Tag Archives: Desert

Day 15:Joshua Tree National Park

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Named after the famous Joshua Tree, the national park is located in the Southeastern Corner of California and is surrounded by three towns: TwentyNine Palms, Joshua Tree and Yucca Valley. I saw signs for all three of them on my way from Palm Springs.

The sky was California quality blue and the views were just breathtaking. I drove through many spots starting at the Northern Entrance passing through Jumbo Rocks, Skull Rock, Sheep Pass, Ryan mountain, Keys Ranch and finally Barker Dam loop just as the sun was about to set. You can see the dam in the pictures. Colors of the sunset were different from any other place I have been to in this trip. Temperatures were in the low 60s & suffice to say, I am still suffering from a trauma since I came back to CT!

This is the last post for this trip, 15 days in heaven.

Day 14: Walking Palm Springs, CA

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It was sunny, 75 degrees. The sky was amazingly blue. Many Harley Davidsons and antique cars on the street. I walked along South Palm Canyon Drive gazing at the plants, cars, bikes…Depressed that I will be going back to snow in two days, that did not prevent me from capturing the beauty of the town!

Day 11: BadWater Basin, Last moonrise of 2009

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After hiking Golden Canyon, we hit Badwater for a few while the sun was still shining.

On our way back to Texas Springs Campground, the moon had started ascending the sky and was well worth ending the year with. 

Day 11: Golden Canyon: How Zabriskie Point, Gower Gulch & Red Cathedral looked on the last day of 2009

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Golden Canyon is a short gorge that cuts into brightly colored sandstone rocks in many glowing shades of orange, gold and red, with the ever-present deep blue sky above making the hues seem especially sharp and intense. Once there was a paved road running up the whole length but this has long been disused and most sections have eroded away. According to the hike guide, the road eroded back in 1976 when a massive flood came along.

Hiking is the only option in the Canyon, and it is quite popular (we saw many groups with kids on the trails). The trail gains elevation as it reaches towards Red Cathedral(a group of high sandstone cliffs). We decided to take Zabriskie point trails to go through the multicolored rock formations(they looked like Chocolate layers). The path started by climbing an exposed slope of whitish sandy ground to a panoramic area where you could see the Red Cathedral, Furnace Creek and other canyons surrounding the area.

The last part of this trip(video 4) took us through Gower Gulch canyon, It starts very wide and narrows down gradually and becomes more rocky and steep as it descends. We passed through a number of tunnels, relics of Borax and calcite mining and crystals(I managed to film one of those tunnels as I was walking through it). The rocky section then ends with a drop and reaches the main valley. You could then follow the skirt of the hills overlooking the highway to go back to Golden Canyon’s trail head where the parking lot is located. All in all, this was one of the most spectacular hikes I have had so far.