January 8th: Palm Desert and more pottery

 

Craig and Karen Rahn invited me to spend three days at their Marriott Resort time share in Palm Desert. They bought in about 20 years ago and the place has grown exponentially. Here is a map of part of the grounds. It was much more extensive than I had expected. The map shows only the Marriott Hotel portion. There are hundreds of time shares surrounding the golf courses.

Craig brought some putters and golf balls so we were able to play a little putt-putt! 

The grounds include many ponds and water fowl. The flamingoes are not at all skittish!

Craig and I went for a hike up Tahquitz Canyon. We knew there was a waterfall at the end. We were warned that there were over one hundred over sized steps. It was strenuous but worth it. 

Here are some pictures. The view looking back to the desert floor was amazing.

The climb up was challenging. If you enlarge the picture above you'll see hikers along the trail. 

We crossed the river several times on the way up.

We arrived at the falls and it was worth the climb. A very pretty waterfall coming down from the canyon above.

The next day we went to the Rancho Mirage Library observatory. It was during the day but we were able to see the inside of the observatory and learn about the telescopes. The city had some grant funds that some communities decided to use to build golf courses, but these folks opted for an observatory that would allow the public to view the skies. Great idea. 

These telescopes are taken out onto the deck at night and set up for people to observe the moon, planets and stars.

Here is the website. Observatory

After the observatory, Karen took us to Create - Center for the Arts. It was very interesting. I particularly liked the 3D printing that was taking place. I was amazed at the stuff the 3D printers can do. Here are some pictures of finished products. 

The young man who teaches the technique explained that a 3D printer can make something like the snake skeleton in one piece. The pieces are attached but you can shake the skeleton and it wiggles and stays together. 

The Center includes painting studios, fabric studios, graphic arts, and audio productions.

This dress was painted with an air brush The picture doesn't capture the vibrancy of the dress but you can get the idea if you enlarge the image.

There were a lot of these little creations that were knitted. 

 

I particularly liked this one. Not sure what it is but I liked it!

The highlight of the place is an amazing origami creation. The artist started to make and display origami cranes for each person who died from COVID. Read the description for the details.

We had a great dinner and watched Wednesday on Netflix. Very fun. The next day we went to Sunnyland. I'd never heard of it but Karen said she was sure I would like it. She's never steered me wrong. I found it very interesting. I had heard about the Annenbergs but really knew very little. The website provides a great deal of interesting information, but here are a few pictures I took.

Entrance to the Annenberg Home

Rose garden 

Views from the house overlooking the private golf course

I was very impressed with the philanthropic efforts by the Annenbergs. In particular, they wanted to provide a quiet place where top heads of state could come to have formal and informal conversations to resolve serious conflicts, and about how to make the world a better place. They established a foundation that continues to provide a quiet, out of the "Media's Eyes" place where top leaders can come to make the world a better place.Annenberg Foundation Sunnyland Palm Springs, CA

When I returned to Encinitas Wendy and I went to the Fire and Mud Studio to see how our glazed pottery turned out. We were very pleased.

Steve's mugs and soup bowl

Wendy's creations with the lids on

Wendy's creations with the lids off