“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.
Yup, it's true. There are Mastodons in Joshua Tree National Park. Several of them, in fact, or at least their remains. There is the Mastodon Mine, the Mastodon Mill and Mastodon Peak. Did actual Mastodons ever live and breathe in this area? Probably. I was going to see if I could find some.
Read MoreIt was Thanksgiving weekend and I was in the area, what better time to visit Turkey Flats? It had been on my list of places to check out, along with the Sand Dune, for quite a while and the timing was perfect, as was the weather. I pulled into the parking area at the Pinto Mountain Backcountry Board and decided to check out the information signs before heading out into the desert.
Read MoreI pulled over at this roadside exhibit along Pinto Basin Road. It's great that the NPS puts these out to give us travelers a bit of a clue as to what we're looking at as we drive through the park. Looking out over this basin, it's difficult to imagine it with a river flowing through it. I've ventured out into the Pinto Basin a few times, it's a hot, dry place nowadays.
Read MoreThe Monstead Tunnels in Joshua Tree National Park aren't any kind of secret, they're just not listed on any maps. Nor are they listed in any of the hiking guidebooks for J Tree. There is scant information to be found regarding their years of operation or production. Nothing much of historical significance is left on site and the tunnel openings have been "bat-gated" by the NPS for safety reasons. If you asked a Ranger about them, he'd probably reply, "what?" So why on earth would anyone even bother hiking a couple miles to visit them?
Read MoreYes, 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 MoreJoshua Tree National Park, the California Gold Country, forgotten places in the Mojave Desert. These are a few of my favorite things.
