Thursday, November 15, 2018

Fifteen Minutes of Fame?

Cousin Scott and I were recently hiking in a somewhat remote area of Joshua Tree. We had gone past the "crowds" at Barker Dam (I'll share my Barker Dam photos in the near future) and went off-trail in search of some pictographs that Scott had never seen (although you've seen them in a previous post here).
Look closely and you can see Scott exploring the area.

Photographing the pictographs!
As we were sitting, enjoying the shady alcove, pictographs and a granola bar, we see a hiker coming our way. His name is Terry, and he is clearly an experienced hiker and has seen more of Joshua Tree backcountry than I have! As we talk about some of our favorite hikes, he stops me and says "I have to ask you what your name is?" I tell him, and he says "what's the name of your blog?" I tell him and it turns out he is a regular reader! What are the odds of running into a regular Spare Parts reader out here in the middle of nowhere?? He even knows Cousin Scott from some of my previous posts. How cool is that? For the next 15 minutes we talk and it seems so odd to meet a stranger out here in the middle of nowhere who knows my blog and appreciates what I do. Terry, I know you will be reading this. Just want to say thanks, you made my day, and I hope we meet again!!

A little later in our hike, Scott checks out Alister's Cave. Lots of rock art at this site, and some beautiful rock formations.

File this one under "things you see in the desert". Old trailers and RVs are a common sight out here, in various states of disrepair. Seen while we were driving around 29 Palms before our hike.

Another common sight... an abandoned homestead cabin. Someone's dream. Back in the day, the government gave out 5 acre parcels for free. All you had to do was "improve" the land by building a cabin on the site. Young families from LA snapped up these parcels as a weekend getaway, built little cabins, brought the kids out, and have many wonderful memories. As the years went by, many were abandoned, but a surprising number are still owned and the property taxes are being paid (which would be very low). They still represent someone's dream of "someday"... I'll go out and rebuild my little desert cabin and use it the way my parents (or grandparents) used it back in the day!



Back at Barker Dam, we came across two rock climbers. Can you spot the one climbing up the seam in the rock face?

Nice swirly clouds over Joshua Tree boulders.
Shooting into the sun from Barker Dam, just opposite the rock climbers.
Linking with Skywatch Friday.
Click on the link to check out great skies from around the world.
Thanks for stopping by!!

54 comments:

  1. Beautiful - you do run into some odd things in the desert.

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  2. I think it's fabulous you ran into a fan of your blog. Beautiful photos as usual. The story of free land and abandoned cabins is kind of bitter sweet.

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  3. It took me a moment to find the second rock climber in that shot, but the first one stood out to me. It really reinforces how big that environment is.

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  4. You're FAMOUS!!! How neat that someone recognized you...out in the middle of nowhere! WOW! That is just awesome! And yes, it took me awhile to see the climber in the seam! We don't always get the scale of the rocks but this really shows how huge they are!

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  5. Hard to believe there is someone who knows the back country more than you....but, what a great story!

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  6. Beautiful post. Hopefully I too one day bump into a reader of my blog and feel motivated :-)

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  7. Wonderful post about 'a dream' and fantastic photos ~ area is quite beautiful! ^_^

    Happy Day to you,
    A ShutterBug Explores,
    aka (A Creative Harbor)

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  8. How cool to run into a blog reader. That's never happened to me yet.

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  9. It is always nice to meet fellow bloggers IRL but the odds of finding one out in the middle of the desert seems remote.
    The RV reminds of Breaking Bad.
    I love all your photos.
    Have a great weekend!

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  10. Great to read. Amazing photos.
    Happy weekend :)

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  11. How cool to meet a fellow hiker out on the trails and someone who reads your blog no less. Your photos are beautiful. It's always thrilling to see the pictographs. The blue of the sky is stunning against the golden rocks colours.

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  12. Magnificent scenery!
    Have a wonderful day!

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  13. I'm not totally surprised--- He was hiking there, and the Monument is your primary focus. But it certainly makes you feel good!

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  14. Marvellous photographs as always. If you ever meet me on one of your expeditions then at least one of us will be seriously lost!

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    1. Ha ha, very funny John! If you and I ever meet up on a hike, very likely BOTH of us will be lost!

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  15. Yes I see him exploring. Amazing pics

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  16. As always and nice to meet a fellow explorer in the middle of nowhere. Great photo's.

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  17. Hello, you and your blog are famous. You do post beautiful photos from Joshua Tree. You have me wanting to visit there. I like the cave, rock formations and the Joshua tree. Beautiful skies!
    Happy Friday, enjoy your day and weekend!

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  18. Wonderful post again. Looking at those rock climbers, the landscape is so huge.

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  19. I almost feel as though I'm with you.

    Hi, Terry ☺

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  20. It's a small world! Lovely shots.

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  21. So great to meet someone who follows you. Last year I was taking photos of a church for my blog the Church Explorer and met a lady just comming out of the church who I asked if if she minded if I went in for some photos before she locked up. While I was taking them she asked what I used the photos for and when I told her she said that she had been friends with this guy who also did the same. When I said his name she turned to me and said are you Bill, I said yes and we had a good chat. She had been the one who told me a few yearrs previous the guy had passed away but it seems the photos I took and posted on a website wer remembered by the two of them. Nice to be recognised

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  22. Great photos. I love the solitude of the place.
    How great that you met a reader! That is just so nice.

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  23. You and your cousin are quite the daredevils!
    And what a coincidence meeting one of your readers. This is when expressions like this one “it's a small world” come in handy. : ))

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  24. Thanks for the comment on mu blog. I love your header picture, I wonder what the story is about that rusty old truck? And there has to be a great story about the abandoned RV. Were there any bones inside?
    Your desert pictures are great, such a different landscape from what I can see here in S Ontario, Canada. And very neat to meet a blog reader out there in the wild, amazing coincidence.

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  25. Fantastic photos!
    Your header photo is pure art!
    The abandned cabins and vehicles only add to the mystery of the desert and a touch of rustic beauty.
    I had a lovely visit 💮

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  26. Can I have your autograph? :) What a grand story to share, the world gets smaller every day. Still, when you think about it, it just blows your mind.
    Thanks again and have a wonderful week.

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  27. Great photos as usual, I wonder what adventures that old RV has been on?

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  28. How exciting to meet someone who "knows" you and have a nice chat. What a wonderful area you have to hike around in. Pictographs too--awesome. Love the homestead cabins
    MB

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  29. You heard a first "aww" when I saw your header, the next, when I read "About Me" (so cute if I may say)....

    And then ... your pics! Outback Australia in the Western region is very similar and who does not love to explore abandoned places
    (just see here, if you like).
    And yes! What are the odds to meet a blogger friend like that? I need a cellphone ;-)

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  30. Gorgeous photos (as usual!). I had friends who had a homesteading cabin in Indio Hills. Yes, it was 5 acres. It was made of cement blocks and had 1 bedroom! They had their horses on the property, but it's been YEARS since I've been out that way and I think they moved...LOTS of those kind of homes across our desert, eh?

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  31. Fabulous photos and how cool to meet a blog reader out there in the wilderness! Amazing to see these deserted and not deserted homestead cabins, wouldn't be easy out there, beautiful but tough ✨

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  32. Imagine meeting your blog follower and reader out in the desert! I thought deserts are boring but your photos have proved me wrong.

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  33. Great series of a gorgeos landscape! I'm curious, where the travellers gone from this bus (an imagined story!) and how cool is this to meet an unknown reader... In German we have a phrase "The world is a village" and as I was in Moscow, I met a family from our little German town...

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  34. Beautiful series of fascinating desert photos.

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  35. I would love to spend in the cabins some time.
    greeting- evi erlinda

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  36. Beautiful photos! I love the bright colours.

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  37. Thanks for the tour! I would love to find one of those little houses out in the middle of nowhere.

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  38. Great photos and what a wonderful coincidence running into a reader. I love the scenery!

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  39. Wonderful views. I'm sure there is a story behind the abandoned RV and the cabin as well. As you say, someone's dream. Crazy you would meet a faithful reader out in the middle of nowhere ... and that he would recognize you.

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  40. Beautiful desert! I did spot your cousin and the climber in the later photo. The occasional human in your photos do serve to remind of the scale of those beautiful formations.... We certainly didn’t get to explore the way you do, but we saw a fair number of those little cabins here and there. Always wished we knew the stories! ... I had that ‘meet the reader’ experience last season in Florida when I got chatting with a stranger at the Slough, my favorite birding walk. She was a snowbird from Germany . I still can’t believe it happened. Really kind of amazing.

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  41. Thank you for the good and very helpful information. It is very interesting. I love all the things you share and see your beautiful creation.

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  42. "It's a Small World", after all! Nice set of shots, as always. Happy Thanksgiving to you, my friend!

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  43. That would be my RV. I wondered what happened to it. :-)

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  44. Or should I say: brobdingnagian ... :-) I've just reminded myself this word :-)

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  45. Great coincidence. I met a blogger in Australia. She said she once lived in a (back then) small town in Germany, Braunschweig.
    Guess where I´m living, LOL. When we spent Christmas in her place a couple years later others who once lived in Braunschweig were there also. It´s a small world yet fun every time, and "amazing".
    Wow, to make the decision to really put up a cabin there!

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