Cali49

Let's go see what we can find

Joshua Tree National Park

Joshua Tree National Park - Places of interest, hidden spots off the beaten path.

Joshua Tree National Park

“Yeah, Desert Sky - Dream beneath the Desert Sky”

— Bono

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.

November 22, 2013

Geology Tour Road, Revisited

November 22, 2013/ Geology Tour Road, Revisited/ Elliot Koeppel

I recently found an old, 1975 edition of the Geology and Man Motor Nature Trail Guide on my bookshelf. I must have bought it back it back in the day, probably on a trip to the Monument with my brother and parents. I can remember traveling along the bumpy road, stopping at the points indicated while someone read the description of what we were looking at. Those were fun trips and as I haven’t done that since, I thought it was time to revisit the Geology Tour Road to see what I could find.

November 13, 2013

Queen Valley Pictograph Boulder

November 13, 2013/ Queen Valley Pictograph Boulder/ Elliot Koeppel

I’d read about, and seen pictures of, a large boulder out in the backcountry, near the base of Queen Mountain and decided I wanted to find it. You’re probably thinking, “You’re nuts. There are hundreds, if not thousands of large boulders in Queen Valley. And one looks much the same as another, so what’s the big deal?” That’s a fair question.

Cali49

Joshua Tree National Park, the California Gold Country, forgotten places in the Mojave Desert. These are a few of my favorite things.