“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.
It felt like someone, or something was watching me as I wandered about the rocks and desert, near mid-day with temps in the high 80s. I thought I heard a whisper on the breeze, "madness, madness." But there was no wind.
Read MoreIt was early April and the wildflowers were everywhere. Sometimes you had to look for them, but they gave themselves away with their bright spots of color against the unusually green desert backdrop.
Read MoreThe first thing I noticed was, how green was the valley. The substantial amount of rain this past winter has really changed the look of JTree. Two months from now, this picture will look a lot different. The second thing I noticed was, lots of colorful splashes along the way, partly responsible for tuning a 3-mile hike into a 5-mile hike.
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 MoreJoshua Tree National Park, the California Gold Country, forgotten places in the Mojave Desert. These are a few of my favorite things.
