Thursday, November 5, 2015

Arrastra Hike, Part II

So I'm continuing where I left off with my last post (Pinto-wye-arrastra-part-1-joshua-tree). After finding the arrastra out in the middle of nowhere, I had about an hour or so of daylight left to explore the area. A bit further up the hillside from the arrastra, I noticed a small mine opening.
Turns out to be a dead end, with the mine extending only about 30 feet into the hillside. Even so, it's still fun to explore!
Below is the view from inside looking out.
After checking out the mine, I did some exploring on my hike back in the general direction towards the Jeep. It was a perfect day for hiking and photography!
The above photo is one of my favorites from the day. Can you see the hawks head looking out??


Smoking rock.




Crossed swords.

About half way back to the Jeep, this interesting rock with the holes in it caught my eye. We'll call this one Three Hole Rock. Let's take a closer look...
Two of the three holes are big enough to climb in. As I explore them, the middle hole looks like it's been camped in. I wonder about that blackness above and the the right of the middle hole. Perhaps caused by campfire soot from an old miner's fire, or even Native Americans, from many years ago?? Or is that just my imagination getting the best of me?


Here's the view from the inside the cave, looking out. A very snug and comfortable little cave, and perfect to camp in if you needed to get out of the weather.

It's fun to name the rocks out here in Joshua Tree. I'll close this post with "Glove Rock", since it reminds me of a baseball glove!
I still have a couple more very cool surprises to share from my hike back, so will be posting "Arrastra Hike, Part III" in the near future. Thanks for stopping by!

Linking with Skywatch Friday. Click on the link to check out great skies from around the world!!

45 comments:

  1. The rock formations are so artistic and the sky is just perfect. Wow.....

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  2. Beautiful landscape..love the picture that you called it "crossed swords".

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  3. Wow! What an adventure and fantastic photography ~ color, light, composition and blue sky!

    Happy Weekend to you,
    artmusedog and carol

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  4. Terrific captures and a fascinating place -- as always!! You do know where to find them and I'm so glad you share them with us!! Thank you!! Hope you have a great weekend!!!

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  5. Fantastic images. Love the landscape there.

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  6. Great post, love that we get to go along in this hike through your eyes! I think you are right about the black rock marks being soot stains from campfires that burned long ago.

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  7. Oh. you're killing me with these pictures! I wish I were there. The Alabama Hills near Lone Pine have quite a few rocks much like your Three Holer. Wonderful photos. Keep on trying to do me in. I like it.

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  8. Ah, what an adventure you had. You are not as concerned about snakes as I am.

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  9. You captured some amazing scenes.The various rock formations are interesting for sure.

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  10. Those skies are an incredible blue, fantastic scenery and outstand photos.

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  11. Lovely day and some beautiful captures. I loved seeing all the caves.

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  12. Amazing rock formations. Some of them look spooky.
    Happy SWF!

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  13. great shots !!! happy weekend :-)

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  14. What a cool spot and amazing scenery, think I would have fun there with my camera :-)

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  15. That's certainly some impressive scenery. Impressive navigation to find that arrastra in the previous post too.

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  16. Such a beautiful and diverse desert. Wonderful captures... Love the rock formations!

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  17. What an interesting and beautiful posting!

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  18. Very nice pictures and the 3 holes rock looks a bit like a deformed skull in my eyes.

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  19. Awesome photos, I love the sky's you have there and those rocks which are what I see as well though I thought three hole looked a bit like a turtle

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  20. who care about skies with those rocks in front of you? I see lots of stuff in those rocks. :) Everything from faces to hands. Only limited by imagination. :)

    Thanks for sharing.

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  21. Hello, what a gorgeous sky, the colors are amazing. The rock formations are cool, my hubby would love the opening in the rocks. He likes to go spelunking. Awesome photos! Happy Skywatching, enjoy your weekend!

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  22. Fascinating rock formations, and beautiful sky!
    Have a wonderful week-end!
    Lea

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  23. Very impressive rock formations.

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  24. Beautiful sky and interesting rock formations find! Have a beautiful weekend!

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  25. Wonderful rock formations. I would be on the outside looking in, rather than on the inside looking out!

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  26. Amazing exploration and really wonderful photos!

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  27. Wow--- these are wonderful. I especially like the "crossed swords" and the "glove rock".

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  28. ohhhh...I miss that terrain. But I'm not ready to give up my FL beaches

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  29. such amazing rocks and caves. love the crossed swords!

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  30. WOW, amazing landscape and beautiful blue skies! I like your favorite picture the best, too. But, I don't see the hawk. Is it in the air? It would be so cool to visit out west someday. It's so different from the east.

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  31. Those rocks are really interesting! Amazing shots of a fantastic landscape!

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  32. Wow, such fascinating mountains and landscape! So uncommon to where I live.
    Beautiful rocks and so exciting with the caves!

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  33. loving the photos! I'm with you I would just have to explore the caves too :-)

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  34. I would very much like to explore this area! Your photos are wonderful!

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  35. Nice looking area - I wonder how many different names places end up with - especially in areas somewhat more visited than this.

    Cheers - Stewart M - Melbourne

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  36. Such interesting rock formations and beautiful skies. I would worry about venturing into one of those old mines without someone with me to call for help if necessary!

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  37. It's so lovely ... The rock formations do make my imagination run rampant! Thirty feet into an unknown cave would be more than far eight for me however.

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  38. ... More than far enough. Sometimes I hate my iPad.

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