“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.
With all the rain JTree had received over the winter, there's been a lot of talk about 2017 being an excellent year for wildflowers in Joshua Tree National Park. Even though it wasn't technically springtime, I thought I'd head out to see what I could find. I wasn't disappointed.
Read MoreI was looking for water, in the desert. To be more precise, I was looking for large bodies of open water, in the desert. In Joshua Tree National Park. Where the average rainfall during January is less than 1 inch. However, during January of 2017, the park received between 5 - 7 inches of rain thanks to an "atmospheric river" that unleashed powerful storms throughout the entire state.
Read MoreGrand Tank is a reservoir located near White Tank campgound. From reports I've read, it apparently holds water after any significant amount of rain in the area. I've visited several times over the years, but have never found water behind the dam wall. With all the rain the park received during the last half of January, I thought, "what the heck, I'll go check it out. Maybe there'll be water there this time."
Read MoreOne of the nicest things about these nature hikes in JTree are the interpretive signposts along the way. They give information about the rock formations, the plants, the animals and the weather, making a hike along them informative as well as fun.
Read MoreThe White Cliffs of Dover is a well-known rock climbing formation located less than one mile south of the parking area at Quail Springs picnic area. Not used to doing things the easy way, I drove a bit south of QS and parked in a pullout on the west side of Park Blvd. This jaunt was a spur-of-the-moment idea. I was actually heading towards Jumbo Rocks, but caught a nice view of the cliffs as I was driving past, so decided to hike out to them to see what I could find.
Read MoreJoshua Tree National Park, the California Gold Country, forgotten places in the Mojave Desert. These are a few of my favorite things.
