Wednesday Walk Hard Rock Edition
This is in response to a Challenge by @tattoodjay to take photographs of things on a walk. Things you don’t normally see. I really like the challenge and the challenger so here I am again.
Sam and I headed east a couple of miles to take a walk in the 'Hard Rock Desert' near the foothills area where I live. It's not a large distance from the Sandy Desert that I walk in every day but the difference in texture is astounding.
Black is the predominant color and vegetation is limited to places where the rocks have been broken down a little more and there is some soil to hold the moisture. All of the area around Yuma is made of ground up mountains. Over the eons, these formerly very large mountains have worn down and broken up. The closer you get to them the more rocks that are waiting their turn to be ground into sand.
There are sections out here where people can park their RVs and park for free. It's pretty inhospitable but there are literally thousands of campers ranging from $250,000 Motor homes to barely mobile vehicles. They all come for the great weather and recreational opportunities.
The area is broken by small to medium washes, which are feeders to the big washes. This is where the grinding down takes place. It is also a great area for flash floods, the rain washes off, not in to the terrain.
These rocks are not all black. They have just been lying undisturbed for millena and the sun and extreme heat have varnished the top surface. It is truly a desolate place.
There are many minerals in various patches in the Hard Rock. This is a small group of quartz, and these little deposits are really common out here.
This is a detail of one of the pieces of quartz in the previous photo. You can get a feel for the scale of the rocks that are just everywhere out here. I have to tell you that it is tough walking out here. Those rocks are not in anyway fixed in position so every step shifts.
Another way to see the mineralization of this area is in the ocotillo. This is a 'normal' plant soon after a rain, with nice green leaves.
This is an ocotillo that has rooted into an iron deposit. Note the red color that comes strictly from the minerals that feed it.
Just to prove that Sam was indeed with me. It was hard going for him, too. He didn't waste much time in any single spot, there was obviously nothing of interest to smell, so he's not the subject of many photos.
So that's it. My #wednesdaywalk. I hope you enjoyed seeing a little different corner of the desert as much as I enjoyed bringing it to you.
All Words and Photographs in this post are mine, for better or worse.
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One nice thing about the desert, I did not see one single mosquito in your photographs. Good idea from @tattoodjay, you executed it superbly.
Trust me, I'm a doctor.
Not many mosquitoes at all. It is so hot and dry here that they can't fly very far without dehydrating and dying. The biggest source of mosquitoes here are untended swimming pools. We don't have many pools in our neighborhood so not many mosquitoes at all.
That is pretty cool that the people just boondock in their RV's out there. I am guessing there are no hookups or anything so they probably need to use generators and have their tanks filled up ahead of time. I bet they get some great views of the sky if they get far enough away from the lights. Do they have pretty strict restrictions on ORV's in the desert?
There is a lot of boondocking done here in lots of places. There are also maybe 30 RV parks that do a brisk business. I may go to Quartzsite next week. The crowds will be awful because it is their gem and mineral show time. Population of Quartzsite goes to around 250,000 in January from 2,500 in July. It's almost all boondocked RVs.
There are only a few places where ORVs are regulated at all. There are some environmentally fragile areas that are restricted. It's considered good form to stay on already established trails but it's not required. It's a serious big business here in the winter.
Wow, that is really cool. The gem show sounds like it would be awesome. I used to be quite the rock hound when I was a kid. What kid isn't I guess. I tumbler though that I haven't taken out of the box in years. It was always fun to play with (wait for) when I was younger :)
Such a different landscape. It seems like you're on another planet. ;) Just kidding. Sorta. But there is a feeling that comes when I'm in desert like that, a sense of connecting with a part of the earth that is unique and so different from what I'm used to. Also, I'd totally be picking up rocks. ;)
This is rock hunting heaven, it really is. I have about a dozen small samples on my desk that are waiting on positive identification, one that just came home with me today :)
It is foreign looking, isn't it. All the Star Wars sand scenes were/are filmed about 30 miles from me. They seem to think it's foreign looking too :)
Sometimes I feel that I am part of the desert. I am at home here, and the connection is real.
Thanks for stopping by!
This certainly was a hard rock walk @bigtom13, but there's a strange kind of beauty in that desolation not so! But really nothing there for poor Sam! It must get really hot there in summer with the heat reflected by the rocks! No barefoot walking there AND I wonder, there must be snakes around too?
Not too many snakes! There's nothing to eat. It really is barren. We have plenty of snakes in the sandy part of the desert, and Sam and I come up on one from time to time.
It is hot. Air temp will get to 48C routinely and the black surface just radiates heat. If you have to be out there then you do it and get done in the very early morning.
Quartz!!! It is so nice you get to find one in nature. Your walks always look lovely and photos got much better. Did you change the camera or something?
No, I didn't carry my Nikon on this one, so it's still the Iphone. I'm not very good with the phone.
I'm going to go to Quartzsite this coming week. I was thinking about Saturday but sanity got hold of me. It will be insanely busy on Tuesday or Wednesday but Saturday will be stifling. It is their gem and mineral show time, it's the oldest one in the US. And in much the smallest town. Summer population is less than 2500 and there are probably 250,000 there today. Anyway, I'll take the Nikon and take some pictures of the booths and people AND some gems and minerals.
Pebble stones make walking difficult having to tread carefully, poor Sam not even that many bushes to enjoy.
This area reminds me of our Karoo (South Africa), barren but beautiful.
The quartz you find is pretty, another hobby in the making, shining them up and selling them to jewellery home-crafters @bigtom13
Before I moved here one of my favorite things to do when I came to visit was to take a quad out in the hard rock desert, find a couple of appropriate stones, then take them to my aunt and uncles place. He had a full on lapidary shop that was just too much fun. I still have a couple of the belt buckles that I made.
He sold his equipment before I moved here, and in fact, died while I was on the way down. I miss him and his shop.
Sam goes everyplace and is a really good sport. He's amazingly good in the rocks and crannies, but he keeps moving if there's nothing that interests him.
Walking there must be such a challenge, even more so for Sam with his smaller feet, but the ruggedness and beauty of the place shines out in your post, Great you also shared some detail of the Quartz and vegetation even though it is very limited there
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It's a different sort of place. There is not too much of this sort of desert on this side of the mountains, but the next two or three valleys have lots of this sort of ground. We actually get a little more rain being closer to the ocean and this is the last of the upthrust mountains until you get to the Pacific Range Laguna Mountains almost to San Diego.
With all my travels I always loved gettign out of cities and seeing things that are a little different and less touristy, so I know I would love visiting there
Really informative. Thanks.
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