UNCLE!

 Mitch and I were driving home having just finished up a hike in the Cleghorn Lakes Wilderness Area. More to follow on the hike, but this photo's a sneak preview: 

This is a pano shot using my iPhone. Isn't it a beauty?! Nothing but wide open spaces and huge skies! Like I said, more to follow. I'll have a dedicated post for this hike.

 

As we drive through Wonder Valley heading home, something catches my eye on the side of the road. Stop the car, back up, and let's see if it's photo worthy. 

Interesting. It appears to be a small art installation with things attached to old bedsprings. In the photo above, it's strips of fabric blowing in the breeze. No one around. Not in anyone's yard or near a house. Just seems to be put here for random enjoyment!

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm partial to Altoids, and always keep a tin in the car, although I must admit I've never tried Myntz. When you used to open a can of Altoids, they said "CURIOUSLY STRONG" (they are quite strong). Now they just say "UNCLE!". Someone at Altoids has a sense of humor, and what an interesting and unlikely item to be hanging from a bedspring!

 

Linking with Skywatch Friday.

Thanks for stopping by!

Milky Way Over "Big Eyes" (#2)

 The "Big Eyes" rock formation is a favorite of mine. I came across it while out hiking in the middle of nowhere (although technically still within Joshua Tree National Park boundaries) a little over two years ago. And almost exactly two years ago, my friend Mitch and I were spending a moonless night photographing the Milky Way over Big Eyes (click here to see that post). Unfortunately, it turned out to be a cloudy night and the MW was only partially visible (see photo below). We didn't give up (or get any sleep), and later that same night, we did end up getting some good vertical shots of the MW after the clouds had cleared. 

 

Fast forward a couple years to late April, 2025. Mitch is busy, so I'm doing a late afternoon solo hike out to Big Eyes for a second attempt at a horizontal shot of the MW. I guess I'm officially "hooked" on night sky photography. I find myself unable to pass up a new moon night during the summer months, and if I do have to pass it up, I get twitchy and grumpy. Yup, definitely hooked! Anyway... I'm hiking out to the area a couple hours before sunset. This will give me time to explore some arches in the area and get my gear set up for the MW shoot.

 

Shadow Arch

 

Shadow Arch, opposite view.

 

Omicron Arch, silhouette.

 

I think this one has been named "Arch Support". It's hard to photograph, but if you crawl underneath it and shoot up...

 

...it looks pretty cool. Then the hard part is getting back up, and picking all the cactus spines out of your clothes!

And now at my main event, Big Eyes, at 6:30pm, with plenty of time to get set up for the evening. I'll just be putting a tarp on the ground with a sleeping pad and blanket. It's a lot easier (and my pack is lighter) without a tent and sleeping bag. 

 

The photo above reminds me: I purchased a remote camera trigger. I saw another photographer using one to great effect. It allows me to move around and light paint during long exposure shots and to take photos without any risk of accidentally bumping the tripod. And of course I can take selfies. They are great fun!

 

Although it's windy, there are no clouds in the sky. As long as this wind doesn't stir up too much dust, it should be a good night. Just after sunset, I decide to place my LCD lights in the "eyes". I'll be taking photos with the eyes natural (no lights) and lit up. Let me know if you like one better than the other!

 

Adjusting the lights before the stars are out.

 

3:06AM   Version 1: Natural/no lights.

 

Version 2: Lights, high contrast.

 

Version 3: Lights, average contrast, lighter foreground.

 

 

Can't resist having more fun with my remote camera trigger. Guess I should have turned off my headlamp!

 

Camera settings: For the Milky Way, my lens aperture is fully open (f 2.8); ISO at 6400; exposure time is 8 seconds; I'm using a wide angle lens with a focal length of 16mm. I usually get a handful of shouts, with minor adjustments up and down on the ISO and exposure times. I use Photoshop noise reduction (rather than stacking), and then basic edits (contrast, brightness, clarity) to try to make the stars and MW as visible as possible. 

 

On one of my 8 second exposures, I just barely noticed a streak across the sky. It was a meteor, and it was quicker than a blink of an eye. I wasn't sure I really saw it, but thankfully it does show up (just barely) on my photo. I cropped the photo to make the meteor more visible.

Thanks for joining me on another fun evening under desert stars!

Linking with Skywatch Friday.

Camp Iron Mountain

Having enjoyed my visit to the Colorado River Aqueduct and "mystery mountain", it's time to continue on to my primary destination: Camp Iron Mountain.

 

Camp Iron Mountain was part of the U.S. Army Desert Training Center and is where General Patton's 2nd Armored Division was stationed. It was built in 1942 to prepare troups to do battle in North Africa during WW2. It's now designated as a California Historical Landmark.

 

At nearly 68,000 acres, it's very large. The camp had 15 shower buildings, 26 latrines, 113 wooden tent frames, an amphitheater, a 4,000-gallon water tank and two 3,000-gallon water tanks. There were six training ranges for rifle, handguns and machine guns. There were extensive life-fire exercises and warning signs are still on site regarding the risk of unexploded ordinance. 

The army did a good job removing everything when it closed the camp on March 16, 1944. The best preserved structures that remain today are two outdoor stone chapels. The Catholic Chapel is well preserved and is relatively easy to find. I wasn't able to find the Protestant Chapel, and I suspect it isn't as well preserved.

Camp Iron Mountain is completely fenced off. Any exploration must be done on foot, and like I said, it's a very large area. There are these funny little turnstiles every 100 yards or so that allow access. In the photo above, you can also see the Catholic Chapel in the background. The roads to get here are not maintained and there is soft sand in spots. I recomment 4WD.

 

Pathway to the Chapel.

 
I guess Patten wanted order at his camps. As you explore this camp, you see rock pathways everywhere, and I do mean everywhere. They line the streets, walkways, tent sites, and who knows what else. I can imagine these poor, young soldiers spending hours and hours and hours making perfectly straight lines out of rocks, with a drill sargent close by to berate the unfortunate soldier whose line waivers! And what kind of punishment awaited those who stepped outside the lines?!

I have no idea what this is. 

 

 

Perhaps this was a garden area?

 

Former shower or latrine site?

 

Soldier, flatten your trash!!

 

This walkway is like a portal to the mountain, with some seriously straight lines!

 

Red barrel cactus are very slow growing, but I doubt this guy was here in the 40's.

 

 

You can still find some rusty treasures as you explore the camp, but my guess is that much has been taken for "souvenirs" over the years. If you visit, please leave everything exactly as you find it.

 

The troops assemble, 1943.

 

As fascinating as Camp Iron Mountain is, my main goal for coming here was to try for a photo of the Milky Way arching over the chapel. I have my sleeping bag and tarp and will be "cowboy camping" (no tent), with a very early morning alarm. To get the brightest part of the Milky Way, I need to be shooting to the south, which means I would be photographing the back side of the chapel. Fortunately, the chapel looks pretty good from either side.

PhotoPills shows the galactic center right over the top of the Chapel at 3AM.

 

Playing around with lights.

 

3:00AM alarm. Disappointment as I wake up to heavy cloud cover. As you can see, there is no Milky Way in sight. Much too cloudy. Just a few stars. Still, a fun and memorable trip, and a location I look forward to returning to (on a clear night!).

 

Thanks for joining me on this adventure!

Linking with Skywatch Friday.

The Colorado River Aqueduct

 I was planning a drive out to the middle of nowhere and noticed I would be passing over the Colorado River Aqueduct. I marked the spot on Google Maps and wondered why I had never noticed it before? After all, I've driven this route many times, and how do you miss an aqueduct?? I figured it might be a good photo opp and headed off to find it.

The folks that built the aqueduct made large berms which totally obscure your ability to see the aqueduct from the highway. People zoom by all day long and never have a clue that they have just driven over the aqueduct!

 

Seeing clear, aqua-colored water flowing through the middle of the desert is a strange experience. I was surprised at how quickly the water was flowing. You can almost hear the showers flowing, toilets flushing, and sprinklers sputtering at homes and businesses throughout Southern California. Peak flow is 1 billion gallons of water a day, and every drop of it gets used up. That amount of water boggles the mind and makes me wonder how sustainable this is, especially as our population continues to grow.

 

It's strangely beautiful, and yet my mind keeps telling me this water doesn't belong here.
 

The aqueduct is 242 miles long and was completed in 1942. As you may have guessed from the name, the aqueduct takes water from the Colorado River and delivers it to urban centers in S CA. It would have been completed about the same time as General Patton's troups were training in this area (Camp Iron Mountain... which I'll post about next week). Those are the Iron Mountains you see in the background. It employed 30,000 people during 8 years of construction throughout the great depression, and was the largest public works project in S CA during that time. The aqueduct is recognized as one of "Seven Modern Civil Engineering Wonders".

Undated map. My photos and video were taken just below where it says "Granite Mts.".

 
As I left the aqueduct in my rear view mirror, I was heading to yet another location based on something seen on Google Maps. It's a large hill with lines all over it. The lines appear to be about the size of a narrow road. My guess is that they were made by a dozer or earth mover of some kind. It's pretty obvious that they were likely made by humans (vs. nature), but I wanted to check it out.

Mystery Hill, on right, with tag and question marks.

 

A screen capture image from Google Earth shows a closer view of the mysterious lines all over the hill. I added the red line (0.4 miles) for size perspective.
 

Mystery Hill, center. Iron Mountains in the background.

 

 

As I got up close to the mystery lines, my theory that they were created by dozers started to blow away in the dust. I didn't see any evidence of earth moving equipment use. On the steeper parts of the hill, you might expect to see side cuts that would reduce road steepness. Some areas looked steep enough that a dozer would roll over and topple down the hill. It's as if the light and dark colored rocks just magically separated from each other to create this banding. It's also possible this is a geoglyph, made by Native Americans, but that's unlikely. Geoglyph sites are generally well document and protected. One final theory might be tanks. This area is adjacent to Camp Iron Mountain WW2 Training Grounds, and perhaps this hill was used for tank maneuvers? This is one of those desert mysteries that is likely to go unsolved!

 

On my drive back to pavement, I noticed a rusted out old car down in a wash, full of bullet holes.

I wonder what stories it could tell?? I'm guessing this is an old Karmann Ghia? Looks like it's been here a while! Time to continue to my final destination for the day. I need to get set up for an overnight photoshoot of the Milky Way. Check back next week to see if I get lucky!!
 

Thanks for stopping by!!

Linking with Skywatch Friday.

Two Celestial Events

Celestial event #1:

Friday, 4.25.25. Alarm set for 4:45am. When I leave early, it's only a 2 hour drive out to the desert. If not, it will be 2.5 hours (or more). On this particular morning, I woke up around 2:45am. I lay in bed for 15 minutes, but finally gave up on sleep. I ended up leaving the house around 3:30AM. Ya, I know... crazy way to start the day.

 

In less than two hours, I'm heading west on Highway 62 in the high desert in the darkness while admiring the beautiful crescent moon. There was also a planet above and to the right of the moon. That's when I had the aha moment: I had read somewhere recently there would be a "smiley face" in the sky, with Venus and Saturn making up the eyes, and the crescent moon the mouth. I wonder if today is the day? Well, I just had to pull off the road and take a couple photos.

I can see the crescent moon mouth, and above and to the right, Venus is in the perfect spot for the left eye. But where is the right eye (Saturn)?? On my computer, if I zoom in on the photo, I can see Saturn (a small light smudge) and it's in the perfect position for the right eye. But it's so dim you can't see it with the naked eye. The smiley face in the sky was a bit of an exaggeration by the news media. They do that often with celestial events.😊 What would happen if I made Saturn about the same brightness as Venus?

A beautiful tilted smiley face!!

   
Here's what it looks like if I orient the smiley face so it's not tilted:

Pretty cool. I would say it was worth a quick stop. And what the heck, while I'm here, I'll get a photo of the crescent moon and Joshua tree silhouette...

Beautiful!

Celestial event #2:

4.11.25. It was just dumb luck. Mitch and I were finishing up a hike (not yet posted), nearly back to the car, and we noticed this big, beautiful full moon rising on the horizon. Later, I learned it is called the Pink Moon. It doesn't actually look pink. It's named after the pink wildflowers that bloom this time of year. We happened to be in something of a Joshua tree forest, so I tried to find creative ways to capture the moon and Joshua trees together.

It looks like someone running to me!

 

 

 

Thanks for dropping by, and I hope you've been able to enjoy some pretty skies in your neck of the woods!

Linking with Skywatch Friday.