Joshua Tree National Park

A drive through Joshua Tree National Park might take a couple hours, viewing the park from the road. An exploration of the park would take a lifetime. Joshua Tree National Park has over 550,000 acres of wilderness filled with a variety of plants and animals that make their home in this land shaped by strong winds, unpredictable torrents of rain, and climatic extremes. Every now and then, man intrudes in this wilderness and leaves his brief, passing mark among the surreal geologic features that cover the landscape. Let’s go see what we can find.

Elliot Koeppel 10/20/21 Elliot Koeppel 10/20/21

Twin Tanks - Joshua Tree National Park

Totally old-school “take a bearing!” There’s no trail whatsoever, just park at the lot and follow Patty’s directions. I always enjoy a hiking/discovery challenge, so I headed out to see if I could find the twin tanks.

Elliot Koeppel 10/4/21 Elliot Koeppel 10/4/21

Boy Scout Trail - Joshua Tree National Park

The only thing I knew about the Boy Scout Trail before today was that the one-way distance was roughly 8 miles. And while it was on my list of undone things that I wanted to do in the park, in all honesty it was towards the bottom.

Elliot Koeppel 9/26/21 Elliot Koeppel 9/26/21

The Towers of Uncertainty - Joshua Tree National Park

It seemed like a good idea at the time. Park the truck along a turnout on the Geology Tour Road, leaving the relative safety of being on a maintained and a somewhat regularly traveled dirt road, and set off on foot across the desert….

Elliot Koeppel 9/20/21 Elliot Koeppel 9/20/21

E’s Arch - Joshua Tree National Park

Well, I was out wandering around in the rocks just north of Twin Tanks the other day, and that's truly a great area to wander. So many washes, twisting, turning.

Elliot Koeppel 11/26/20 Elliot Koeppel 11/26/20

I Saw No Sheep - Joshua Tree National Park

I found no sheep, no gold mines or abandoned cars…… no bones, nothing but beautiful landscapes, amazing rocks with cavities, pretty skies and desert solitude.