“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've driven by that sign on Pinto Basin Road many times over the years, and each time it's tempted me to stop and wander off into the desert in search of the elusive watering holes so-named. But up until recently, I'd never heeded the temptation; I just continued on my way, oblivious to the great hike that I was missing.
Read MorePC = "Postcard"
Here's an old Frasher's Foto Postcard. I'll bet most people will recognize the "Boogie-Man" in the photo, and not from their childhood fears. I believe this picture was taken in 1947. If I had to pick the spot in J Tree that gets the most visitors, or has its picture taken the most, I think this would be it.
The BOOGIE-MAN
"The Boogie-man, long known to visitors of the monument, is at the edge of the main road, peeking over a rock as you pass by. Outcroppings of rock are scattered throughout the monument, eroded into different sizes and shapes, from an elephant to a [scull]. All are un-marked so the visitor may have the fun of picking their own imaginary shapes."
Whoever wrote that blurb got it right. Just about every rock in J Tree looks like some kind of creature, or body part, or person. The imagination runs wild in the park.
It doesn't take long for me to start seeing things in the rocks when I'm hiking at J Tree. Giant mushrooms, faces, animals....they all seem to morph out of rock formations in my imagination. But one of the coolest sights I came across during the day wasn't an animal or face rock, it was a small arch rock, located on the side of a little rockhill. I've decided to adopt it and make it my own; I have named it "E's Arch." It is my pleasure to present it to you now.
Read MoreI was heading out into the backcountry of Joshua Tree, to a place I'd never been before. I drove down the Geology Tour Road to the Pleasant Valley Backcountry Board, parked my truck, got my gear together and headed east into Fried Liver Wash. After about 100 yards, I went back to the truck and got some more water. I'd be glad later that I did.
Read MoreOk, what I want to know is, who came up with the name "Fried Liver" wash and why? Was it some old prospector wandering down the wash, dreaming of his favorite meal? Maybe a rock formation reminded someone of a plate of fried liver? Could a hunter have killed a bighorn sheep in the wash and fried up its liver for a savory snack? These are the kind of things I think about while hiking out in the back country. We may never know the answer.
Read MoreJoshua Tree National Park, the California Gold Country, forgotten places in the Mojave Desert. These are a few of my favorite things.
