A few months back, Cousin Scott and I wandered around the Lost Horse Valley area of Joshua Tree National Park. We had never hiked the area so we were both looking forward to seeing something new. One goal was to find and photograph a rocky spire called Aiguille de Joshua Tree (click here to see that post). So join us as we continue to explore this beautiful part of JTNP!
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| Cousin Scott capturing some of the areas natural beauty! |
Perhaps a little shelter or cave under those rocks? Hard to tell, so let's go check it out.
Come on in, Scott. Make yourself at home! Turns out this rocky shelter is much larger than it appears from the outside.
Birdbath rock? Looks like this spot might hold water for a week or two after a rain, which I'm sure the local critters appreciate. I think there's a name for these water-holding depressions: Tinaja. If you google it, you will find out more information.
Scott captures this shot of me taking a pic of this... weird rock formation. Kind of reminds me of a giant sock puppet!
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| Another view. |
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| This Joshua tree appears to be propping himself up! |
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| Can you spot the hole in the rocks? |
This might be a good time for me to mention that there are "in-holdings" in this area, meaning property within the national park boundary that is privately owned. Who knew such a thing existed, right??Randolph Ranch is one such in-holding. This property is clearly marked, but some of the others are not. I've made the mistake of assuming these properties are part of the national park. I've explored some of them, even taking photos and posting them on this blog. One of the in-holding property owners somehow managed to come across my post. As you can imagine, he wasn't too happy so see pictures of me tromping around on his private property! Long story short, please stay away from these locations. They are in fact privately owned and the property is private, so please respect that. OK, back to our hike!
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| A nicely balanced rock! |
The sun is low on the horizon and the shadows are long... my favorite time of day for photography!
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| Scott should be fine as long as that huge boulder doesn't shift positions! |
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| UFO Cloud! |
Thanks for joining me on this beautiful desert hike!
Stay safe and stay healthy.
It is so beautiful!
ReplyDeleteHello,
ReplyDeleteAnother great hike and gorgeous views of the park! The UFO cloud, the rock formations are cool, love the Joshua Trees! The last sky shot is stunning. Take care! Enjoy your day! wishing you and yours a Happy 4th of July!
beautiful rocks and formations
ReplyDeleteGreat pictures from a fantastic trip! So unlike my walks, any time I go to cold places, I think it's pretty hot where you are :-))
ReplyDeleteFascinating! The stones look like dinosaur heads! Really great photos!
ReplyDelete...gorgeous images!!! The Adirondack Park of northern New York State also contains private holding, I have a huge holding of 24 acres!
ReplyDeleteStunning area and awesome photos, Sock puppet rock reminds me of the huge creature on Starwars the Millennium Falcon landed in then when it took off out of it's mouth it came out after them snapping it's jaws behind them
ReplyDeleteLove the sock puppet rock formation. Really cool hike!
ReplyDeleteThere is privately owned property in the national parks I am familiar with in Canada too. Oops!
ReplyDeleteI never tire of your photos of JTNP.
People who drive through the desert miss so much! The only way to really see what's out there is to take it slow...which is what walkers and hikers do. Great shots!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the education, the 'in-holdings' are interesting for sure. We loved the hike and I did laugh at the sock puppet, your are right, definitely appears like one.
ReplyDeleteLoved the trip.
Sherry & jack
I like the later day ones with the sun just blocked. Nice effect.
ReplyDeleteAs always stunning capture with enthusiastic writing
ReplyDeleteMore incredible pictures! You are amazing. The one formation does look like a sock puppet. Or, if you're old enough, Cecil the Seasick Sea Serpent from "Time for Beany" when it was a live show out of LA All puppets, Stan Freberg was one of the voice actors. Early 50's. BUt that has little to do with this excellent post!
ReplyDeleteStunning pics.
ReplyDeleteGreat post.
sigh, sigh, so beautiful.
ReplyDeleteThis time I find the last one a really stunner. That doesn't detract from the fact that all the others are also beautiful as always.
ReplyDeleteAmazing rock,i would call that the Puppet Master rock
ReplyDeleteOnce again, a wonderful treat, a special place, a great photographer with an eye for that very interesting rock formation that gets our imaginations going.
ReplyDeleteDie Fotos sind sehr beeindruckend, ebenso die geologischen Formationen. Wow!
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness---such beauty! I would love to explore there except for Rattlesnakes---don't care for them! Interesting about private holdings in National Parks. We live adjacent to a Very large Tree farm---privately owned--around 15,000 plus acres but every once in awhile you come across someones little farm inside tucked inside. The owners have allowed hiking , horseback riding and certain trails for mountain bikes. Besides logging roads the trails are kept up by horse clubs. We really protect the area so we can stay and hike etc.
ReplyDeleteMB
Another great adventure. Such a combination of a explorer and photographer.
ReplyDeleteThe Grand Tetons National Park has a lot of inholdings. Lots of hard feelings there over the way the Park service treats them and bad memories of the way the Rockefeller Family treated landowners as they were purchasing the property way back when before giving it to the Park Service.
National Forests have inholdings as well.
Your desert photos are fabulous !!!
ReplyDeleteWOW! I seem to say that every time I view your photos of Joshua Tree. Fabulous pics!
ReplyDeleteHi, Beautiful photos of the desert. In which country do you live? I live in the Netherlands. Greetings Caroline
ReplyDeleteCan't get enough of those structures. The Joshua Tree is fantastic. Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeletegood photography, an aquascape might be inspired by this, where they put this lancscape in their aquarium
ReplyDeleteI'm always amazed with your adventures and photography. Beautiful photos and thanks for the hike. Have a wonderful weekend!
ReplyDeleteSo beautiful! Love the sock puppet rock formation.
ReplyDeleteMy favorites are the near-sunset picture. That lighting! That starburst reflection on the one rock. The final photo! Thank you again for taking your readers with you.
ReplyDeleteHey wait a minute! I made that sign back in '82! Dude. I wasn't mad at you visiting it. I was irked at the map on how to get there! And anyway, you have permission to visit it (and photograph it). I was kind of proud to see my rock work on the Ethernet. And it is getting finished slowly (that sh*t's heavy man!). Hope to meet you soon.
ReplyDeleteThat's an impressive sign, and held up well over the years. I know our paths are going to cross one of these days. Looking forward to meeting you live and in person!
DeleteBrilliant captures as always.
ReplyDeleteDo you ever worry that you might get hurt or lost out there? It seems so vast.
ReplyDeleteIt's vast but there are lots of landmarks. I've been "misplaced a few times but only for a short time. Topo maps are a must though.
DeleteGreat photos from your desert hike. Interesting rock formations and beautiful landscapes. Good that this time you have company. Enjoy your weekend.
ReplyDeleteAmazing landscape. Great photos as per usual.
ReplyDeleteVery beautiful pictures
ReplyDeleteUFO landing, balancing rock, trees bending in unusual ways....what an adventure you two had. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteI always look at your photos with my jaw dropped because it's so wonderful (for a lack of a better word) to see!
ReplyDeleteAs for the in-holders, I guess you should put up a fence if you don't want people wandering about!
Feel free to share at My Corner of the World
Its just fascinating how the whole place looks like it melted. Wonderful photos as always!
ReplyDeleteI Believe That Sock Rock Puppet Made A Cameo In The Empire Strikes Back - Beautiful Outing For Sure - Stick To The Trail And Beware Of The Moon
ReplyDeleteCheers
What a wonderful area.
ReplyDeleteLove the rocks and the Joshua trees are fantastic.
Beautiful day ending with a perfect golden desert sunset. Absolutely breathtaking ... except for that one sock puppet rock, which made me laugh! A giant’s plaything. ... I love it when you find caves. .... Did not know (or had forgotten) about the private lands within the Park boundaries. As you point out, the ranch you passed on this day was clearly marked, therefore easy to avoid. But if they aren’t marked off, how would a hiker be expected to know if they were trespassing?
ReplyDeleteLove the "sock puppet". And my second favorite photo is the post with the barbed wire. I am familiar with in-holdings; there are quite a few within Glacier National Park.
ReplyDeleteCatching up here as I've been lazy the last month or so. Isolation is getting to me I think. Wonderful photos in this post, as always. I especially love the sock puppet rock formation.
ReplyDelete