Joshua Tree or Trona Mid-April?

[Robert A. Zeichner]

I will be taking a friend who has limited hiking capacity to some area near or around Death Valley (we've done that in past years) this April and was wondering what photographic opportunities present themselves in Joshua Tree or Trona. We are B&W shooters and only have two full days to devote to this. Our terminus would be Las Vegas and want to keep driving to a three hour limit from there. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

[Jim Becia]

Robert,

Zion is only 2.5 hours north of LV and much can be photographed from the road, especially on the east side of the tunnel. And the weather in April can be near perfect. Jim

[J D Clark]

Joshua Tree is an amazing place. The most interesting photographic opportunities are the rock formations, and the Joshua Trees themselves. Visit Jumbo Rocks or the Hidden Valley site and just walk around the formations to find lots of forms and patterns in the rock formations. Best if you like rocks, of course. These locations do not require any hike to find interesting photographs.

Barker Dam and the pond is interesting -- you can occasionally see Big Horn Sheep very early in the morning. It's a short, easy hike, about half a mile out and back. There's a loop that's about a mile, but most of the interest is at the pond and dam.

Also, the Wall Street Stamp Mill has ruins of a 2-stamp gold mill, and there are a variety of old abandoned vehicles on the walk out to it, as well. The mill remnants hike is about a mile and a half round trip, but it's an easy walk.

If you're intersted in Joshua Tree mining history, or how a stamp mill works, my
wife's book "Mining History And Geology Of Joshua Tree National Park" has more details about those topics (it's a geological field guide).

The "Geology Loop" is a nice drive, although impassable if there has been recent rain.

The "Pinnacles" are near Trona, and they are fairly interesting at dawn or dusk. For me, the area is a little too worn by ATV activity.

John Clark
www.johndclark.com

[Robert A. Zeichner]

Jim, thanks. We did Zion two years ago and it was wonderful. I'm trying to find something a little different for this trip as we may do Zion again in the fall.

JD, thanks. That's just the sort of info I was looking for. Now I just have to find some affordable accommodations in the area and we'll be all set.

[Brian Vuillemenot]

My vote would be for Joshua Tree, one of my favorite national parks. It's not exactly all that close to Death Valley- plan on a six hour drive or so. Of course, you will be driving through the Mojave National Preserve, which has quite a bit of photo opportunities, free camping almost anywhere off road, and almost no people to distract you. You could easily spend a few days to a week there. If you are going in April, and like spring wildflowers, I would check to see where the wildflowers are blooming best, and plan your trip to go to the best areas.

[Doug Dolde]

JT is much more interesting than Trona if you have to choose one.

[J D Clark]

Robert,
Joshua Tree is pretty close by for me, and I've been there a bunch of times, and have stayed in a variety of places. I've done all of the places below at one time or another.

Of course, Joshua Tree NP has lots of campsites. Likewise, there are several inexpensive motels in Joshua Tree, Yucca Valley, and 29 Palms -- the last one I stayed in was the Harmony Motel.

I've always had problems sleeping in the motels next to route 62, and the next best place is the 29 Palms Inn, which has cabins and bungalows which are pretty reasonable. One of the best restaurants in the entire area is at the 29 Palms Inn, too, and they frequently have live music.

On one trip, I had some friends join us for a few days, and we stayed in a house rented by the "Desert Lily Bed and Breakfast" which has a number of rental houses.

All of these places can easily be found by a web search...

John Clark
www.johndclark.com

[Robert A. Zeichner]

Okay, Joshua Tree it is. Thank you all for your input and thanks especially to JD for the motel suggestions.

Brian, were you implying that JT is 6 hours from Las Vegas? I have little familiarity with the roads toward the west as I have only done DV and Zion from Vegas, but in checking a map, it seems a bit closer. What am I missing?

[Brian Vuillemenot]

Brian, were you implying that JT is 6 hours from Las Vegas? I have little familiarity with the roads toward the west as I have only done DV and Zion from Vegas, but in checking a map, it seems a bit closer. What am I missing?

No, it's six hours from Death Valley to Joshua Tree. Of course, with all the nice Mojave Desert scenery along the way, you can easily get out of the car a few times and make the drive take the entire day.

[Robert A. Zeichner]

We went to Joshua Tree and as several of you suggested, it is a wonderful place. Lots of picture taking opportunities and not much hiking which was appreciated by my friend. I would certainly consider making this trip again as I don't think you could run out of interesting rocks to photograph.

Btw, on the way back to Las Vegas, we drove along part of the the old Route 66 and passed an area where there must have been a rather large nude workshop in session.

[Bruce Watson]

Joshua Tree is an amazing place. The most interesting photographic opportunities are the rock formations, and the Joshua Trees themselves. Visit Jumbo Rocks or the Hidden Valley site and just walk around the formations to find lots of forms and patterns in the rock formations. Best if you like rocks, of course. These locations do not require any hike to find interesting photographs.

Barker Dam and the pond is interesting -- you can occasionally see Big Horn Sheep very early in the morning. It's a short, easy hike, about half a mile out and back. There's a loop that's about a mile, but most of the interest is at the pond and dam.

What John says. Also note that April has some of the wildflowers blooming in the park. And the cholla garden at sunrise is interesting.

And 29 Palms is a pretty nice little town close to the entrance. I thought it was a good place to stay when I was there last time anyway.

[Darren Kruger]

Saw this article (http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/07/05/MN3JVU4N2.DTL) (first of two parts) today in regards to Trona on The San Francisco Chronicle's web page (http://www.sfgate.com). Not sure how much time I want to spend out doors taking photographs there.

-Darren

[Peter Mounier]

I agree that it's a long drive from Death Valley to Joshua Tree. According to the my maps, it's about 270 miles.

Peter