Consider the Ocotillo

 They often look like dry sticks coming out of the ground, just waiting for the next big wind to blow them over. You would swear they were dead.

Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons

 

But give them some water, and magic happens. Just a single rain that soaks the ground is all it takes, and within a day or two small greenish leaves cover those dead-looking sticks. And shortly after that, you will see some unusual red flowers at the very end of the sticks (see photo below). Like I said, it's magic!

Photo credit: Pithandvigor.com

Ocotillo is described as a woody shrub that grows in the deserts of the southwestern US and northern Mexico. It's also know as candlewood, coachwhip, or vine cactus, although I've never heard anyone refer to Ocotillo by those names. Ocotillo means "little torch" in Spanish, which seems like a perfect description, given those bright red flowers at the end of the long branches. And a side note, the hummingbirds go crazy over those flowers!

 

Ocotillo can be up to 20' tall. This one we came across recently is a good, tall specimen. Mitch is about 6'2" or 6'3", and this one is at least 3 Mitch's in height!

 

Here are some Ocotillo showing off in the late afternoon light. They tend to grow in "clumps" or patches. You can hike for long distances without seeing any, and then come across a grouping like this. If you are ever in Joshua Tree National Park, keep an eye out for the "Ocotillo Patch" along Pinto Basin Road. It's the largest patch of Ocotillo in the Park.

 

So I found myself driving home through the Park after a long, exhausing hike recently. It was about 8pm, unusually warm for February, and a beautiful clear sky. My mind was wandering, thinking about possible places to stop along the road to get a picture of the desert stars (I had my tripod with me), but also thinking about how tired and hungry I was (I hadn't eaten since lunch). There was a chicken pot pie and a cold beer with my name on it. About this time I see the sign for the Ocotillo Patch turnout. Well, dinner would just have to wait!

Ocotillo under the stars!

As we get closer to Milky Way season, I think it would be fun to return and get a shot of the Milky Way over an Ocotillo. I'll put it on my to-do list!

 

Thanks for stopping by!!

Linking with Skywatch Friday.

Fortune Cookie Arch and Jabba Rock

 We decided to revist Jabba Rock in the late afternoon, this time with long lenses to (hopefully) capture golden hour light on the rocks in the area.

Since we've hiked to Jabba Rock a few times, I spent some time on Google Earth putting together a new route that included some unhiked sections. It was a good idea, because we ended up seeing some new arches and windows that we hadn't seen before.

 

About 4 months ago I was hiking in this general area and noticed a profusion of green vines covering the plants. The vine-covered plants were almost totally limited to the washes, and I'm guessing it's a parasitic plant that grows very quickly after a rain. Fast forward about 4 months. See all the yellow stuff in the photo above? That same green vine is dead and is now orange in color. Sadly, it's still covering the plants, many of which appear to have died. 

 

Look at all those holes eroded in the rocks! That's one of the reasons we like hiking out here. As the rock erodes and the holes get bigger, they turn into alcoves, caves and arches. 

 

Case in point: A nice alcove. Let's climb up and take a look.

 

Mitch relaxing, enjoying the shade and the view from inside the alcove!

 

Strange find of the day: I come across this old enamel container in a rocky shelter. Perhaps used as a water cache? Much too heavy to carry in on a hike to this very remote area. I'm reminded that, prior to this area being designated as wilderness, people used to explore these rocky hills and sandy washes by jeep and set up camp.

 

Fortune Cookie Arch, which turns out to be harder to get to than I remembered!

 

Steep climb up to Fortune Cookie Arch.

 

A well deserved rest after the climb up!

 

Wonderful views from inside Fortune Cookie Arch

 

Those rocks remind me of a scout salute.

 

I've never seen this one before. Shark Fin seems like a good name!

 

We finally make it to our primary destination (Jabba Rock). I'm using this photo from a previous visit since I forgot to take one from here on this hike. We're going to be attempting to climb up to Jabba's hut (or should it be Hutt?), which is that alcove at the very top. I've done it before, but as I get older, for some strange reason the climb gets harder!🤣 It's not quite as bad as it looks, since we will take an approach on the back side of the rock.

 

Even this approach is steep, and I'm happy to have made it in one piece!

 

From inside Jabba's hut.

 

Mitch in silhouette, with the moon

 

Some amazing views from atop Jabba Rock (wide angle lens).

 

The view toward the Coxcomb Mountains (telephoto lens).

 

And is often the case, some of my favorite photos are taken during the return hike and after the sun has set. This was the last photo of the day!

 

Thanks for joining me on another desert adventure!!

Linking with Skywatch Friday.

Hiking Afterglow

 After finishing our hike to Mars, we were in no big hurry to jump in our cars and drive home. The post sunset skies were beautiful, the weather was perfect, and it was nice to just sit and enjoy the afterglow of a great hike.

I didn't have a tripod with me, so all these photos are hand-held.  Modern digital cameras are so amazing! As the sky darkened, I gradually dialed up my ISO setting. To keep the photos from being a blurry mess, I went as high as ISO 3200. It allowed me to keep a reasonably fast shutter speed to avoid blur. Even at ISO 3200, the colors are vibrant and I don't see much grain. Like I said, amazing!

 

Thanks for stopping by!!

Linking with Skywatch Friday.

Mars Training Grounds

Do you have plans to travel to Mars anytime in the near future? Looking for a place to train and get in shape before your trip? I have just the spot!!

 

Our friend Travis told us we should check out a remote area in Joshua Tree National Park he nicknamed "Mars Training Grounds" and "Yoni Bridge". Travis is a professional guide and has hiked JTNP more than anyone I know. When he recommends something, it's always worth seeing!

Here's where we start the off-road drive portion of our adventure. It's 10 miles of sandy road to get to where we will start our hike. The recommendations on these signs should NOT be taken lightly! Here's a closer look:

No water. No medical services. No gas. Most importantly, no cell service. Deep sand/4WD high clearance vehicles ONLY. If you can get a tow truck driver crazy enough to come out here and tow you back to the road, it will be over $1000. 

 

Some years back, a 44 year old Dutch music promoter and his 38 year old German girlfriend were in a rental car (2WD) and decided to take this road. Their rental car got stuck in the sand a handful of miles from here (no surprise) so they left their car and started walking back the way they had come. On this day, the high was 106. Someone out exploring came across their bodies along the road later that same day. They were only a couple miles from their car before they succumbed to the heat and dehydration. A very tragic situation.

 

The first 2-3 miles of our hike was flat and followed the base of these rocky hills. Then came the uphill part (photo above). It was quite a bit steeper than it looks. Look very closely and you might be able to make out Mitch and Nadine, my hiking partners for the day. I was in charge of route finding. I used Travis' route as a starting point, but Travis is 30 years younger than me and can cover a lot more ground and vertical elevation. I shaved off a couple miles by finding a more direct route up to the Mars Training Ground. It turned out to be steep and rocky but doable.

 

After a lot of climbing, we manage to make it to the top of a large flat-topped butte covered with rocks. But not just any rocks. Everything up here is volcanic rock. Back or redish in color and full of small holes. It's the kind of volcanic rock you would expect to find around a cinder cone, but I don't know of any cinder cones in the area.

 

This must be what Travis calls the Mars Training Ground, and I can see why. If you wanted to train for a trip to the rocky Martian surface, this would be a great place to do it!

 

NASA video clip of Martian surface.

 

In some areas the volcanic rock is tightly packed and easy to walk on.

 

About the only plant life are some scraggly, half dead creosote bushes.

 

From a distance, we can see another butte (left side of the photo) but it appears it will require another steep descent down and climb up the other side to get to the second butte. As we get closer, we see a bridge of land connecting the two. This must be Travis' "Yoni Bridge", and it makes the hike over to the second butte much easier.

 

Another view as we make our way to the second butte (left).

 

Nadine and Mitch crossing the "bridge". There is a steep drop off to the left that you can't see in the photo. With drop-offs on either side, it really does feel like a bridge!

 

On the second butte, we investigate this pile of rocks. Any guesses as to what it is??

 

If you guessed a Bureau of Land Management benchmark survey, then you guessed right! I checked my GPS app on my phone to see where to proceed next and noticed we were standing exactly on the park boundary. On one side of this benchmark is BLM land, on the other side is Joshua Tree National Park!

 

What a surprise to find Whitestem Milkweed growing up here!

 

Looking back toward the first butte (Mars Training Grounds)

 

Safely down from the buttes and heading back to the car.

 

Made it back just in time to enjoy the sunset!!

Thanks for stopping by!!

Linking with Skywatch Friday.

 

Have a Happy Valentine's Day!!❤️