“It’s alive and waiting for you. Ready to kill you if you go too far. The sun will get you, or the cold at night. A thousand ways the desert can kill”
The Mojave is a desert of wind, temperature extremes, Joshua Trees and solitude. When most people hear the word ‘desert,’ images of tumbleweeds, rattlesnakes and bleak desolation typically come to mind. In reality, the Mojave is anything but a wasteland. Amongst the sand and sagebrush lie many places of beauty and wonder, and of historic importance. Some are the result of time and the elements, some are the result of man and his efforts to live in the Mojave, both in recent and prehistoric times. Let’s go see what we can find.
Driving along U.S. 395, I’d often seen areas that looked like they had been blasted from the depths of the earth, the rocks melted and strewn across the barren landscape. And doesn’t that thing over there look like a cinder cone? What’s that rumbling?
Read MoreThirteen miles south of Lone Pine/seven miles north of Cartago, an unremarkable dirt road heads east off U.S. 395 to the remains of two charcoal kilns and thence to the shoreline of the dry Owens Lake. The beehive-shaped kilns were built of clay bricks, and were then covered in plaster as protection against the elements. But why are they here?
Read MoreHave you ever found yourself speeding along a lonely stretch of road in the desert, or anywhere for that matter, only to catch something out of the corner of your eye and wonder, "What in the world was that?" Do you ever take the next opportunity to turn around and go back to investigate? That's how I often discover the most interesting places on a roadtrip.
Read MoreThe Alabama Hills are filled with rocks, western scenes and arches. Lots of arches. If you like to hike, this is a great place to visit. If you are a western movie fan, this is a great place to visit. If you enjoy getting away from everything, yes, this is a great place to visit.
Read MoreThe Arch Loop Trail is a relatively easy trail to hike, well maintained and marked. There are a few portions of the trail that get your heart going a bit, but that's good for you. There is so much spectacular scenery to see along the trail - the Sierra Nevadas, rocky gulches and canyons, strange rock formations - that you might just miss the two famous arches if your not careful!
Read MoreI had decided to visit two of the "Big Three" arches of the Alabama Hills; Whitney Portal Arch and Mobius Arch. Fordham's book easily guided me to the trailhead for Whitney Portal Arch. T-Red was the only car in the area; I got my gear and set off to Find The Arch.
Read MoreI was in the Lone Pine area and didn't have enough time to thoroughly explore the Alabama Hills (that is going to happen though), so I hiked to a couple arches and drove to a couple old rock houses. This is the story of the Rock House Expedition.
Read MoreI can't count the number of times I'd driven by the California Landmark sign on 395, just north of Lone Pine, Cal. without stopping to investigate. It always intrigued me. Finally, it pulled me in and I stopped 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.
