Squaw Tank Area

Squaw Tank is one of the stops along Geology Tour Road (GTR) in Joshua Tree National Park. GTR is one of my favorite off-road drives in the Park. I've driven by Squaw Tank many times, and I've stopped a couple times to check out the "tank", but I've never really taken time to hike and explore the area beyond the tank. So I figured I was long overdue.

Hopefully you can see my little squiggles on this screen shot. GTR, which runs N/S, is easy to spot. Look closely and you can see the small turn off and parking area on the right side of GTR. Squaw Tank is a very short hike from the parking area. That's about as far as most people explore. Today's hike explores the prominent rocky outcroppings in the area (red circle). Side note: you can get to this area in a 2WD vehicle. Beyond Squaw Tank, 4WD is strongly recommended.

Photo of Squaw Tank, courtesy of my friend Elliot Koeppel over at http://cali49.com

I didn't come to check out the tank today, but I did want to check out a little-known and hard to see inscription that's on the dam.

Unless you knew this was here and you were actively looking for it, it's very unlikely you would notice the faint inscription:

Little William age seven

He died and went to heaven

We can't always sometimes tell

But Little Willie might have went to HELL

Who wrote this and when? Who was Little William?? Another of many bizarre desert mysteries, but it seems kind of mean-spirited to me. Can't help but feel sorry for Little Willie!

The first thing I did is hike up to the top of the boulders south of Squaw Tank. From this vantage point, there are some incredible views! In the photo above, looking SE, you have a beautiful view of Pleasant Valley and beyond.

I passed by this boulder on the hike up the hill. Kind of reminds me of a hippo. What do you think??

Looking north: Geology Tour Road, the turn off and parking area for Squaw Tank, and Malapai Hill

Looking south: the junction of Geology Tour Road

Interesting rock formation near the parking area. See the shelter?

Inside the rock shelter

Behind Squaw Tank. Look closely and you can see the top of the dam in the center of the photo.

Seemed like the further away I got from the parking area, the more interesting the rock formations got!

X marks the spot... rocky dike or intrusion in the granite.

Another little rocky alcove.

View from inside looking out of the alcove. Sorry about the foot!

Yet another alcove. This area seems to be full of them!

View from inside looking out of the Bat Cave!

Beautiful view toward Malapai Hill

 I found it interesting how the cosmic stonemason seems to have laid these perfectly level sheets of rock over the monzogranite. Amazing!

Perhaps my favorite shot of the day. Something very calming about the location and the late afternoon light.

Sharp, rocky spires!

Joshua Tree with Malapai Hill in the background.

Linking with Skywatch Friday.

Thanks for stopping by!!

"Take only pictures, leave only footprints"

Morning Walk

We had some brief but intense rain last night about 10PM. The news said it was the first rain we've had (in the Orange County/LA area) since April or May, so 4 or 5 months ago. It only lasted about 15 minutes, but for those 15 minutes it really poured. Based on the amount of water in a backyard bucket, it looked like at least 1/2" rain, if not more. That's a lot of rain in 15 minutes! I also heard the storm moving through the area last night was actually the final remnant of Hurricane Rita. 

It's amazing how a little rain can make everything seem so clean and fresh. On my walk this morning we had beautiful blue skies with white puffy clouds. Perfect for a Skywatch post!

I think I see a poodle in this last photo!

Linking with Skywatch Friday.

Thanks for stopping by!!

Fun Photo Editing

No new hiking adventures this week, so I'll share some recent photos from the Indian Cove area of Joshua Tree National Park. Some of the photos have only minor tweaks and some have big huge edits. I'll let you guess which is which!

  

Thanks for stopping by!!

"Leave only footprints, take only photos"

Linking with Skywatch Friday.

Dead Snake Shelter

Lilly (my granddaughter) and I were hiking recently in the Indian Cove area of Joshua Tree National Park.

It was another triple-digit summer day in the desert, so we waited until after dinner (around 6 PM) before starting our hike. It would be dark by 7:30 PM, so we had just a short window of time.

 Although it was still hot, we had pretty skies overhead, and Indian Cove is a great spot for a hike!

Is it just me, or does anyone else think the rock Lilly is standing next to looks like a big toe??! Wait, let me crop the image so we can get a closer look.

Hmmm, even cropped it still looks like a big toe to me!!

After hiking a short distance, we came across this cave or shelter. It's bigger than it looks. An adult (me at 6') can easily get around that round rock blocking the entrance, and the shelter is surprisingly large on the inside. I was excited to find it and was already focused on looking at the boulder walls for any sign of rock art when Lilly said "Look, Papa, a snake!" Dang if she wasn't right!!

On the ground in the middle of the shelter was a snake. And not just any snake, but a rattlesnake. I was surprised and a little spooked that he wasn't coiled and rattling. Actually, as I took a closer look, I thought he might be dead. I was so focused on looking at the rock walls for Native American art, I hadn't even seen the snake. Saved by a 5-year-old!!

After moving Lilly away from the shelter opening, I changed lenses and put on my telephoto lens. It was easy to see that the rattlesnake was alive... eyes open, head slightly up, and occasional tongue flicking. But something was wrong. Was he sick? Why wasn't he coiled and rattling? He didn't look healthy to me. I wonder what special significance Native Americans might attribute to finding a sick, near dead rattlesnake in a shelter like this? Bad spirits or some kind of negative omen?? That's what it felt like to me, and we made a hasty exit.

As Lilly and I hiked back to the Jeep, the skies were lighting up nicely. A great opportunity to capture some Skywatch shots!!

A short but beautiful hike. Thanks for stopping by!!

"Leave only footprints, take only pictures"

Linking with Skywatch Friday.