Joshua Tree National Monument- Keys View

I actually found a really cool spot that didn't require four wheel drive to get to it.  There's a fist time for everything, right? See the photo below.

In the distance to the left, you can just make out the Salton Sea.

Keys View is accessible via paved road, and it is a popular destination within Joshua Tree National Monument.

Photo by Scott Schwartz

Upper Bonanza Gulch, El Paso Mountains...

Ghosts Live Here.... During the late 1800's, Caucasian miners worked claims in the surrounding hills until and abandoned them when it was thought that all of the gold was gone.  Chinese miners then moved in and started working the abandoned claims. Using unique short-handled shovels, the Chinese were able to work the "nooks and crannies" ignored by the whites.  Legend had it that some of the whites resented the Chinese miners' success and blew up a few of the mines-with Chinese miners still inside them!  Nearly one hundred years later, prospectors digging out some of the old mines discovered human bones in them.......along with short-handled shovels.  Photo by Scott Schwartz

Post Office-El Paso Mountains

Bonanza Gulch was the site of much mining and prospecting activity, beginning in the late 19th century and continuing through the 1930's.  The Bonanza Gulch Post Office, pictured here, was probably built during the Great Depression.  Photo by Scott Schwartz.

Two SNJ's -low-pass fly-by.

Taken at the Cable Air Fair- 2008.  Photo by Scott Schwartz

Ruins.  El Paso Mountain Range.

Photo by Scott Schwartz

Another example of the stunning scenery that can be found in California's El Paso Mountain Range.

Photo by Scott Schwartz

At one time, travelers along the Mojave Road (which is sometimes spelled "Mohave") were in danger of being attacked by hostile Indians.  During its heyday, the Road linked Los Angeles with Prescott, AZ.  A series of "redoubts" or small forts were built along the Mojave Road in order to house the soldiers who protected the travelers.  One of these is Fort Piute, the ruins of which still stand today.  I took the following photos about three years ago, during a trip to the fort.

Photos by Scott Schwartz