Just back from the desert (1 Viewer)

chronic

old and in the way
Took the kids out to Joshua Tree for a couple of days. The campgrounds were full (they always are these days... when I used to go out there a lot about 15-20 years ago they were never full) so we stayed at the Joshua Tree Inn, not realizing when we checked in that this was the motel where Gram Parsons died. He died in room 8, we were in room 4. They have a little shrine out in the courtyard. So now Matthew, my oldest, is fascinated with Gram Parsons. Gonna have to dig out some Burrito's CDs and Grievous Angel for him.

The desert is beautiful this time of year with lots of wildlife, wildflowers blooming and a lot of the cacti budding (they'll bloom in the next couple of weeks), good weather but a bit of icy wind.

Matthew found himself a Mojave Rattler (the nasty kind with neurotoxic venom)... a young one not more than a foot long. He was a little nervous about it, but convincing Michael, the younger boy (his 6th birthday is today) not to play with it was no easy feat.

Okay.

</travelogue>
 
What a coincidence! I just got back from dessert! Ha!

*cough*

I live in OR and I still haven't been to more than one national park... and I haven't seen any poisonous reptiles, insects, or otherwise... though that's probably ok. I've heard there's black widows around here, but I'm fine never seeing those ANYwhere near me...

I really need to get to some beautiful deserts though... I like the variety of environments on this coast though... Sounds like a great trip!
 
MJP and I are headed out to JTree next month. I hope things will still be a-bloomin' by then. We are actually renting a house right next to the park that is totally secluded so we can just write and draw for a week, a little plan I've had for quite a long time now. I'm finally able to do it, but now I'm a little scared about running into snakes.

We are really looking forward to it. I am especially looking forward to working on a little somethin-somethin I'm doing with Chance Press in the not completely totally distant future. Just really glad to get the time and focus in the desert to contribute to the ideas.

Just thought I'd share. ;)
 
I use to go out there in the very early 70s and the quiet alone is enough to make you high.

Yes, the early snakes are the hungry aggressive types and young snakes are the most dangerous. The desert in bloom is beautiful.
 
Joshua Tree...campgrounds were full (they always are these days... when I used to go out there a lot about 15-20 years ago they were never full)
Yeah, you used to be able to find some peace and quiet out there 20 years ago. At least now you can bring your guns, and force some peace and quiet onto people. Har har.

Used to ride mountain bikes all over the park, I don't think they'll let you get away with that kind of tomfoolery now. Which is probably a good thing for the park. Or monument. Or whatever it is these days.

I lived out there for a few months back in the 90s when my ex threw me out of the house, and the rattlesnakes are not so dangerous. They will let you know they are around if you get too close. That sound, even if you've never heard it before, communicates with something primitive in you and you just freeze. My neighbor out there was bitten, but he was walking on a wood pile, so it was kind of his own fault. He got to the hospital in time, but his leg was horribly swollen and discolored for a month.

Yay desert!
 
i've had some awesome times in joshua tree... i rode the geology tour road loop on my mountain bike around 5 years ago, and it was awesome... i've camped there a couple times as well.
 
Geology tour road is a nice ride. Went from there all the way to the Lost Palms oasis once. Long fucking ride (almost to the South edge of the park), but at the end there were actually palm trees growing in the bottom of a deep ravine. Weird to see out there. And there are mines on that route, if you take some of the gated or closed paths/roads off the main path. The mines are creepy though. The fuckers that lived and worked out there must have been badasses. Or utterly insane.
 
Matthew has good taste, chronic. I've read quite a bit about the Joshua Tree Inn in relation to Parsons and always thought it would be a neat thing to visit. I'm talking about the desert also. it may surprise everyone, but Nova Scotia has very little to offer in the way of deserts. heh.

and side note, your son Michael is about 3 weeks older than my son.
 
I saw this movie a few years ago. Yes, it stars Johnny Knoxville(not really a good thing) but he plays a decent part, portraying Phil Kaufman, Parson's road manager. It's the story of how he stole Gram's body to make sure he was buried at Joshua Tree. Not the best movie, but I found it interesting and sometimes funny as a fan of Parsons. Anyone else seen it?
the rattlesnakes are not so dangerous. They will let you know they are around if you get too close. That sound, even if you've never heard it before, communicates with something primitive in you and you just freeze.
No joke there. I lived in the hills of Whittier, about 12 miles south of downtown L.A. for years and we had a rattlesnake problem. The first time I ever encountered one face to face, I was running up a set of 4 brick steps, which led to another set of 4 brick steps, and halfway up, I heard a sound that to this day, I SWORE was a bomb about to be detonated. I froze, and then saw the source of the sound, which was the rattle snake curled up and shaking that rattler! It was absolutely terrifying! It was about 3-4 feet from me!
 
I live in the Desert about 45 minutes fro JT. It is beautiful indeed. 1,000 Palms Oasis is just about 20 minutes from my house. Truly two very nice places to be when the wild flowers are in bloom. The next couple of Months will be full of life and color in the desert. If you're going to come out, now is the time.
 
I love the desert but here we don't have rattle snakes. Our critters will come up behind you, devour you whole and spit out your bones. Then bad mouth you to their friends.

Brutal and rude.

It's not safe I tells ya.
 
Reading this thread has made me realize that, although I'm fairly well-traveled, I have never seen the desert in person.

I'm not necessarily referring to geography or a particular country ("Dude - you haven't seen The Rocky Mountains until you've seen THE CANADIAN ROCKIES !")

Prairies - CHECK
Mountains/Glaciers - CHECK
Oceans - CHECK
Caves - CHECK

The closest I've come to the desert is Las Vegas, but I just flew in and flew out, without driving through the surrounding desert.

I think my cheapest/best chance at seeing the desert (considering air-fare/car rental) would be returning to Vegas. Has anyone here ventured out into the surrounding desert areas of LV ?

Or would it even be considered "real" desert territory ? Too developed ?
 
I love the desert but here we don't have rattle snakes. Our critters will come up behind you, devour you whole and spit out your bones. Then bad mouth you to their friends.

Brutal and rude.

It's not safe I tells ya.

Jesus ROC, everything is deadly in Australia! Ten out of most deadly of everything (spiders, snakes) lives there, not to mention crocs (not the ones MJP is wearing) and sharks.
 
I think my cheapest/best chance at seeing the desert (considering air-fare/car rental) would be returning to Vegas. Has anyone here ventured out into the surrounding desert areas of LV ?

Or would it even be considered "real" desert territory ? Too developed?
Oh it's real desert. Look at all the toothless meth addicts. That's how you know you're really in the desert. When more than 50% of the people in the auto parts store parking lot are toothless meth addicts, you're in the desert.

But about 50 miles West of Vegas is Death Valley if you want a real desert fix. Some wilderness and that desert quiet that is like a vacuum that no sound can escape from. You've never heard quiet like desert quiet. It'll fuck you up the first time you feel it.
 
yep, went shooting at the old abandoned shooting range near Nellis AFB, and went few times off road somewhere near Navajo reservation I think i-15 toward St George? It felt eerie just like in the movie Casino where Joe Pesci is to meet up with DeNiro. '...many holes in the desert'
 
Yeah...Death valley is real desert.

Next time you're in Vegas, get in a car and drive. Any direction will do. Eventually you will get it.

Arizona is also pretty nice.

This is the low desert near my house

1000palms018.jpg


This is the high desert near Joshua Tree

Morongo003.jpg
 
Thanks for posting the photos Rob great shots. I have been all around both of those two above areas and I remember the silence. In the flowery time -like this time of year-you can hear the low hum of the bees. In the winter it is silent.
They have a place called 'Painted Canyon" just a bit southeast of Rob where it's like another world. 1972 in Painted Canyon with mescaline was beyond words.

The hill in the first photo looks like it's above Painted Canyon.
 
That first shot is actually out near 1,000 Palms Oasis.

North of the I10 at Washington st.

Painted canyon is further to the South East as you said. The same hills run all the way down there.
 
Outstanding photos -thank you.

As beautiful as the visuals are, the idea of stone silence being outdoors really intrigues me. Gotta look into that....
 
Holy hell, that's beautiful.

I guess I never saw the depth of colour/color in the US that I've seen here.

But it looks very similar in those shots.
 
Some lovely shots here.

As Rob says, any direction from Vegas will get you somewhere desert-like if not true desert. If you go southeast from LAS you can check out the Hoover Dam. There is also some desert along the way, but it's not as nice as some of the photos posted here.

Lake Mead extends for many miles east of LAS; here's a shot coming into Vegas from about 50 miles out.

LakeMead1.jpg
 

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