice young lady asked me to take her picture by a couple sculptures. There's a pretty nice gift shop, but I didn't buy anything, with a wide selection. I thought about getting a book, but I figured I could probably find the same books from Amazon, etc. more cheaply.
I had originally looked into touring the Adamson house, as well, but it's not open on Mondays. Due to my later schedule, it worked out that I had to do Malibu on Monday, so that ruled that out. I would still like to see it, one day. So, my plan had been to see the Malibu pier next, but as I got there, the very last parking spot was taken in the main lot. It was Memorial Day, so the area was something of a zoo. So, I went on, looking for another place to park, and then just decided to go onto my next destination, which was El Matador beach.
I found the beach, and circled the tiny parking lot for what felt like forever, hoping to pull in when someone pulled out. Eventually, it go so crowded, people were wedging me in, so I went back out. I went down to the next beach, La Piedra, and parked on the road. I spent some time there. I don't have a lot to say about La Piedra ... it's a decent, relatively small beach, but nothing overly fantastic. Then, I tried for El Matador again, and parked on the road. I knew about the cool rock formations, and really had my heart set on seeing them. Again, the bad part of this schedule was that it was Memorial Day, so the beach was packed, and I couldn't get many quality shots because there were just too many people swarming around. I did see a bunch of cormorants out on a rock, which was pretty neat.
I had originally thought about staying until sunset, to get some nice shots with the rocks at El Matador, but with the beach being so full, it being Memorial Day, and my lack of confidence in finding my way back to the hotel, I decided to head home. I also wanted to leave time in case I could park anywhere near the Malibu pier, on my second try.
The drive back through Malibu was terrible ... bumper to bumper basically the entire way. Everyone was heading home after the 3-day weekend. The pier parking lot was still full, and there were no spots anywhere close on the road. My understanding is there isn't much left on the pier, although some new stores and a museum are opening. On the way, I did see a bunch of paparazzi stalking out a restaurant, so presumably some celebrity was having dinner there.
I didn't feel like stopping in the middle of a traffic jam, although maybe that would have been the wiser move, so I went all the way back to my hotel for dinner. I ate at the Promenade Cafe, which was pretty neat ... great views of Long Beach. I just had a good old hamburger, and some fresh fruit.
I explored the ship a little more, and then went out and walked down to the bridge over the Los Angeles River, as the sun was going down. I took a bunch of pictures of the Queen Mary from across the bay, but didn't go into downtown Long Beach itself yet.
Overall, it was another great day. I was pleasantly surprised at how awesome the Getty is, and was very glad I made it to El Matador, which I had had my heart set on. I also felt a little more confident I could get where I was going, and I knew the way back to the hotel.
I'm 35 years old, and that's certainly part of it (i.e. a generation gap), but I also find this difference with people my own age, and older folks, as well. I was recently on vacation for 2 weeks, and I took a few seconds to survey the people around me in the airport, as I was waiting for a flight. Easily 4 of 5 people had their necks craned over their smartphones, checking e-mail, texts, surfing, whatever. I realize an airport gate isn't the most interesting place to be, but part of me wanted to shout, "Hey, there's a real world going on here!" Sometimes I feel like we already live in the Matrix, only it's voluntary.
I saw several people carrying freaking iPads around Joshua Tree to take pictures. Really? How is an iPad more portable, convenient or superior to a camera, or even a smartphone?
To really ostracize myself, I just don't get texting, and never will. Wasn't the telephone invented as an improvement over the telegram? Why do we think typing short, error-prone, coded messages on a tiny keypad is so wonderful, a full century later? If it's not urgent enough for a call, how is a text better than an email?
My point is ... put down the cell phone once in a while, stop and smell the roses, talk to someone, and listen. The digital world will survive without you for a while. Pick up a real camera if you want to get out in nature and take pictures. I doubt anyone's ever reached their deathbed, wishing they'd spent more time staring at a 4 inch screen.
what do you think is a good concentration for computer science? one that wont make you a "dime a dozen."
Sorry I'm just getting back to you now. I was on vacation for 2 weeks and not online very regularly. I guess I'd say ... if there's one particular area you are very interested in, like say Artificial Intelligence, go for whatever interests you, for sure! Otherwise, I'd just say to try to be as well-rounded as possible, because you never know when something will come in handy. In the business world, you'll almost certainly be using databases, so I'd definitely recommend taking at least one database class. My focus was basically a custom/software engineering focus. I took web development, UI design, graphics, operating systems, software engineering, databases, etc.
As a crazy example, I lived in Brazil and learned Portuguese. I NEVER expected that to be useful in my career. However, at my previous job, a Brazilian hospital became interested in purchasing our software, and I was involved both in being a middle-man to communicate with their executives to set up a meeting, and in actually translating our software for a demo to show them.
My personal opinion is a person's ability (and willingness) to learn, ingenuity, and just ambition and general intelligence are the most important qualities. Like, one of my personal pet peeves is that most job requirements say something like this: 5 years of X, 3 years of Y, 2 years of Z, some experience with A, B, C and D. Well, someone may have 5 years experience with something, but be a terrible, lazy, unmotivated developer, and someone else may have never used it, and be 10 times the developer as the first person! I know employers often want someone to hit the ground running, but I think hiring the right person means more than a checklist of technologies and buzzwords.
On Sunday, I headed back to Joshua Tree. My first intended stop was the 49 Palms Oasis trail, which has an entrance not far from my hotel. On the drive, I saw two coyotes, which was neat. It was before 7 AM so they were out while it was still cool. Unfortunately, when I got up to the entrance, it was gated off, and I couldn't go in. I later asked a ranger, and he said it was supposedly open, so I don't know if I was just there too early or if he was mistaken. So, that was a bummer, and I never got to take this trail, but that leaves something for my next visit.
So, I went onto the next entrance, to Indian Cove campground. It was still early, so most of the campers were still sleeping, or just rolling out of bed. I found my way to the nature trail and took the quick tour. This was another neat camping area, and I saw lots of wildlife there. Also, I had a rather cool surprise of catching part of a Native American song. I think they must have been camping at the group camp site. As I was hiking around, I heard them, and stopped to listen. That was an unexpected treat.
After that, it was on to the western entrance. I stopped at a picnic area for a bit, and then went on to the Hidden Valley nature trail. This is a formerly secluded valley that a local rancher (Keys) had blown an entrance into. It was another cool, short trail, appropriate for kids as well as adults. Lots of neat scenery and wildlife, at least at that hour.
I continued on the loop, and found more remnants of the mine. The terrain changes pretty drastically once you get past the mine. There were some nice overlooks, and I also found a few more abandoned mine shafts along the trail, as I went. There was one odd scene, with what looks like an old freestanding chimney. I couldn't tell if it was actually a remnant or something hikers had built, but there were also old buckets, and what looked like a sofa, making it look like someone had lived there.
Towards the end of the loop, you go back into Joshua tree country, and there are some large and impressive specimens. I saw quite a bit of wildlife in this area. This hike definitely felt long, and I got back to my car sometime in the early afternoon. I looked at the map to find out what final things I wanted to see and headed back north.
I stopped at Cap Rock, and there's a nice little child-friendly nature walk there, with lots of Joshua trees around, and rocks for scrambling. Next, I decided to go back to Barker Dam, which I had only seen at night, especially wanting to get better pictures of the petroglyphs. For some reason, the trail seemed a lot shorter during the day, maybe because I knew what to expect, this time. I ended up taking a bunch of new pictures of the area, now that I could see better. The petroglyphs are in a pretty shady area, so I'm not sure my new shots will turn out any better than the old ones. It was pretty busy there this time, as many of the shorter trails are.
My last stop turned out to be Intersection Rock and the Hidden Valley campground, which is a popular site for rock climbers. I did a little scrambling and took a few more pictures. By this time, it was about 3:30, and I thought it would probably be a good idea to head out to LA, so I could get there before dark, since I didn't know where I was going. I stopped at the ranger station on the way out, as I wanted to ask about the 49 Palms trail. The ranger acted like he didn't know what I was talking about, but said it should be open, which didn't give me much confidence, and I didn't feel like driving all the way back to find out he was wrong. I also considered stopping in at Black Rock, but wasn't sure it was worth a special trip.
I would have loved to do a few more of the longer hikes (like the Boy Scout trail), but I would have really needed a couple more days and my full camping gear. As it was, I was pretty glad I was able to fit in everything I'd hoped for (except 49 Palms), and then some. It was a great trip, and still fairly cool, especially compared to Palm Desert. I would definitely recommend a visit to anyone interested. The entire place feels somewhat other-worldly, not your typical desert, with unique plants and wildlife. As I said before, the variety of hikes is great, from short walks to long hikes, there's serious rock-climbing for those interested, and tons of scrambling opportunities for those of us that just like to pretend.
I hit the road, headed for Long Beach. I stopped to fill up the tank, and to load up on snacks for driving and hiking. It was a pretty smooth trip to LA, I managed to stay on all the right roads, and got to my hotel, the Queen Mary, around 5:30 or 6:00. I got checked in, and took several trips to bring up my luggage. It felt good to have a place to settle into for more than a few days. I took some quick pictures of the room, and then walked outside, for a quick view of the surroundings. I walked along the shoreline a ways and back, and then decided to call it a night, after a long day.
I was a little worried about staying on a ship, as my mother gets seasick just looking at waves, but that was a total non-issue. I never felt the slightest movement.
Today was my first real day of vacation. I got up early, I think about 5:00-5:30, and grabbed all my hiking gear, my cooler, and maps. I drove through the fairly small town of 29 Palms, taking note of where restaurants, gas stations, and grocery stores were. There are lots of abandoned buildings, and I would have loved to have more time to photograph them.
I got to the north entrance around 6:30 or so, if I recall correctly, and there was no one there, and I read the sign saying to just go ahead and pay on the way out. It was a pretty nice day, much cooler than Palm Desert.
My first stop was at the first exhibit of the park. There were some cool rocks nearby, and I felt like climbing around a little and getting some pictures. I circled around a big rock formation, taking pictures of the scenery and vegetation. I saw what I think was a dead rattlesnake on the road, and stopped a few other places along the roadside, to get some pictures, including ones of the Joshua Trees themselves.
It was a fairly easy hike, just straight across the desert, and then a short hike up the mountainside. The trail wasn't really maintained, but not really too terrible, either. Saw several lizards on the way. When I got to the top, I took several pictures of the mine. Someone had left a ladder to be able to get to the very top of the mine equipment, but I didn't dare go up there. People had left various "prize" rocks they had found, and set them up for display on the old mine woodwork, and there were more over the top, on the other side of the mountain. Pretty good views of the surroundings. I spent maybe another 20-30 minutes taking pictures and looking around the mountaintop, but didn't want to wander too far, as I didn't have any supplies with me.
It was a good start to the day. I hadn't planned on seeing something so cool that I didn't even know was there, and it was still very early, and this part of the park was almost empty. My plan was to first drive down to Cottonwood, and back, and then see what I could see on the main loop on the way out, and finish whatever was left on my 2nd day.
I had meant to stop and see Arch Rock on the way down, but missed the turn before I knew it. I hadn't realized it was really in the White Tank campground, so I planned to stop there on my way back. I stopped a few times to take roadside pictures, but didn't venture too far, as I knew I had a long hike awaiting me at Cottonwood.
By pure luck, I was there on a Saturday, and the Cholla Cactus Garden was open. I found out later it is only open weekends, and closed during weekdays, so that was just good fortune on my part. A very neat thing about Joshua Tree is you will just go through areas of totally different vegetation and geology, all of a sudden. You are driving around, and suddenly there are Cholla cacti as far as the eye can see!
It's a nice, short walk through the cacti, and pretty neat to see so many close together like that. A little further down the road is an Ocotillo patch. I made a few other short stops along the way to take pictures.
I stopped in at the Cottonwood visitor center, to get my pass, and see what they had to see. I picked up a set of 6 postcards to send out. I went down the road to the Cottonwood Spring trailhead, and got my backpack out and ready to go for my first real hike of the day, out to Lost Palms Oasis and Mastodon Peak.
Lost Palms was the best hike I had, lots of varied terrain, lots of wildlife, and the right amount of effort. I saw a desert iguana sunning himself, and got some great photos of him. I saw lots of lizards and birds, and not a lot of fellow hikers, especially on the way back (none, actually). The trail ends at an overlook of the palms, and you can climb down into the canyon to take a closer look, which I did. Only the very end is more strenuous, and most anyone in decent shape should be able to make it to the overlook itself.
On the way back, I took the Mastodon loop and saw the mine and the peak, again, this loop was a neat little hike by itself, with some cool gigantic boulders in the desert. I saw a Scott's oriole in this area.
By now, I was a little tired, so the next few short stops and driving were perfect for recovery. I went down, almost to the south entrance, and did the Bajada nature trail, and then turned back north, driving back the way I came, enjoying the scenery, keeping an eye out for anything I missed on the way down.
This time, I did stop to see Arch Rock, which was pretty underwhelming. It's a trail off a campground, and not really worth a special trip. It's technically an arch, but not especially scenic. There are lots of rocks around, so fun climbing for kids. Many of the campgrounds are in really cool little spots.
By now, it was getting to be mid-afternoon, so I was gauging how much more I could squeeze in before nightfall. I made a couple stupid decisions which cost me a chance to get some nice sunset photos, but I managed to cross a few more things off my list.
On the main road loop, there were a few stops that weren't on any of my maps, and that threw me a little, not knowing what these things were, and whether they were worth my limited time. I stopped at one place, and just wandered out to some rocks for photos. I stopped at Skull Rock, and made a wrong turn, and took a campground trail, thinking I was going to Skull Rock, and then realized it is only about 10 yards from the road! I kicked myself for wasting time. Then, I made a turn on a dirt road toward another mine, in my rental, which I soon decided was a bad idea, and did a U-turn, and kicked myself again for wasting valuable time.
My next real stop, and major hike, was Ryan Mountain. This is a fairly strenuous hike, basically all uphill, and then all downhill. I actually made it in pretty good time. You start in a valley with hundreds and thousands of Joshua trees, which is pretty neat in itself. There is a former Native American cave in the area, as well. The first part of the hike is the most strenuous, hiking up steps on the mountainside. Then, you curl and wind your way up and around the mountain. The slope is pretty steep on the sides in some places, so watch your footing. When I got to the top, a lot of people were sitting and resting up. It has a nice overlook of the surrounding areas, but nothing really spectacular. There's a neat little rock pile at the end of the trail, and lots of room to sit around and snack or relax. The trip back down was pretty uneventful, but my feet were starting to hurt from the long day, now that I'd racked up pretty heavy mileage.
I left Lost Horse mine for tomorrow, since it is another long hike, and had decided on Key's View as my next stop. There are some really impressive Joshua trees on the way to Key's View. At Key's View, you can pretty much drive all the way to the edge, and walk just a few feet to the overlook. Very nice views of the Coachella Valley. I walked a little on side trails to get additional shots. There were some cool rock towers other hikers had built. A lot of people were there, and many getting ready for sunset pictures, with their tripods, etc. I was left wondering whether to stay and kill time, or continue on, and decided to go on, to fit in whatever I could before sundown.
I decided on Barker Dam as my last stop of the day, racing against the sunset, hoping to get somewhere I could take cool photos while it was setting. Unfortunately, when I got to the trail parking area, I went down another wrong trail, and it took a while before I realized it, and reversed course. By now, the sun was going down, and it was getting dark. I walked through the trail, which is actually a really cool, easy walk, with lots of things to see. I found the dam, which was closed off due to graffiti problems, got some (not great) shots of the setting sun, which was mostly hidden to me because I was in a valley with mountains blocking it. At the end of the trail, I saw the petroglyphs, which was really, really cool. By the end of the trail, I was pretty tired and hungry, and called it a day.
Driving out of the park seemed to take forever, and was a little nerve-wracking. My headlights seemed to only reach 10 feet in front of the car, and with a winding road, I felt like I couldn't see where I was going. When I got home, I was just ready to pull into the motel when I saw the Burger King another block down, and decided to eat a "real" meal instead of my hiking snacks and groceries for dinner. After that, I called it a night.
I stayed at the Best Western in 29 Palms, which was a nice location, out in the country, but close to several of the different entrances to the park, and close enough to restaurants and supplies. I'd stay there again.
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