The Journey Home Day 1: Mojave to Mountains

After checking out of my dorm room in Joshua Tree I hiked around the Cottonwood area for a little bit before heading out on the road.  I love the remote highways through this part of California.  So very desolate in places, it gives me a particular sense of calm and freedom.  Following the dark ribbon of road with an enormous sky overhead, the openness of the desert, the beauty of the exposed geology of the mountains, unmasked by plant life.  The land is open and unconcealed, like the world laid bare at your feet, open to exploration, encouraging a similar openness in the viewer, a freedom to be who you are.

Today is just a short four hour drive north and west to the mountains outside of Tehachapi where my aunt and uncle live.  The views from their place are incredible, perched at the top of a ridge, facing the Sierra Nevadas.  On clear days, you can see Mount Whitney.  Some days, fog below defines the ridges of the surrounding mountains, on others low clouds form a smooth surfaced lake.  Having only been there for a handful or two of days, cumulatively, I know I've missed out on the full visual repertoire, which only makes me want to come back more.  Plus there's the added benefit of the people who live there, whom I greatly enjoy being around.  Truly they are the real reason I go, not their view, but it's a nice treat.  Afternoons mean martinis and appetizers, a tradition I fully support.

My posts for these next few days, on my way home, will be organized more by place than exact day.  Included below are a couple shots from the next morning, when my uncle took me on a drive to the next mountain over where there's a neat little archaeological site that was donated to the public by the land owners.

A farewell view of Joshua Tree from near my dorm.

Looking south across the street from my aunt and uncle's place, which faces north.

The view at my aunt and uncle's house.

The view at my aunt and uncle's house.  My drive over takes me through a pass off to the far right.

A panorama that captures much, but not all, of their view.

An oak, the reason for this site.  Ancient people would gather acorns, soak them for a prolonged period to reduce the bitterness, and grind them into a flour.

The holes are places where acorns were ground on the rock, over time wearing these deep holes.  You see these around Joshua Tree NP as well, and various areas around the region.

A view of my aunt and uncle's place, at the very top of that ridge.

Joshua Tree National Park - Artist in Residence Day 20

A Hike with an Archaeologist

The morning started early, I was out the door by 7am to drive into the park for a hike with a park archaeologist and local climbing stewards.  We hiked out to a number of different sites to look at pictographs, petroglyphs, bedrock mortars, and areas with midden (darker, almost greasy, stratified deposits in areas that saw regular human use).  The goal was to develop an ability to recognize and identify culturally significant areas within the park to help climbers recognize areas that should not be climbed in order to avoid damaging them.  These are highly significant areas that, once damaged, cannot be replaced.  The park's policy is to keep private any and all information and images related to rock art, and so I took no photos of the many amazing places we saw today, both areas with a single, large, significant image and areas with hundreds of smaller markings.  Many were in remarkably beautiful rock formations, and it was hard not to create a visual record.  These areas are protected by law, whether in or out of the park, any tampering or sharing of location is not allowed.  If you find rock art, enjoy looking, but please don't add to the risk of their loss due to damage by other, less respectful humans; keep your discovery to yourself.  Also, be cool: don't touch or climb on them, and for sure don't add your own drawings.  These sites were created by the ancestors of people who still live is this area and the art is relative and significant to them.  

After the hike I drove over to take the Queen Valley Road again, I just love that area.  I spent most of the afternoon packing and cleaning my little room.  Due to various factors tonight is my last night in the park for this residency.  As always, the end has come too soon, I've hit my groove and could stay and do this happily for several more weeks.  At the same time, I miss my family and friends, and it will be nice to be home and back in the swing of my fantastically crazy, chaotic life.  It helps to know I will be back in April, I already have a list of must-hike spots.

I had to run a couple quick errands in town, so headed to the Joshua Tree Saloon for a quiet dinner, then back home to pack, go through a few last photos, and plan for my trip home.  I'm planning a morning drive through the park before traveling a few hours to my aunt and uncle's house for an overnight visit.  I always love time with them, then will make my way through the Mojave Desert to Death Valley for a few days before the long road home to Coeur d'Alene.  I will most certainly have photos to share from Death Valley, though I may not be able to post them until I'm home.

Queen Valley Road, with some wonderfully large specimens of Joshua Trees.

Wish I had a friend here for scale, this tree is enormous.  There an exceptionally tall one on the other side of the road, a little ways down that you can see, towering over the others.