The Beauty of the Mojave Desert - A Follow Up To An Excellent JLL Post About Wind Development In The Mojave.

The Mojave Desert which stretches across southern California and parts of Nevada and Arizona is a beautiful magical  precious place.  It is not a waste land.  First review the post on the blog JLL about wind development in the Mojave Desert of Ca. at the following link:

www.jeffersonleaningleft.blogspot.com

My wife and I have spent a lot of hours and days in some of the Mojave's remotest wilderness areas, and in some of its more developed areas as well. Just like Cape Vincent and the 1000 Islands this is a precious place that deserves our protection.I feel so fortunate to have such deep experiences in a place like CV that has so much beautiful water, and a place so opposite that has so little.  One is not better than the other, they are equally beautiful, but just different.  The Mojave, however, is far less forgiving of human mistakes, especially right now when temps are well over 100 degrees.    Here are some examples of the the  Mojave desert's exceptional diversity and beauty from our travels there. 

                                                The Old Woman Mts. - Ward Valley, Ca.

                                              Spring Storm - Death Valley Nat. Park

                                                       Danby Dry Lake (Salt)

Rock Climbing on some of the the Mojave's Mt's

                                                     A friendly visitor to our camp.

                                      Remote Mojave Desert 4wd road - All who wander are not lost!
                               

                             Looking over the Ward Valley from atop the Little Piute Mt's.
                                  The size and space in the landscape is mind boggling.

                                          Desert granite rock piles and desert asters.

                                                    Kilbeck Hills and sand dunes - Cadiz Valley

                                   Backpacking camp in the Little Piute Mountains Ca.

                                               " Stink Bug"  (Darkling Beetle) crossing a dune.

                                              Above and below - Spring in the Mojave

                                                           Close up of a Barrel Cactus

                                      A desert disaster. - The Palm Springs wind fiasco!!!

                               Chrismas vacation at a remote desert camp in the Mojave.  Our X-max
                                             cactus was the only human light for miles!

                                   The Mojave at night - The starry skies are incredible!
                              Many people need to understand that dark skies are a scenic
                              resource to be protected, just like any other resources.

                    Navy F-18 Hornet from China Lake Naval Weapons Center on low level
                      maneuvers over our camp site.  China Lake is one of the numerous military
                     bases in  and around the Mojave.   Definitely below wind turbine tip level. 
                   This is a rather common activity in the desert if you know where to go to see it.
                     This is probably one reason the military is concerned about wind development