Stirrup Tank Wanderbout

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Stirrup Tank Wanderbout

Ok, raise your hand if you've ever been to the Stirrup Tank area in JT. I see a few of you have. Those of you who didn't raise your hand, shame on you. If you enjoy desert hiking amidst and amongst enormous, oddly disquieting-shaped granite boulders (and who doesn't), then set aside a half day the next time you're in the park to visit the Stirrup Tank area. Odds are you'll have several squares miles to yourself, to explore and enjoy some amazing sights.

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The Contact Zone

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The Contact Zone

The Contact Zone, so-called by fellow JTree explorer and intrepid 3D photographer, Murbachi. For purposes of this post, the area referred to as the Contact Zone is the demarcation between the light tan monzogranite on the left and the darker material on the right in the Google Earth image above. The CZ stretches for about one mile and after seeing some of Murbachi's pictures (click HERE to see for your ownself) of this area, I knew I wanted to visit, regardless of the danger. The views of the far eastern edge of the Wonderland of Rocks are simply spectacular. 

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Traveling Geology Tour Road

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Traveling Geology Tour Road

August is generally hot at JTree, and the 24th of August, 2015 was no exception. But sometimes it's nice to experience the extremes, as long as you're prepared for them. That said, I think I prefer the cold extremes over the hot ones....

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Desert Queen Petroglyphs

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Desert Queen Petroglyphs

There's a lot of stuff going on in the general area around the Desert Queen Mine. If you park at the small parking area/trailhead for the DQ Mine and Pine City, you've got gold mines, stone building ruins, vanished cities, dams, debris, sparkly rocks, amazing vistas and many signs of the local Indians who once passed through this area during their seasonal migrations. And all within a couple miles hiking distance. It's like a nexus of amazement.

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52 Miles

/ Joshua Tree National Park/
52 Miles

If you've ever wondered how far it is from the west entrance of Joshua Tree National Park to the south entrance, it's approximately 52 miles via Park Blvd. and Pinto Basin Road. I know this because, I recently entered the confusing (at least to me, at present) world of video cameras and decided to make a video of that drive. 

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