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Western Mojave

California's Western Mojave Desert, stretching from the southern Sierra Nevada mountains to the Mojave Preserve, including the Coso and Argus mountains.

16 posts

Newberry Cave Pictographs

Newberry Cave Pictographs

Nestled high in the mountains above Barstow, Newberry Cave sits quietly and unassumingly. Caves and pictographs are both rare in the Mojave Desert; this is a unique and amazing place. The cave was first discovered by locals in the 1930s but wasn’t excavated until 1953 by Dr. Gerald Smith,

Terese Petroglyphs

Terese Petroglyphs

Deep in the El Paso Mountains, at the site of a fossil spring, is an extensive Coso Native American village site. We found rock circles, grinding slicks, mortars, manos with metates, and petroglyphs spread out across a wide area. Each time we revisit the site, we seem to discover more.

Coso Ghost Camp

Coso Ghost Camp

We were lucky enough to be invited to China Lake Naval Weapon Center to do some volunteer restoration work on the historic Coso ghost town site. After work, we checked out several other sites and spent the night on base. We had a fantastic time! Please enjoy my photos of

Willis Well Petroglyphs

Willis Well Petroglyphs

Willis Well is an interesting place. For centuries, Native Americans camped in the spring (really just a seep). Numerous Desert Archaic petroglyphs cover the boulders near the spring. They are mostly abstract designs. Their meanings were lost in antiquity. George and Mildred Willis settled on this land in 1915. George

Coyote Gulch Petroglyphs (Mojave)

Coyote Gulch Petroglyphs (Mojave)

This is a small petroglyph site out in the Mojave desert near the larger and more well-known Black Canyon and Inscription Canyon petroglyph sites. The site is at a choke point where a wash comes through a gap in the hills. GPS

Howe's Tank Petroglyphs

Howe's Tank Petroglyphs

I made two trips in search of the petroglyphs at Howe’s Tank. I was close on the first trip but ran out of time just a few ways from the site. I went out a week later with Howe’s Tank as my main goal and found it after

Rhonda Mine

Rhonda Mine

Back in 2007, a friend told us to check out this semi-modern gold mill tucked away in a seldom-visited canyon of the Mojave Desert. The mill with most of the equipment still there was a great find. Up on a high and steep slope, the Rhonda mill looks like an