“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 recently had the opportunity to practice my trail guide skills, as my uncle Phil and aunt Margaret were staying in 29 Palms for a few days, while on a road trip far from home. They were looking forward to exploring J Tree, so after a nice brunch at the 29 Palms Inn, we headed out on a windy Sunday morning to see what we could find.
Read MoreYou never know what you'll find in the Desert Queen Wash. And when you find something there, odds are that you'll wonder "How did this get here? Who built that? What else is there out here that I'm missing?" Such was the case when Murbachi and I found ourselves in an exemplary little valley crossed by the Desert Queen Wash. We'd heard about the ruins of an old stone cabin, and the rumor of a ghost Model-T truck nearby, and that was all that was needed to see if we could find them.
Read MoreThe Gold Hill Mine is located approximately 250 yards west of Johns Camp; it's easy to find as the tailing piles can be seen from quite a distance, they are quite obvious from the camp site. Just start hiking.
Read MoreIt’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 MoreJoshua Tree National Park, the California Gold Country, forgotten places in the Mojave Desert. These are a few of my favorite things.
