Mojave Desert Ruins: The Alvord Mine...

So, I picked my buddy Ron up at ten o'clock, on Saturday.  The Alvord Mine lies roughly thirty miles north east of Barstow, CA, off Harvard Road.

The intense heat-wave we'd been experiencing here in southern California had finally broken, and the temperature was a mild eighty degrees as we tooled up Highway 15.

After a quick lunch at a Barstow Denny's, we were on the road again.

More to come....

Mojave Desert Ruins: The Alvord Mine...

My rock-hound friend asked me to take him to the Alvord Mine, so that he could look for, well, rocks.
I'd been to the Alvord Mine once before, and I welcomed the excuse to return and explore the area again.

The mine has its origins in the 1885 discovery of gold in the surrounding Alvord Mountains.  Within a few years of the discovery, an outfit called the Carter Mining Company was operating here.  The company ceased operations in 1891, after $50,000 in gold was extracted from the mine.

The Alvord mine was re-activated on several different occasions during the early twentieth century, with the last operations ceasing in 1952.

More to come.....

Mojave Desert Photography: "I really don't know clouds at all..."

Singer Judy Collins had it right; we don't know clouds even after looking at them for years.  But, I love them just the same!  There are few things as beautiful as a desert sky full of clouds!

1/100th sec. @ f/20.

Mojave Desert Photography: El Paso Mountains...

View from the trail, looking north east toward the Sierras.

1/60th sec. @ f/20.

Mojave Desert- The Hills Have (My) Eyes....

I love the views from the higher elevations.  When driving in the desert, I'm always looking for trails that lead to the tops of hills and mountains.

1/40th sec. @ f/20.

Mojave Desert Photography: El Paso Mountains-a landscape photographer's dream...

....because you never know when an unexplored trail will treat you to a fantastic view.  

As usual, when taking landscape photographs, my camera is set to the "Aperture Priority" mode.  Maximum depth of field is the goal, here.

I used a polarizing filter here.  The polarizing filter renders the blue sky and white clouds more pronounced.  I prefer to perform the majority of my photo editing when I take the photograph.

1/80th sec. @ f/20.

Mojave Desert Photographs: From my recent trip into the El Paso Mountains...

From the radio antenna site, another image.

1/60th sec. @ f/20.

As we journey through life's desert, it is necessary to stop and take in the view.