Many travel right by this desert area every weekend on their way to Las Vegas and they probably don’t know about the beauty found in this “little” section of the desert well that’s if you call 1,542,776 acres little. This area is the Mojave National Preserve located in Southern California. Within the preserve there are several areas that differ greatly from one another to spend one’s time, like the lava tubes to the Kelso Dunes just to name a couple. If you can manage the heat you will find something worth the trip.
I first found out about the preserve last year when searching for dark sky locations closer to my home then Bishop CA, which is about a 6-hour drive. After I found out about the dunes, I immediately started researching the next new moon to go there and photograph the Milky-way. This one trip quickly turned into three!
This weekend some friends and I headed back to the dunes with the goal of hiking them and spending a night under the stars gazing at the Milky-way. We parked at the trail head and prepared ourselves for a slightly less than enjoyable hike through soft sands underneath a bright sun all for the reward of a new adventure, beautiful scenery, and another starstruck night mesmerized by the Milky-way. After a few short breaks and trying to find the best trail to the top of the dunes we finally made it to the top of one of the dunes. The view was amazing and that alone made this hike completely worth it.
We peaked the summit right as sunset was beginning and this really showed off the beauty of the preserve. Personally I’ve always preferred a nice woodland area but this sunset showed me how beautiful the desert can be.
After sunset had ended, we hiked down a little to escape the winds blowing sand right into us and set up camp for the night. As the star started to appear the three of us relaxed, ate, and eventually took shelter in the tent when the winds came back for round two! Long story short the winds continued to beat us up and the Milky-way didn’t make its appearance before sunrise. Though this was the main goal we all enjoyed the experience and this new journey gave me some amazing photos and an idea for a new portfolio project with some models. Keep an eye out for that post when they're done!
A look at the stars as they started to appear in the dark sky.