Thursday, November 5, 2020

Sunrise Hike (Part II)

I'm continuing on with my Sunrise Hike in East Joshua Tree post. By now the sun had been up at least an hour and I was starting to feel human again. This absolutely huge rock formation, when viewed from the side, looks like a profile of a human face. Specifically, an old man with a big nose. Do you see it? It looks like he's talking to that little rock... may be giving him some sage advice?

What did Papa rock say to baby rock??

 

Because the sun was still low on the horizon, I was able to capture this nice sunburst through a rocky arch I came across. I used an F-stop of f22 to accentuate the sunburst. I don't fully understand the physics behind it, but a stopped-down aperture (small opening) seems to enhance a sunburst.

The interesting circular patterns in the rock are called tafoni or honeycomb weathering.
 
Are those teeth?? It's like being inside the mouth of a giant!
 

Chicken head??
 
So interesting how the rocks erode into weird shapes in this part of Joshua Tree. Look closely and you can see the moon.
 
I found a heart! 💖
 
This rock sticking out looked impossibly fragile and delicate. As if it would totally crumble with the slightest touch. I didn't test my theory.
 
Cool opening in the rocks. It actually looks just big enough to crawl through, but I decide not today. I can see the headlines now: "His body was found years later, just his bleached bones wedged in an opening among giant boulders in a remote wilderness area of Joshua Tree National Park!"
 
I wonder how many thousands or millions of years that huge bus-sized boulder has been wedged up there??
 
Below are some additional rocky openings/arches I came across on today's hike.


 
My last discovery of the day was this interesting little rock shelter. It provided deep shade and a nice flat rock at the entrance to put my pack and water bottle on. I wonder how many before me relaxed in this same shelter? A smoothed-out area on top of the rock makes me think that Native Americans might have used it as a grinding stone.
 
View from inside the shelter, looking out!
 
Thanks for joining me on another desert adventure!
Stay safe and stay healthy (and stay patient!).
Linking with Skywatch Friday.

42 comments:

  1. ...not a tree in sight and it's BEAUTIFUL!

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  2. Hello,

    Love all the rock formations, the sunburst is beautiful. Neat capture of the big nose and face. I love the heart and all the arches. Great series! Take care, enjoy your day! Happy weekend!

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  3. Superb, love the way you find such interesting things to see in Rock formations

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  4. Love your talent of highlighting the shapes of rocks reminding us of something else! Hope you are okay in this "weird" time:)

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  5. Your pictures are always so interesting. Love the Old Man :-)

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  6. Dearest SP&P,
    Incredible photos with excellent explanation and yes, the Old Man and other images were very visible! Great photos, must have been a thrilling experience in person.
    Hugs,
    Mariette

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  7. Living between green meadows and coloured woods,I find this landscapes fascinating and estonishing.

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  8. Love the photos of the rock shapes. The juxtaposition of the sky and rock is always hauntingly beautiful in your photos.

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  9. Fantastic rock formations you got for us. Very nicely captured too. You should try the sunburst technique to multible light sources in the dark scenery. Would look so cool, I know cause I´ve tried it few times.

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  10. I do see the nose and side profile of the face, funny how nature works.

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  11. Those rock formations are wonderful!

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  12. All are amazing, but the first photo with the man's profile is super!

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  13. Yes those faces are really good as are the other forms.Again thanks for showing us.

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  14. Wonderful photos. Fist pic looks amazing.

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  15. Thanks again. You show some great sights and formations. Things that 99.9999% of us will never see close up. Your interests peak our interests that for sure. I cannot name a favorite today, I think they are all fantastic.
    We ppreciate the hike.
    Sherry & jack

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  16. Your landscapes -I've never seen anything like them- are stunning!

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  17. I love the way you find so much beauty among these rocks - I don't think I would get much hiking done because I would be forever stopping to take different pictures!

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  18. Different light at that time of day. You should totally caption that pic with the two "heads". It would make a great meme.

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  19. Sunrise Hike Part II is filled with wonderful photos of 'opening' in the rock formations besides other delights ~ Wow! Great photo series ~ ^_^

    Live each moment with love,

    A ShutterBug Explores,
    aka (A Creative Harbor)

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  20. A wonderful hike it was. Love the face profiles in the rock, they are totally amazing. Thanks for sharing and have a wonderful weekend.

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  21. Another great hike filled with unusual scenery (to the Northeastener). I'm happy you didn't try to squeeze into that little opening - we want to see more from you! Alana ramblinwitham.blogspot.com

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  22. "Rock on, baby!," Papa Rock to his little one. I can't get over the sunburst. It's so full of optimistic energy. I have a song for the ones that look like a stalactite and stalagmite -

    "Meet me halfway across the sky..."

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  23. You are showing us some amazing photos. I love them all. I am going to have to try that thing of increasing the fstop to enhance the solar flare.
    I'm surprised you didn't just crawl in that tight space. I've worried about you disappearing.
    I love your adventures. Have a great weekend.

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  24. You get to see so many amazing things in the desert. I can see the old man looking down at his little son in the first picture. The rocks look like they are alive.

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  25. The rocks do present interesting profiles, as you have shown us here. One of the best takeaways from these dessert hikes is that there are no concerns about social distancing and arrows instruction folks which direction to walk...such a great change and beautiful scenery too!

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  26. Thank you for visiting my blog. Yes, all the carrots but two did gradually roll off the car top during our 385-mile trip from Ohio to Maryland. Your photos are enchanting. And yes, I did look closely and see the moon. And I'd like to know how the bus-sized boulder got there.

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  27. Thank you for visiting my blog. Yes, all the carrots but two did gradually roll off the car top during our 385-mile trip from Ohio to Maryland. Your photos are enchanting. And yes, I did look closely and see the moon. And I'd like to know how the bus-sized boulder got there.

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  28. There is so much to see on this great planet if we just open our eyes and enjoy it. I love all the shapes and formations you found. I wonder how many filming crews go out there to film scenes that are supposed to look like Mars or some other planet.

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  29. Such wonderfully strange formations.

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  30. you are quite talented to see different shapes in rocks.

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  31. Mother nature is an artist ! What she created in the rocks ! In the very first picture I thought it was a crooked nose !

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  32. I spotted the Papa baby chat straight off SPP 😉 Astounding rock formations you discover each and every visit, what a magical place to explore, so glad we get to do this while you put in all the hard work, merci beaucoup 💙

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  33. These are fantastic! The rock formation in the first photo is almost eerie in its human appearance! Wonderful sunburst!

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  34. What a cool place. It does look like he’s talking to the smaller rock....or that he’s about to eat it.

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  35. No Kidding , How Many Before - Stunning Shots - Thanx For Engaging My Imagination - Feels Good To Be Creative Again - Way Cool

    Cheers

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  36. Loved both parts of this hike . The arches make such amazing photos, just beautiful. And I definitely see the wise elder imparting wisdom to an acolyte in the first rock formation. I wonder if the ancient peoples ever just sat at that “table” rock and ate their dinner. After they ground it and cooked it. We never think of them just relaxing but they must have had some down time. It was a perfect resting spot for you in any case.

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  37. That first rock formation looks like Jimmy Durante! WOW! I would love to hike in that area...maybe some day!

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  38. Love your rocks. I used to photograph a lot of rocks but now I take pics of lots of birds. But I miss rocks - they never fly away.

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