The Old Truck at Night

 This old truck is a real mystery. It's a good 2 miles from the nearest highway, and how it got to this location before getting stuck in the sand is anyone's guess. It looks like a Ford F150, and I first posted about it here back in December of 2020. 

 

My goal for today's hike is simple: Hike to the old truck, arrive an hour or so before sunset. Use that hour to explore some of the local boulder formations, then wait for the stars to rise. I have never visited the old truck at night, and I'm thinking it might look cool under the stars!

Hello, old friend!

 

We are "upstream" in the wash where the old truck is located. That's a Smoke Tree on the left. If we follow this wash "downstream" for a ways, we will eventually come to the old truck. It's certainly possible that a massive thunderstorm pushed the truck down this wash for a long distance.

 

 

Interesting boulder formations not far from the old truck.

 

Possible shelter.

 

Inside, looking out.

 

 

I didn't try to crawl into this one for fear of being swallowed!

 

Desert Milkweed

 

 

Blurry Milkweed bug and seedpod (sorry, the wind was blowing!).

 

Looks like a bad case of tooth decay!

 

This boulder is split in half, then somehow pulled apart.

 

 

The Belt of Venus.

 

The sun has set on the old truck, but it's still hitting the peaks of the Coxcomb Mountains in the background.

 

Moonset over the old truck.

 

The thing that looks like a UFO coming in for a landing is actually the moon!

 

This was the photo of the truck at night I was hoping to get. The moon (just out of the frame) makes it harder to see the individual stars, but they are visible if you look closely. You can also see the shadow cast by the moon. I've placed two small LED lights in the cab of the truck to make things interesting.

 

Starting the 2-mile hike back to my car. Can you guess what that dome of light is on the horizon?? The view is N/NE. At about 10-15 miles is the Sheephole Valley Wilderness. Nothing but desert (no lights). Beyond that at about 60-70 miles is the Mojave National Preserve (again, just desert, no lights). Finally, at about 140 miles from where I'm standing, you hit Las Vegas and suburbs. LOTS OF LIGHTS!! I'm pretty sure that's what we are seeing here. Nothing else it could be. Light pollution has a huge impact and travels many miles.

 

Thanks for stopping by!!

Linking with Skywatch Friday.

Out and About in the Hidden Valley Area

 It's been years since visiting what I call "stamp rock" in Joshua Tree National Park.

If my memory can be trusted (probably not!), I seem to recall the artist took some liberties with that large Joshua tree. Either he added it just to enhance the painting, or it was there at the time but has long since fallen over and disappeared. I thought I knew right where stamp rock was, but as it turned out, I didn't, and Mitch and I did a lot of hiking around the Hidden Valley area of Joshua Tree National Park before finally finding it. That's OK, there's lots to see!

 

Toothy grin! Can you guess what the white stuff is on the "teeth"? That's climbers chalk. They put it on their hands to help them grip the rock.

 

Delicate balance!

We came across some incredible pictographs, although not in this area. I'm sharing it here so as not to give away its true location.

 

 

 

 

Old dam built by the early ranchers. And thanks to recent rain, it was full of water. What a nice surprise!

 

 

Alien Rock!!

And finally we found it... stamp rock!! But if you look closely and compare it to the stamp, it's definitely the same rock formation, but it's inverted. Like looking at a mirror image. Very strange!

 

So I used Photoshop to flip the image horizontally, and I used AI to add a Joshua Tree. Now if you compare this to the stamp, there is no doubt this is the rock formation the artist used for inspiration. Pretty cool!

 

Later that evening, enjoying the stars.

 

Until next time!!

 

Thanks for stopping by!

Linking with Skywatch Friday.