Eagle Peaks, Mitchell Caverns and Hole-In-The-Wall
Our third day in the desert was a simple and relaxing one playing tourist in Mojave. We kept our camp at Mid Hills and took a short hike straight from…
Our third day in the desert was a simple and relaxing one playing tourist in Mojave. We kept our camp at Mid Hills and took a short hike straight from…
You heard me – Zzyzx. Pronounced Zi-Zix. The last entry when all geographic place names are listed alphabetically. Anyone who has driven the I-15 stretch from LA to Vegas knows that mysterious, middle-of-nowhere offramp to ‘Zzyzx’. It finally tempted us and this time we took the exit to explore all that Zzyzx has to offer.
But first we had unfinished business in Afton Canyon. Since we couldn’t pass the Mojave River in our truck when approaching from the west, we hopped back on I-15 and took the exit to the east end. This time we were easily able to get into the canyon where we checked out a few ‘Mojave Sites of Mystery’ – and old mine site with unique stacked rock walls and a buried railcar, supposedly left there after a derailment on the nearby tracks. I’d love to learn more if anyone is familiar with either of these sites.
After wrapping up our Afton exploration it was time to check out Zzyzx. Heading south from the freeway, the road dead ends after a while at the former site of the Zzyzx Mineral and Heath Spa, now the Desert Studies Center. There’s a surprisingly large pool with a fountain and lots of ducks, some nice facilities, and a view across the dry Soda Lake. As an extra bonus we spotted several sheep in the nearby rocky mountainside.
It's that time of year again, time for me to play desert rat for a week. Thanksgiving is a great time to head to the desert. Temperatures are mild to…
After a couple days of fun in Las Vegas we hit the road to join a group of friends in Death Valley for Thanksgiving. Our meeting place was the old…
Dave and I regularly head for the desert over Thanksgiving week. Aside from the crowds, it is a great time to visit due to the mild weather. This year’s trip was a mishmash of a lot of places: Rainbow Basin, Mojave National Preserve, Las Vegas, Red Rock Canyon, Valley of Fire, and Death Valley. Rather than throw everything into one photo album, I tried to break it down by area or hike. Trip report and photos after the jump.
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Today we left our cheap and never-boring accomodations at the Twentynine Palms Motel 6 and headed down to Palm Springs to catch the Tram. The tram, which left at 10…
Since we enjoyed our hike to and exploration of Carey's Castle, a docent/ranger at the west side visitor center recommended another hike to us, Eagle Cliff Mine. This one has…
A few years ago we visited JTree and did a hike down the Desert Queen wash to explore some old mining ruins (and be rattled at by a mean snake…
Given that it was the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend, we decided to pick a hike that would take us away from the regular crowds that tend to rush the…