“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.
It’s always fun to try to find a lesser-known spot in J Tree, one without much information to guide you. There are a lot of such places, off the beaten path with little or no “popular” appeal to the casual visitor. So they remain out of the guide books, they remain unmarked on park maps, they simply remain, until the desert claims all traces of what once was there. I like these places.
Read MoreAfter locating Surprise Tank in Queen Valley, and seeing the significant amount of water behind the dam there, I decided to drive to the Live Oak picnic area and hike down the wash to see if either Live Oak Tank or Ivanpah Tank held any water behind them.
Read MoreWho is the mysterious “Brunette Lady” of Joshua Tree? Is she related to the mysterious "Red Lady" of Joshua Tree? What's her story and will she ever get a TV reality show? Where can I meet her?
Read MoreWho was "Little William" and why did someone inscribe a short, sad tale of his life on the dam at Squaw Tank? Did he ever even exist, or was the epitaph left as a hoax? Who wrote it and when was it written? Like many things in Joshua Tree National Park, it's a mystery.
Read MoreI 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 MoreJoshua Tree National Park, the California Gold Country, forgotten places in the Mojave Desert. These are a few of my favorite things.
