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To the Poppy Fields or Bust!
“On the Edge of the Mojave Desert is a place of Momentary Vibrance. “ Saturday, April 15th 2021After being pummeled by numerous atmospheric rivers, California has been mostly pushed out of it’s persistent drought status. With the fall of so much rain, comes the after effects in the western most regions of the Mojave Desert. A super bloom of wildflowers that Jenny and I would not allow ourselves to miss out on. The California Poppy was the main attraction at this location. There were acres and acres of them splashed along the hills and open fields along with a few other wildflowers. The saturation of color was almost uncanny and…
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Mojave Wildflowers 2019
“The Mojave Desert gets a Yellow Ocean for the season” Saturday, March 23rd 2019 Today I took a drive into the massive desert expanse between Victorville and Palmdale. I had known from years ago that certain patches of the desert would become covered in beautiful, vibrant clusters of the tiniest yellow flowers. The clusters were scattered however and due to the recent barrage of drought that California had suffered, they were not very common. This year was very different, with all the snow and rain that had pummeled the state in the last 3 months, I had a suspicion that the wildflower clusters would be back, but I never imagined…
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Exploring the Mojave Lava Tube – Retro Post 2011
“In a world of ancient lava fields and much more” Saturday, March 26th 2011 On Saturday, March 26th 2011, I set off on a journey into the deep Mojave Desert with a few friends for a day of exploration. It was early Spring, the weather was perfectly cool and clouds were scattered sparsely as the sun shined brightly. The makings of a perfect road trip were underway. “One of many extinct cinder cones which litters the Mojave National Preserve.” Mojave Lava Tube GPS Coordinates: 35.2163997° N, -115.7546891° W The gang and I made our usual stop at Baker, CA for some Alien Fresh Jerky and plenty of water for the…
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Snowblast in the Mojave Desert 2018
An Evermore Rare Event in the Mojave Desert – “Snow!” Tuesday, February 27th, 2018 The year of 2018 started with a rather large period of hot spells and dryness. The approaching storms that encroached on the Mojave Desert always managed to dissolve before getting the opportunity to quench the Mojave’s insatiable thirst. The transverse range that separates the desert from the coastal valleys is mostly to blame for this as it creates what is referred to as a “rain shadow”. Now, I am not a meteorologist by any means, but I do have a very fundamental knowledge of how it works in this area seeing as how I have experienced…
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Spring Equinox at Death Valley 2017
The First Day of Spring in Death Valley – “97ºF and getting hotter!” Monday, March 20th, 2017 Every year, my best friend and I would get together and go on an epic photo venture, but due to extremely difficult times, 15 months had managed to pass since we last traveled together and so we both decided to put a stop to this no matter what. One day before the Spring Equinox of 2017, I picked up the lovely Miss Julia Starr at McCarran International Airport in Vegas. We were both extremely excited to see each other again and made the preparations for the days to follow. We set off on…
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Mini Venture – El Mirage Dry Lake Bed
Tuesday, September 28th, 2016 After waiting more than six month for some decent storm clouds, we were finally paid a visit by a storm system that was forming everywhere around Victorville except overhead as usual. Regardless, It always makes me smile to see stormy weather, I get bored of clear skies which don’t do much for photos, especially sunset images. When a good storm system rolls in however, the skies become very interesting and that’s when I keep my eyes on the sky for potential photo opportunities. I had a feeling that today would be a great opportunity for a fantastic sunset at El Mirage Dry Lake Bed. I had…
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Mini Venture – Giant Rock at Landers, CA
Sunday, December 28th, 2014 For years I had heard about a massive rock that stood out in the southern region of the Mojave near the small desert town of Landers, CA. There were lots of stories about how it was as big as an office building and dwarfed any of the other free standing boulders in the area. Naturally I had to get a look at this thing in person so I invited my mom and pops out for a local adventure and made way to Landers, CA. To get there from Victorville, I had to travel about 64 miles along Bear Valley Rd, then Highway 18, and finally Highway 247 (a.k.a. Old…
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Southwest 2015 – The Land of Towering Sandstone
Monday, December 7th, 2015 Julia and I got hopping to another awesome adventure that would have us traveling eastbound through the Great Navajo Nation today. We had a light breakfast, showered up, then packed all our camera gear and equipment into the Starship. We had a long drive ahead of us and no time to spare. We left our hotel in Page, Az and started our drive along Highway 98 to Monument Valley. About 30 minutes into our drive, I saw a hitchhiker which I typically avoid, but something compelled me to pick him up. I hit the brakes as we approached and stopped to pick him up. Our new…
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Mini Venture – Big Bear Winter Drive
Tuesday, February 2nd, 2016 Today I wanted to get out and renew my Annual National Parks Pass for 2016 which meant I was going on a winter drive to get a new one. One of the great benefits of living in the Mojave Desert is knowing how close it borders several of California’s mountain ranges, particularly the San Bernardino mountain range. During the winter, this becomes one of my favorite local mountain destinations. It is home to many beautiful mountains communities including the popular city of Big Bear. The drive there is only an hour via Highway 18 from Victorville and in the winter, it can often be a pretty…
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Southwest 2015 – Journey into the Great Navajo Nation
Sunday, December 6th, 2015 “Farewell Williams, it’s been an amazing week, but the time has come for us to explore the northeast regions of Arizona!” We got up early today to get a good head start on the road to come. We grabbed all our stuff, loaded up the Starship and made a hasty checkout from our cozy room at the Rodeway Inn and Suites. Our breakfast was a very small Greek yogurt to go and it was just moments before we finally hit the 40 east toward Flagstaff and took the 89 northbound toward Page, AZ. Naturally we were going to hit up every interesting photo opportunity we could along the…
