“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.
The explorer and intrepid JTNP 3D chronicler, Murbachi, recently sent me this anaglyph image he created from a photo taken on a past exploration. You'll need to wear your red/blue 3-D glasses to view it properly. While it does not compare to the images he takes in true 3D, it's fun to look at for a few minutes. And then my head explodes.
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It had been over ten years since I last saw any water in Barker Dam, so when I heard reports that the recent monsoons had filled the dam up, I knew I wanted to get out and take a look. Then Murbachi emailed me some photos he took on 9/11/2013 and I knew the reports were true. Hoping there would still be enough water in the dam to provide some nice photos, and in spite of the weather forecast predicting temps in the mid-90s, I set out for the park.
Read MoreNext time you’re in Joshua Tree National Park, be sure to set aside two hours and hike the “out and back” Lucky Boy Vista Trail. It’s a hike where the reward (the vista) far outweighs the price (effort expended to get there). This trail is on my Top Five list of short hikes in JT.
Read MoreThe temperature was in the high 90s and I had just finished a circuit of the Barker Dam Nature Trail, so why not go hiking deeper into the Wonderland of Rocks in search of a cool pictograph site? After all, the sun bouncing off the desert sand and those giant quartz monzonite rock piles couldn’t really make it any hotter than it already was….
Read MoreWho is the mysterious “Red Lady” of Joshua Tree? And where can I meet her? Well, she’s an anthropomorphic figure, likely of Chemehuevi origin. She’s made of red pigment and I found her in a rock shelter in the Wonderland of Rocks.
Read MoreJoshua Tree National Park, the California Gold Country, forgotten places in the Mojave Desert. These are a few of my favorite things.
