“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.
Yes, I made that name up. I needed something for the title of this post. But it seemed appropriate, as the site is on the side of Queen Mountain. And as my research proved fruitless regarding the mine's name and history, I'm going to stick with Queen Mountain Mine until I can uncover some hard rock evidence that says otherwise.
Read MoreThere are two stories. One relates that a local rancher installed the iron door, creating a prison cell where he kept his "deranged" son locked up. Another claims that Bill Keys built the enclosure to store dynamite. Some believe it could be a combination of the two stories. My guess is that it was used to store something of importance, something that needed to be kept safe from animals and weather.
Read MoreIf you've ever driven through Joshua Tree National Park, you've most likely driven by one of the most famous climbing rocks in the park: Intersection Rock. It's a huge dollop of quartz monzonite located near Hidden Valley Campground, just off Park Blvd.
Read MoreI take a lot of pictures, as you Cali49ers have obviously discovered. Writing these posts and sharing photos of places I've visited is almost as fun as the adventure itself. I am currently shooting with a Nikon D7000 and my favorite lens is a Nikkor 18-200 zoom. I think it takes pretty good pictures overall, as long as I keep the sensor clean (it's amazing the amount of dust that can enter a camera body while changing lenses).
Read MoreJoshua Tree National Park, the California Gold Country, forgotten places in the Mojave Desert. These are a few of my favorite things.
