The Old Truck

It's certainly a mystery. What's this truck doing in this desert wash, miles from the road, in Joshua Tree National Park Wilderness Area (no vehicles allowed)? How it got here, who was driving it, and why they abandoned it sounds like a great storyline for the next Netflix movie!

Very strange. A shoutout to virtual friend G.S. for giving me some hints as to location. This was actually my second hike to this old truck. I was going to link back to my original post, but guess what? There is no original post!! Somehow, that hike must have slipped through the cracks and was never posted. Is it just me, or do the cracks seem to be getting wider as each year passes?

Let me start by sharing a few pics from the hike in. My goal for this hike was to explore some rocky areas near the truck that I had never seen, and then to end up at the old truck around sunset. 

I feel as if I'm being watched!

Lovely late afternoon light in this desert wash full of smoke trees.

The delicate purple flowers of a smoke tree in bloom.

Spaceship rock!

Window rock

Desert milkweed seedpods

I came across a number of rocky shelter sites that I had never seen before, so that was a treat. No definitive signs of Native American use, although the third photo (below) has a boulder just inside the shelter that looks suspiciously worn down! I thought I found a couple of bedrock mortars outside the shelter in the forth photo (below). After closer inspection, I think they may be naturally occurring depressions in the rock.

Even in the desert you can see vibrant green color!

It was about this time in the hike that my stomach was rumbling and I had the irresistible urge for some fudge stripe cookies. See the resemblance??

My timing was good, as I reached the old truck just before sunset.

This truck is going nowhere! It reminds me of the "International Car Forest" (photo credit Trip Advisor), but this one is all alone and seen by very few people. Certainly no graffiti problems!

As the moon started to rise and darkness was closing in around me, I couldn't help thinking about the long hike back in the dark, using only my headlamp and Garmin for navigation. I wonder if there's anyone still alive that knows the full story behind this truck out in the middle of nowhere!?? It's likely another in my long list of desert mysteries that will never be solved.

Linking with Skywatch Friday.

Stay safe and stay healthy!!

Four Minutes of Magic

I set the alarm to wake up early on Monday, Nov. 30. The full moon would set @6:51 AM. Ideally, I wanted to be at a view location about 30 minutes before moonset. Sunrise would be at 6:40 AM, so if I got really lucky, I might be able to get some good moon shots and sunrise captures on the same outing. All photos were taken using a 100-400mm telephoto lens and tripod.

6:35 AM

I had wanted to hike up the hillside (parallel to the fence in the photo) to a viewpoint, but the access gate was locked! Oh well, the moon was pretty and visible between the clouds, so I just started shooting from this spot next to my parked car. Follow along as we watch it drop down to the fence. 

6:38 AM:  Nestled in the clouds!

6:38 AM (zoom in and crop)

6:39 AM

6:40 AM

6:41 AM (convert to BW, zoom in and crop)

6:44 AM

6:52 AM

That's about it for capturing this very pretty moonset. Let's look the other direction at the beautiful sunrise.

Saddleback Mountain

This had been a great outing, with beautiful skies. As I started to pack up to leave, I wondered if the moon would still be visible from the viewpoint location where I had originally intended to go. I went back to the gate that was locked earlier and it was now unlocked. Nice!!!

7:01 AM

WOW!! And to think I almost missed this shot! I didn't have to walk far up the hill before I saw this beautiful view of the moon setting over downtown LA. Astute readers may have noticed I said moonset was 6:51 AM, yet I took the above photo at 7:01. I even went back to the website to double-check (https://www.timeanddate.com/astronomy/usa). Yup, I had the correct location entered and the moonset time says 6:51 AM. Certainly angle of view must play a role, and perhaps there is some wiggle room in these numbers. That's a good lesson to remember!

7:08 AM

At about 7:08 AM, something magical happened. The light from the sunrise hit the City of Angels at just the right angle, reflecting light off the metal and glass buildings. For a brief couple minutes, LA looked like a "city of gold", shimmering brightly on the horizon. It's an image I don't think I will ever forget. Two hikers walking by looked in the direction my camera was pointed and stopped in their tracks to take in the sight.

7:09 AM

7:12 AM

It had been exactly 4 minutes that the magical golden light reflected off the buildings of downtown LA, and then it was gone. As was the moon. What an amazing morning. I should do this more often! I wonder if the "magical light" reflects off the city every morning??

Linking with Skywatch Friday.

Stay safe and stay healthy!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

For those of us that celebrate, Thanksgiving 2020 will be a subdued, small group affair. COVID seems to have the upper hand at the moment, and large gatherings are to be avoided. For us, that means just our household unit will be gathering around the dinner table. But that doesn't mean we should be any less thankful. Quite the opposite, because we are fortunate in so many ways!

So sharing some recent skies with you from the Coyote Hills area. I promise to take you back out to the desert with my next post!

 

Smoke ring!

Giant cargo ships waiting their turn to enter Long Beach Harbor.

Rain on the left, blue skies on the right!

For those of you celebrating, wishing you a happy and safe Thanksgiving!

 

Linking with Skywatch Friday.

Walking to Indian Cove

Do you ever forget to post stuff, and the photo files get buried on your computer's hard drive? Happens to me all the time, and such is the case with this post. I made a 6.5 mile round trip hike to Indian Cove in June of this year. As I was reviewing the photos, I checked my blog just to be sure I made the post. Sure enough, nothing posted. I wonder how many additional hikes I've photographed that never saw the light of day??

 

Perhaps one of the most notable things about the Indian Cove area are the rocky peaks. They are beautiful in the late afternoon sun. Even better, I can hike to them right out my door. It's not a short hike, but even so, I'm so fortunate to have this scenery close by. I've posted about this area multiple times (most recently here).

 

Mojave Yucca (above) are very common in the Indian Cove area. Joshua Trees not so much. The elevation isn't high enough for them to be at their best. In the photo above, I was having fun with my fisheye lens.

 

About 2 miles from my house, there's this very nice shelter (below).

Here's the view from inside looking out. It's a beautiful, shady shelter and it has a nice feel to it. There are lots of signs of Native American life in the Indian Cove area, but I can't find anything here. No rock art, no slick, smooth area on that rock in the center (i.e., signs of grinding), and no pottery sherds. Even so, I know I'm not the first to rest in this shady, cool shelter, and I strongly suspect its use dates back to Native American times.
 

Yin & Yang rocks. I wonder if they were a single rock millions of years ago, and just weathered and split?

 

This is such a quiet, serene hike that I'm surprised when I come around a corner and can see the views of 29 Palms off in the distance. It feels much more remote. Did you notice the red barrel cactus growing on the rocks?

 

Scanning the rocks, I think I spot something that looks like a little cave or alcove. The shot above was taken with a telephoto lens. With the naked eye, it was much harder to spot. Let go take a look.

 

 

A beautiful little cave! Easy, level entrance. Let's go inside for a closer look.

 

It's quite a nice view looking out the front "door"!

 

Little critter #1: Antelope squirrel

Little critter #2: Desert cotton tail

Little critter #3: Quail

This particular quail is actually the "lookout" for the covey of quail in the area. He was on this high point and being very vocal, no doubt letting friends and family know of danger (me) nearby!
 

Looking north

Looking south

Everything along the base of the far mountains is part of the 29 Palms Marine Base.

 

Time to put on the headlamp as it gets dark out. I'm only about 15 - 20 minutes from home. That area that looks like water is actually solar panels. They're quite popular in the desert, and you are only seeing a small section!

 

Thanks for stopping by for another desert adventure!

Stay safe and stay healthy.

Linking with Skywatch Friday.