Category Archives: California

“Birthday Canyon” Petroglyphs

Back in the fall of 2006 I met up with Cori and Lewis for a hike up “Birthday Canyon” to visit several panels of Coso Style petroglyphs. The moderate hike was an interesting one up a remote desert canyon that opened and closed itself freely making the overall trek a real joy with its ever changing topography. Both sandy washes and boulders graced this canyon and as nearing its head, basalt cliffs and basalt boulders, a favorite palette of the Coso people, rise out of the canyon floor and quickly draw the canyon to a close.
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King Midas Mine

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On a warm spring day in 2008, Guy and I hiked to the seldom visited King Midas Mine high in the Funeral Mountains of Death Valley National Park. Located near the world famous Keane Wonder Mine, the King Midas often gets overlooked due to its short production history, a more modern mining period and little written history.
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Butte Valley Mystery Shelter

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Depending on what old-timer you talk too, the creator of this ‘fallout’ shelter seems to differ. Many say it has its roots with the notorious Charles Manson when he roamed these parts; others say a former National Park Service volunteer staying at a cabin in the valley below stashed his supplies here away from the prying eyes of desert travelers; and a few believe the shelter was that of a rouge Park Service Ranger who patrolled the more desolate parts of the park.
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Shady Myricks Bloodstone Claim

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A number of years ago I was offered the chance to visit Francis Marion “Shady” Myrick’s Bloodstone mining claim near Brown Mountain, CA; now located within the boundaries of Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake. An opportunity not to be passed up, I was pleasantly surprised and pleased to meet Mr. John Lightburn, Shady’s great-grandnephew who conveyed stories of Shady’s adventures and life in the Mojave Desert and Colorado.
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