Starbuck's Exploring

Sign in Subscribe

Directions

These trips have detailed directions on how to reach a site. Directions are limited to paid subscribers. Be sure to scroll down to load posts.

99 posts

Ryan Mountain

Ryan Mountain

Ryan Mountain, rising above the boulder-strewn plains of Lost Horse and Queen Valleys, is one of the best and most popular hikes in Joshua Tree National Park. It is a signature hike. The mountain offers fantastic panoramic views only available elsewhere in the park by long, cross-country hikes. The mountain

Ryan Ranch

Ryan Ranch

Ryan Ranch is an easy hike that offers visitors a glimpse into the area's ranching and mining history. It features the ruins of an adobe ranch house and other remnants of early settlers. Ryan Ranch was homesteaded in 1895 by three brothers - Jepp, Tom, and Matt Ryan,

Bronze Mine (Live Oak)

Bronze Mine (Live Oak)

The Bronze Mine, also known as the Live Oak Mine, was a lead-silver mine that also contained some tungsten and fluorite. The vein is in a contact zone on the eastern side of the New York Mountains between a Goodsprings dolomite formation and a quartz monzonite intrusion. The mine was

Indian Mine (Death Valley)

Indian Mine (Death Valley)

Over in eastern Death Valley, just north of the Keane Wonder Mine, is the Indian Mine in Monarch Canyon. It is a small mine that was worked for gold with only minor workings and was never profitable. What makes it a worthwhile visit is the mill and its remaining single

Lanfair Buttes Petroglyphs

Lanfair Buttes Petroglyphs

The Lanfair Buttes Petroglyphs (also known as Indian Wells Petroglyphs) are one of the more extensive sets of petroglyphs in the Mojave National Preserve. There are hundreds of petroglyphs here on desert-varnished rhyolite boulders. Almost one whole hillside is covered with them. Ancestral Mojave and Chemehuevi probably camped here for

Bunker Hill Mine

Bunker Hill Mine

The Bunker Hill Mine (also known as the Inyo Bunker Hill) was worked for lead, silver, and zinc in the early 20th century. The ore mined during the 1920s and '30s was particularly rich, containing 30% to 60% lead, 33 ounces of silver per ton, and 0.1 ounces

Inyo Copper Mine

Inyo Copper Mine

Perched above the Lippincott Road in Saline Valley, unknown to most travelers below, is the nearly forgotten Inyo Copper Mine. Once owned by the Inyo Copper Mines and Smelter Company in the early 1900s, ore ranging from 4% to 41% copper was discovered here. The rich ore must have been