Pictograph boulder at the Base of Queen Mountain, JTNP
A couple of months or so ago, I decided to go out to Joshua Tree National Park and see if I could find a small pictograph site hidden in a boulder field in the backcountry. I had a good idea of where...
View ArticlePinto Wye Arrastra, JTNP
An arrastra is a simple and primitive gold milling device. Heavy stones are dragged over gold ore to crush it. Mercury and water is added to the floor of the arrastra to create an amalgam and capture...
View ArticleRed Lady Pictographs, JTNP
We visited a couple of pictograph sites in Joshua Tree. Both of these sites have red female figures in small caves. Finding pictograph sites is good enough, but there is more to these sites. On the...
View ArticleWall Street Mill, JTNP
The Wall Street Gold Mill is a very interesting and rare example of a complete small desert gold mill. And to boot, it is only a short walk inside the backcountry of Joshua Tree National Park. Once...
View Article“Southern Eagle” Petroglyphs, JTNP
The Dzrtgrls led a group of us on a trip to the southern Eagle Mountains to see an area they have been scouting around in. They have made some nice pictograph and petroglyph finds out there and we have...
View Article“Surprise Rock” Pictographs, JTNP
A few days ago, I was out hiking in the backcountry of Joshua Tree National Park and came across this solitary boulder with petroglyphs and pictographs. They are inside of a concave, hollowed out...
View Article“Hidden Cave” Pictographs, JTNP
Early last year, I went out in search of this well-hidden rock shelter full of pictographs. It is the most decorated cave in Joshua Tree that I have found so far. Pictographs cover the walls and...
View Article“Ram on Rocks” Pictographs, JTNP
Recently, I visited a very small native site in the backcountry of Joshua Tree. There is a larger habitation site not far away (which this site is named for). One thing that makes this particular site...
View Article“Hollow Rock” Pictographs, JTNP
Back in 2010, we came across an unassuming large isolated grantite boulder in Joshua Tree. There are no shortage of those around in Joshua Tree and there wasn’t anything immediately particularly...
View ArticleAlister’s Cave Pictographs, JTNP
Alister’s Cave is a known pictograph site in the Wonderland of Rock area of Joshua Tree. The cave (really a rock shelter) is full of pictographs but they have faded over the years, mostly due to the...
View ArticleEagle Cliff Mine, JTNP
Back in 2000, we decided to hunt down a small rock shelter that a prospector built into the jumbo rocks of Joshua Tree National Park. We couldn’t find this place the first time, but were successful the...
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