Devil's Punch Bowl

[Mikey]

My son had the day off and wanted to go on a hike out to Devil's Punch Bowl.  Devil's Punch Bowl is about 50 miles away as the crow flies, but it's on the desert side of the mountains thus it's roughly a 100 mile drive to get there.  First we needed gas.  OH MY GOODNESS........


We jumped off the freeway and took a nostalgic ride along old historic Route 66.  Do you remember the old TV series? 


We are in San Andreas Fault country.  In the Cajon Pass, northwest of San Bernardino, are some interesting rock formations.  Compression and shearing along the San Andreas fault resulted in the tilting and surfacing of these sandstone rocks called the Mormon Rocks.


A common tree here in the Mojave desert is the Joshua Tree.


And a common plant is this prickly rascal.......


The location of Devil's Punch Bowl overlooks part of the vast Mojave Desert.  It was pretty hazy today.


The Devil's Punch Bowl is the result of two faults that meet and they created this 300' high rock cliff that is very popular for climbers.  We are at roughly 4,200' elevation here and we will hike down to the bottom of those rocks where there is a small stream.  It was a great day for a hike.  Clear skies and roughly 82 degrees.






While hiking down we came across this unusual rock.  It looked like a hamburger bun.  It's about 6' in diameter.


The mountain sides are covered with a Manzanita, a very attractive shrub with blood red bark.


We are now at the bottom of those 300' rocks where there is a small stream.  My son, pictured below, has been here several times and said this is the least amount of water he has seen in the stream.

[EagleEye]

OMG
Here I thought it was going to go down. I paid 2.39 in St Paul MN, yesterday.
What an interesting place - so desolate

Steve

[happyoutsidegirl]

Thanks Mikey, that was a great trip and I enjoyed it. I have been paying $2.98 to $3.10 per gal. for quite some time now.

[Ky Kim]

Beautiful pics thanks for sharing.

Gas here jumped up again here.  Its like a yo-yo, but it seems to go up faster than it comes down. It had dropped to 2.39 earlier this week and its now back to 2.55 and they said its likely to climb more.  Sure it will, its just getting good weather, and they know people will need it for vactions, cutting grass etc.

Kim

[Kittyzee]

Great pics Mikey!  Like a mini-vacation for me   Very interesting plants and rocks, so unlike the vegetation around here.  But the weather here today is supposed to be sunny and 58*!!  I can't believe it, and actually in the 50's for the next several days...it will be wonderful to get outside and start walking and bike riding again  

[emm]

I really enjoyed the photos.  I've never been to California and not likely to find myself there anytime soon.  Love the looks of that Joshua tree but the rock formations are outstanding!!!  82 degrees sounds much warmer than my preferred hiking temperatures though.  If my calculations are right our gas is about $3.80 a gallon right now.  We buy our gas in litres and it about $1.01 per litre.  emm

[MikeW]

I thought I knew what a joshua tree was, but no. Interesting.

I was at seminar yesterday where I saw what the airlines are paying for fuel. Southwest at $1.55, and the others up around $1.80. Thought "They are complaining?"

Cheers,

Mike

[Cindi]

Thanks for the wonderful guided tour!!  Some day my husband and I want to take our 1968 Camaro convertible and do the Route 66 drive, I think it would be so much fun!  Speaking of gas, they just said on the news this week that they figure our gas will reach the $3 mark by this summer.  Figures!  LOL!!! 

[Desertponder]

Beautiful pics! Well, except for the one of the gas sign! It better not get that high around here!!!

[Daisy]

Oooh nice pictures Mikey.    I love those rock formations...very awesome. I never knew what a Joshua tree looked like. Thanks for showing me. 

[LeeAnne151]

MikeW, were you thinking of the landmark album by U2?

Mikey, great pics. I love the desert. Any desert.

 What you call a prickly rascal we call a jumping cholla in Phoenix. Because your air movement going by it too close breaks the segments off and sticks them into your body. Seems like they jump.

[froggerLee]

Wow, what pictures! Does not look real. I have never been to that part of the country, so have never seen veiws or landscapes like that.  Very interesting.............

[Indiana Karen]

Wonderful pictures.  I feel like I have been on a mini-vacation. I have never been to the desert, that is on my list of things to do one of these days.  I always enjoy the posts where members take their cameras along and give us a peek at other parts of the country.  Thanks again.

Karen