“Yeah, Desert Sky - Dream beneath the Desert Sky”
A drive through Joshua Tree National Park might take a couple hours, viewing the park from the road. An exploration of the park would take a lifetime. Joshua Tree National Park has over 550,000 acres of wilderness filled with a variety of plants and animals that make their home in this land shaped by strong winds, unpredictable torrents of rain, and climatic extremes. Every now and then, man intrudes in this wilderness and leaves his brief, passing mark among the surreal geologic features that cover the landscape. Let’s go see what we can find.
I learned something new in Pinyon Well Canyon. Not hiking for five weeks because of illness can drastically affect your stamina when you return to hiking and climbing in the desert. I also relearned something that I knew before. A GPS comes in very handy when hiking in a place you've never been before. And I now have a new favorite place in J Tree. Hensen Well Mill.
Read MoreIf you like to hike in remote, lightly used yet historic spots in Joshua Tree National Park, Pinyon Well canyon is the destination. Water, mining, milling and freighting have all created history in this canyon, as well as the Native Americans who once spent time in the area. Some of that history is plain to see. But some will take a bit of searching (and luck) to find, and that's part of the fun.
Read MoreI recently found an old, 1975 edition of the Geology and Man Motor Nature Trail Guide on my bookshelf. I must have bought it back it back in the day, probably on a trip to the Monument with my brother and parents. I can remember traveling along the bumpy road, stopping at the points indicated while someone read the description of what we were looking at. Those were fun trips and as I haven’t done that since, I thought it was time to revisit the Geology Tour Road to see what I could find.
Read MoreJoshua Tree National Park, the California Gold Country, forgotten places in the Mojave Desert. These are a few of my favorite things.
