Slickrock and Shadow

Darwin Falls with the reeds on the left.  What a beauty! I found myself passing Darwin Falls trailhead this past summer en route to the Sierra Mountains.  As cool as they would be, Death Valley was roasting at 118° F.  Though I'm no stranger to triple-digit temperature, this was a new record for hiking conditions.  I was literally passing through in the middle of the day, with the sun directly overhead.  One step out of the air-conditioned Subaru and I was uncomfortably hot.  I felt like I was standing too close to a roaring campfire the whole time.   2 miles and I could see no sign of shade.  Taking only my hat, water bottle, camera and tripod, I marched off as efficiently as I could.  Marching in place in a sauna would be the best training for this hike.  After 20 minutes of hiking up the wash, water and trees appeared in the canyon.  Grateful for the shade, I hopped over a few puddles and then water flowed slowly down the sh...

Rocket Tower:  ruins of some unknown structure now left standing along the train tracks on the east side of the Salton Sea. The Mojave Desert is my kind-of place:  hot, vast, unpopulated.  I explored the area around the Salton Sea for a few days.  The attractions here are the kinds of things that would be condemned in a city:  broken and rotten shacks, buildings in ruin and being overtaken by the sand. The biggest drawback is the stench of rotting fish which grows quite strong as you near the water.  I can only describe the smell this way:  imagine dumping 1,000 cans of tuna fish into 100 porta-potties and then sticking your nose into the worst-smelling part.  That's the Salton Sea smell! But if you can bear the smell, there is much to discover.  Bombay Beach community has lots of ruined buildings and some that are inhabited (by those with no sense of smell).  I found it pretty busy with people, kids, photographers and other ga...

Palms, Ocotillo and Barrel Cacti are primarily seen in Mountain Palm Springs Canyon In the heart of Anza Borrego Desert Reserve are the oases giving palm trees a life in the midst of harsh surroundings.  Mountain Palm Springs is one such oasis.  In my digital explorations using Google satellite images, it appeared that several small oases are interspersed throughout these canyons.  I came for sunrise and early morning photography (they face the east) and found small paths leading over the hills of one canyon into another adjacent canyon.  These hills are not very high so climbing to the top and then discovering another oasis in the desert was kind-of fun.  This is a delightful and easy place to explore.  (It made me feel like a Victorian-era explorer.)  I could have stayed a lot longer but had some other adventures planned this day. There is a small BLM-style campground with plenty of room here.  You'll be totally alone with nature. ...

Spectacular Sunset at Font's Point Fonts Point at Anza Borrego Desert is the must visit location in this region.  The views stretch all the way into Mexico and the Borrego Badlands form hundreds if not thousands of canyons that are woven together in the most beautiful natural landscape.  It is easy to drive here on the dirt road.  Step out of your car and Boom! you are there. The great thing about fonts point is that it is just not one location.  You can walk along the edge for miles in every direction.  I spent quite a bit of time walking in one direction and then I would come all the way back and go in the other direction because the views are amazing everywhere. Remember to stay after the sun goes down because the light becomes a dark glow on the land.  This is one of the better sunset locations I have visited in my life!  It should not be missed. Looking down a Canyon Twisted Ridges descend hundreds of feet Great Sunset view fro...

Ocotillo Sunrise Ocotillo have become my favorite plant!  Who knew they could grow 15 feet tall, covered in red flowers and vibrant green buds?  These beauties cover the hills in the Sonoran desert, sometimes very thick.  The more photogenic ones stand alone which allow photographic isolation.  On this morning in the Anza Borrego desert, the morning clouds went pink and red with powerful effect.  I combined the silhouette of the Ocotillo with the amazing sky to catch the moment.

Goat Canyon trestle panoramic picture I will describe my trip to the Goat Canyon Trestle.  This is part of my trail report series.  I tried to provide enough information to help other adventurers.  First of all a little bit of background on this particular location.  Goat Canyon trestle was created in 1919 as part of the railroad going from El Centro to San Diego.  Goat Canyon is located within the Carrizo Gorge.  Goat Canyon happens to be the largest canyon.  There are several other smaller trestles along this railroad.  I first read about this on the Internet from someone who labeled it "the last adventure".  It sounded crazy.  It sounded very remote.  It sounded very fun.  I have had it in my mind for many years.  Finally on a trip to the Palm Springs area, I decided to make a visit and attempt to see the Goat Canyon Trestle. There are 3 ways to visit this unique location: 1.  Hiking from Dos Cabezas ov...

Jumbo Rocks Panorama -- click on picture for larger view I had to visit Jumbo Rocks in Joshua Tree.  I've seen so many pictures of these amazing and balanced rock conglomerations that my thoughts of JTNP immediately bring up the Ansel Adams photo of the balanced boulder.  So I went. These rocks are right in the middle of the largest campground in the whole park.  People are coming and going.  Just finding a parking space was difficult.  From a distance, I could see that this formation stands taller than many of the surrounding hills and mounds.  One of those mounds served as my location for this panorama.   From 400 feet away, I shot with my 300mm lens on a tripod and slowly moved across this rock formation.  Back home I stitched all these together to create a massive file.  It's a different look at this classic place, and one that I am happy with.  

Ryan Ranch Ruins with Yucca at Dusk On my visit to Joshua Tree National Park, I had two days:  two sunsets and two sunrises.  Being the best time of day to capture a quality photograph, I debated carefully over where I ought to be to get the best photo.  I try to put myself in a good place at the right time and hope for something special.  JTNP has plenty of locations.  My wish list included the cholla cactus garden, Ryan Ranch, the Lost Pencil, Hidden Valley, Key's View, Jumbo Rocks, White Tank to name a few.  This is the kind of decision that faces a photographer when visiting a major national park:  too many good things.   I whittled the list down a bit by seeing what had been shot extensively.  Jumbo Rocks, Cholla cactus garden and Key's View are photographed so much that I felt a visit to those locations would be unlikely to yield an original photograph.  (I did visit most of these locations in the day, though.)  Ryan R...

Aiguille de Joshua Tree:  the Finger of Hercules Aiguille means "a sharp pinnacle of rock in a mountain range".  I discovered a very unique fingerlike pinnacle exists in Joshua Tree National Park in several pictures and when I finally discovered its location, I wanted to visit.  It is very easy to find in the Hidden Valley section of the park.  Walking to it is level and it takes less than 30 minutes to reach the base.  I climbed up a few boulders to reach this vantage point and then took my best shot.  I wanted to include the surrounding valley of Joshua trees to give it a strong sense of location. This formation is often photographed with a climber standing atop the pinnacle.  My fear of heights and lack of rock climbing skill made that option undesirable.  :(

Lost Pencil at Sunrise Scouting locations in Joshua tree before arriving, I combed the Internet and found several different unhelpful sites.  It was not until I discovered the "Joshua Tree 3D" site that I found a place that actually told you where to find specific rock formations.  I decided to hike to one location mentioned on this site called the "lost pencil".  I hiked out before sunrise so that I could be there when the sun came up.  The wind had been blowing throughout the night and there were no clouds at all.  The harsh desert sky did not provide anything interesting to complement the rocks.  Therefore I tried to include a lot of different objects on the ground as I was making photographic composition choices. Sometimes photographers only show their very best work.  This case, I feel that this is not my very best work but given the weather conditions, it is the best that could occur on this particular morning.  Oh, there is not a lo...

Algodones Sand Dunes resemble the Sahara On my 1st and only trip to the North Algodones Sand Dunes located in the Imperial Valley of California, I was hoping to experience some untouched sand dunes.  The Algodones Dunes are segregated into the North and the South.  The North is designated wilderness and off-road vehicles are forbidden.  The South is a designated site for off-road vehicle fun.  When I drove into Glamis that was quite clear that the South receives a lot more attention than the North. I slept in my car beside the North dunes and got up well before sunrise so that I could hike out onto the dunes and be there when the sun came up.  I was surprised at how much walking I had to do simply to reach the dunes.  It was very flat but seems to take about twice as long as I expected.  The dunes began fairly abruptly on the edge of some brush and trees.  Yet a few questions and even a tree or 2 are located in the midst of the dunes as far...