August 2024 News

It's been a long, hot, and smoky summer, but I did manage to get out a little bit with trips to northern Arizona, the central California coast, and, of course, roaming around the Mojave.

New Trips

New trips in the last few months:

Beacon Hill Petroglyphs

The Beacon Hill Petroglyphs are reported to have nearly 600 ancient etchings spread across 31 boulders. However, after an exhausting search of the site, which left us questioning our eyesight and sanity, we found a dozen or so at best. Perhaps the desert sun has a way of multiplying petroglyphs

Starbuck's ExploringGuy Starbuck

Uncle Jimmy Owen’s Cave

Up on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, approximately 0.25 miles before the Widforss Trailhead (named for the early 20th-century Swedish-American painter Gunnar Widforss), a faint path heads across a meadow and leads to a small cave. The cave is empty and not much more than an overhang

Starbuck's ExploringGuy Starbuck

Los Angeles and Brooklyn Mines

Deep in the rugged backcountry just outside Joshua Tree National Park lie the remnants of two once-thriving gold mines, the Brooklyn and Los Angeles. The story of the Brooklyn Mine began in 1890 when prospector John Burt discovered the rich gold-bearing veins in the rugged Pinto Mountains. Burt partnered with

Starbuck's ExploringGuy Starbuck

St. George Mine

The Panamint Valley was a bustling place in the 1870s, with silver mining activity booming in the surrounding Panamint and Argus Mountains. The frenzy began in Cerro Gordo in the Inyo Mountains in the 1860s, moved on to Panamint City in 1873, then finally arrived in the Argus Mountains in

Starbuck's ExploringHugh M. Smith

Bernard and Little Berdoo Peaks

Nestled in the remote backcountry of Joshua Tree National Park lie Bernard and Little Berdoo Peaks, two seldom-visited summits with incredible views. This adventurous cross-country ramble climbs up rugged canyons and rocky ridges to reach these two peaks. The views are the reason to be up here. Down below, but

Starbuck's ExploringGuy Starbuck

Updated Trips

I've updated this trip with history, directions, GPS, or new photos since the last update.

Black Eagle Mine

Deep in the rugged Eagle Mountains, the Black Eagle Mine sits quietly crumbling, overshadowed by the massive Eagle Mountain Mine nearby. Its ruins are slowly fading back into the desert, barely recognizable as the bustling operation it once was. We were lucky to capture these remnants of Joshua Tree’s mining

Starbuck's ExploringGuy Starbuck

New Books

I thought I might share some of the books I've recently picked up. Think of it as a peek into my ever-growing reading list - because who doesn’t need more books they don’t have time to read?

• Pahranagat Mines - Jeanne Sharp Howerton. This is an excellent book on the mining history of the Pahranagat Valley of southern Nevada. It even includes a few of my photos. You can get a copy at Western Places. I won't make any money if you buy a copy, but my friend Jeanne will.
• Mining Camps of Mineral County Montana - Terry Halden. You can also get this at Western Places. Tell them Guy sent you. I'm kidding. That won't do anything. Alan will say, "Who?"
• Backroads of Utah's San Rafael Swell - Christian Probasco
• Proceedings of the Colorado River Basin History Symposium 2021 - Grand Canyon Historical Society
• Abandoned Washington State: From Old Barns to Atom Bombs - Howard Frisk
• Nevada's Black Rock Desert - Sessions S. Wheeler
• Exploring BC's Pictographs - Simon Nankivell, David Wyse

You can see more of my book collection on my occasionally updated Reference Library page.

Know of a book you think I should have? Let me know.

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