Hidden Valley Area Pictographs - Joshua Tree National Park

Although the pictographs at this site aren't spectacular, the site certainly is.
I first saw these pictographs more than 50 years ago. Since that time they have faded quite a bit, and have suffered some vandalism. I think that you will agree with me that the site is pretty cool.

I wonder where the pictographs might be? 

Yes, that is a mortero (mortar) in the foreground. In this case however, it is likely to be ceremonial in nature, rather than for preparing food (or maybe used for both).

 This is a pretty cool boulder. Right?

 For scale.

Not much to see with the naked eye. 

 I believe that the symbol in the middle is a stylized human (anthropomorphic)

 The rest of the photos have been enhanced a bit with DStretch.

A nice little sunburst and what looks like initials and phone number. That part sucks.

 See the number in bottom middle of the photo? At least I think it's a number.

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This site might not be visible at all (to the naked eye) for much longer. This is part of my problem with "saving these sites for future generations." Pretty soon, there will be nothing to see. It's time to figure out ways to share some of these sites, while still protecting them from vandals, and unintentional damage by viewers.

Hidden Valley Area Small Pictograph Site - Joshua Tree NP

Another great little piece of rock art in Joshua Tree National Park. It's not in the brochures and not on the maps. It's not the best pictograph spot in the park, but it's certainly not the worst. When you combine time spent researching and then actually searching for these spots, some people might not think it's worth it, but it's worth it to me and I know a few other folks out there who feel the same way.  It's part of our history.

There are several pictograph spots in the park that will blow your mind. I just don't want to do posts on them yet, because if I start with them, you might think that the "lesser" spots weren't worth posting.  So, please pardon my fragile ego...

This pictograph is the star of the show in this little spot. It's in pretty good shape because it is well sheltered from the elements.

Here is the same pictograph after being enhanced with a program called DStretch. The software was originally developed by JPL (Jet Propulsion Laboratories) and used by NASA to enhance photographs taken by the Mars Rover.  The software was then modified for this purpose (among others) by Jon Harman Ph.D. I am very thankful to him, for providing me with a copy.  As time goes on and I post more photos from other pictograph sites, you will be amazed at what it can do.

 As seen with the naked eye.

 Enhanced.

I know this doesn't look like much and I'd be lying if I said I knew what it (or many other pictographs) represent. Most of the rock art done in isolated spots like this were done by Shamans while in a dream state (trance) caused by psychedelic substances such as Peyote, Jimson weed, Tobacco or other things. The drew what they saw in their "mind's eye." In many cases the things they drew clearly had meaning. However, your guess is as good as mine, or even the expert's as to what many of them mean. Unfortunately, that ancient knowledge is gone. In addition, some of the pictographs (not these) was created by puberty initiates. More on that in later posts.

The rest of the photos in this post were taken while I was snooping around looking for the spot. Even if a rock formation like this is only a mile around, you sometimes have to hike two or three times that far, because of all the nooks and crannies, climbing and investigating likely looking spots. I'll shut up now!

To enhance your view pleasure (I hope), please embiggen photos of your liking.

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Misc. Items of Interest (at least to me)

I hope everyone who reads this (and even those who don't) had a great holiday season! Although we weren't home for much of it, ours was great!  I haven't posted for a couple of weeks and apologize for starting out with a miscellaneous grouping of photos. We've been out of town a lot lately and on many days didn't have a hint of a cell phone signal. My phone is my hotspot, so no signal means no blogging.

Although these photos are very current, I'm dreadfully behind on regular blog posts. We've been on the road and exploring a TON lately and I promise that I'll get busy posting right away. I've got a lot of interesting things to post. As you know I've been spending a lot of time in the Joshua Tree National Park area. Yes, I've been to all the standard tourist spots, but we've spent most of our time searching for the things that tourists NEVER see. Things that aren't in the books, on the maps, or that most of the rangers aren't even aware of. The few people who do know about them, refuse to tell anyone their locations. Most of these places involve petroglyphs, pictographs and other historical places. For now though, here are some items that are not in that group, but caught my eye anyway.

As you know, I love old places, abandoned places and offbeat places. This "sign" belongs to what appears to be an interesting (but closed) place in the little town of Morongo Valley. I'm going to make it a point to get in there (even if I have to hop the fence) to see exactly what it was. Love that sign! What's left of it anyway.

 A Joshua Tree forest

 A wind farm. There are hundreds of these things in the Palm Springs area (where this was taken). I really think a ramrod straight line of anything looks odd in a natural setting.

 A little bit of odd in the town of Yucca Valley

 A nice sky over Yucca Valley

 Sunset in Hidden Valley, Joshua Tree National Park

 This is the first even slightly HDR photo that I've posted. To me, the jury is still out on HDR.

On this particular day, I think I was one of the very last people in the park. I hung around just to take the last several photos. If it had started to rain, it was more than cold enough to snow...

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I promise that my next post will actually have a theme! Heck, I might even include photos of some thousand year old rock art. 


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Hidden Valley Area - Joshua Tree National Park

Within the Hidden Valley area of Joshua Tree is a place called the "Real" Hidden Valley. Somewhere around 1880, a man named Charlie Button had just been released from prison after serving 15-years relating to a double murder conviction. While in the Joshua Tree area, Charlie and his brother Willie discovered a small passage into a large rock formation.  Much to their surprise, the passage led to a "hidden" valley that was totally surrounded by the formation.

Shortly after the discovery, the Button brothers joined up with a local outlaw named Bill McHaney to rustle cattle in Arizona and use the "hidden valley" to hide and re-brand them. The cattle were then sold to ranchers on the coast.  Several years later, both of them were killed in a barroom brawl. (truth or fiction? I have no idea).

The next six photos were taken in the Hidden Valley area.

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Fast forward about 60 years to 1936.
Joshua Tree resident and most known character, Bill Keys re-discovered the "real" Hidden Valley and dynamited a larger opening through the rocks in 1936. This happened just a few months before the area was named a national monument. Bill Keys will be mentioned several times in upcoming posts.

The opening into the real Hidden Valley (looking back out). You can see the damage done to these two boulders by the explosives. This spot marks the start of a one mile loop nature trail. How long it takes you to walk it all depends on how much you look around. It's not much exercise, but it sure gives you a huge dose of beautiful rocks. If you have limited time in the park, it's a must see. 

This photo and the rest were taken within the "real" Hidden Valley.

The valley may have been hidden to late comers, but this rock shelter and mortero (mortar) indicate that local Indian tribes used it. You won't find many things like this in the tourist guides, but if you keep your eyes open and explore a bit, they are there.

You can see it better in this one. The shallow mortero (or mortar) is used to grind acorns, seeds, plants, etc. There might have been some faint petroglyphs there also, but not obvious enough to post a closeup.

Here is another one. This one is much deeper and indicates that it was used for a much longer period of time. The Indians in this part of the country were primarily "hunter gatherers" and moved with the seasons and food sources. They would usually only be in desert areas like this during the cooler months.

Next time, I will climb up to that cave! From afar, it looks like it isn't totally natural.

Which is stronger, the rock or the tree?

I have to post at least one black and white.
Doesn't the round boulder to the right look like it has a mouth and eyes?

The rocks in the middle looks kind of like a ring setting with a "rock" in it.  The rock to the far left looks like a giant bird head, or maybe a primate head of some sort. Or maybe it's the peyote...

Look at the little reddish spot around the middle of this rock formation.

A little closer.

Joshua Tree is a world famous rock climbing destination. It has thousands of recorded rock climbing routes.On the weekends there are scads of rock climbers around. Very interesting and kind of scary to watch. More on that in a later post.

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They call this thing "Trojan Rock" because it supposedly looks like the USC Trojan mascot. 

I'm not so sure! 

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