Porcupine Wash - Joshua Tree National Park

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Porcupine Wash - Joshua Tree National Park

A mid-day drive along an empty Pinto Basin Road, heat waves shimmering in the distance, the unforgiving desert seeming to grasp at both sides of the two-lane blacktop. It was like driving through another dimension, a dimension not only of sight and sound, but of sand. I was on a journey, a journey into a wondrous land. Then I saw the signpost up ahead and knew my next stop was Porcupine Wash. It was time to see the porcupine. This is what happened:

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Playing Hooky at Little Hunk

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Playing Hooky at Little Hunk

If you're wondering what or where Little Hunk is in Joshua Tree National Park, and why I would want to play hooky there, read on. Little Hunk is a popular rock formation in the Echo Rock area of JTree, with at least ten main climbing spots and over 175 different routes to complete the climbs. It's accessible from a number of different spots: the Barker Dam parking area, the Echo Rock parking area, and even from several turnouts along Keys Ranch Road. The later two routes are the shortest, both traipsing in at less than 1/2-mile, one way.

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Silverado: Joshua Tree National Park

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Silverado: Joshua Tree National Park

I'll bet several of you are saying, "Silverado? A place in Joshua Tree National Park called Silverado? Never heard of it. I don't believe it." And you would be right. There is no place in JTree called Silverado, at least, as far as I know of at this writing.

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The Red Couple of Joshua Tree

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The Red Couple of Joshua Tree

Have you ever seen something so cool that it left you speechless? But then a few seconds later you just wanted to scream and perhaps do someone bodily harm? I have. It happened on September 4th, 2016 at approximately 4:40 pm.

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Roadside Dis-tractions

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Roadside Dis-tractions

The skies were cloudy and rain was falling in some parts of the park, so I wasn't feeling like doing much hiking. I decided to drive from the west entrance to Cottonwood Springs to see what I could find along the way. It was a couple weeks past the peak wildflower bloom, but I thought I might be able to spot some color out in the gloom. And you never know what else you might find just a bit off the road.

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