Legends, lore and images of the American Southwest
Welcome to my site – Tales from the Desert. Over the past several years, I’ve been fortunate to explore all over the American Southwest. I’ve grown to truly love this area…the desert can be awe-inspiring, desolate, rough and beautiful all at the same time. The differences in terrain, colors, plant and animal life are truly amazing.
While exploring, I’ve become fascinated with the amount of Native American rock art and traces of our prehistoric past throughout the desert. Petroglyphs (etchings in rock), pictographs (drawings on rock using plant-based dyes), grinding slicks, lithic scatter, arrowheads, shelters, agave roasting pits, pottery sherds, etc. are located seemingly everywhere! The age of these sites and rock art (petroglyphs & pictographs) cover a few hundred years-old, to well over 10,000 years-old. In fact, the oldest known rock art in North America is located in the northern deserts of Nevada, dated to over 16,500 years-old. These sites are irreplaceable, so if you come across them, please do not climb or touch them.
I’ve included other areas of interest, too…ghost towns, abandoned mines and areas of great natural beauty. Many of these places have been harmed by idiots defacing these irreplaceable and beautiful treasures. Because of this, I don’t provide specific locations. However, many of these locations are well-known and easy to find. For some of the more sensitive locations, I’ve purposely left out directions & changed their names. The best way to find them is to lace up your hiking boots, get out in the great outdoors and explore, which is ultimately the purpose of this site. Remember, this ecosystem took hundreds of millions of years to create, but it’s extremely fragile. So, please follow Leave No Trace principles…”take only pictures, leave only footprints.”
Please click on the Galleries link in the main menu at the top of this page, or click the links listed below. And, check back often, as I’ll continue to update my portfolio with new galleries from new locations.
Paul
Galleries – click below (or click the “Galleries” selection at the top of the page):
* Aiken Cinder Mine
* Aiken Lava Tube
* Aiken’s Arch
* Anasazi Ridge
* Arch Rock
* The Archer
* Arrow Canyon
* Ash Springs
* Atlatl Rock & Surrounding Areas
* Aztec Ruins
* Badwater Basin
* Ballarat
* Barker Ranch (Manson family hideout)
* Big Rocks Wilderness Area
* Birdman Petroglyph Site
* Bitter Ridge Pictographs
* Bittersprings Petroglyphs
* Black Canyon
* The Black Mailbox
* Black Tank
* Blue Diamond HWY Scenic Route
* Bonnie Claire
* Brownstone Canyon
* Bullfrog
* Buffington Pockets
* Cabins
* Calico Basin (aka Kraft Mountain and Gateway Canyon)
* Calico I & II
* Cathedral Gorge
* Colorock Quarry
* Cottonwood Pass – Lombard Trail
* Cottonwood Valley
* Counsel Rocks
* Cow Cove
* Coyote Gulch
* Coyote Pack Attack
* Crescent Mill Ruins
* Crystal Wash
* Dawn Mine
* Death Valley – Random
* Delamar Dry Lake
* Delamar Ghost Town “The Widow Maker”
* Desert Tortoise Intaglio
* Devil’s Throat
* Dixie National Forest
* Dr. John Hoyt grave site
* Duplex Mine
* Dupont Mine
* El Dorado Canyon & Techatticup Mine
* Etna Cave
* Falling Man
* Fire Wave
* Fort Piute
* From the Air
* Gallery of the Ancients
* Garlock
* Glacier National Park
* Gold Bar
* Gold Butte – Misc (video clips only)
* Gold Butte Townsite
* Goldwell Open Air Museum
* Goler Wash & Coyote Rd
* Grand Canyon – South Rim area
* Grand Canyon – Toroweap / Tuweep
* Grapevine Canyon
* Groom Lake Rd
* Groom Mine
* Hell’s Half Acre
* Hidden Valley
* Hiko Canyon
* Hiko Springs – Lower
* Hiko Springs – Upper
* Hoover Dam
* Indian Caves
* Indian Wells Petroglyphs (aka Lanfair Buttes)
* Inscription Canyon
* Irwin Ranch & Van Slyke House
* Ivanpah Ghost Town
* Jean Dry Lake
* JET Mine
* Joshua Tree – Hidden Valley
* Joshua Tree – Pleasant Valley
* Kaibab National Forest
* Kane Springs petroglyphs
* Kane Springs Road
* Kelso Dunes
* Keyhole Canyon
* Keystone Thrust
* Kirk’s Grotto
* Kohta Circus
* Kohta Circus Cliffside
* Lake Mead – Catclaw Wash area
* Lake Mead NRA
* Lake Mohave
* Lake Tahoe
* Lewis and Clark Caverns
* Life Size Sheep Panel
* Little Big Horn
* Little Finland (aka Hobgoblin’s Playground, Devil’s Fire & Lone Palm)
* Little Petroglyph Canyon – Coso Range
* Little Red Rock
* Logan ghost town
* Logandale
* Lone Rock
* Lost Creek
* Lotus Keystone Mine
* Mary’s Cave
* McKellips Grave Site
* Mesa Verde Cliff Dwellings
* Mesquite Flat Basin
* Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes
* Misc. / Random
* Misc. / Random – Part 2
* Mojave Monuments – Easter Island in the Desert
* Mojave National Preserve
* Mosaic Canyon
* Mountain Springs
* Mouse’s Tank
* Mt. Irish
* Mt. Irish – Echo Rock
* Mud Wash “Lollipop” Trail
* Mud Wash Petroglyphs
* N McCullough Range
* Nampaweap
* Newberry Cave
* Ninety Nine Mine
* Oak Springs Trilobite Area
* Oakland Mine
* Pahranagat Valley – Misc
* Pahranagat Wash
* Painted Walls Canyon
* Parashant National Monument – Whitmore Canyon
* Petrified Wood Hill
* Petroglyph Cabin
* Petroglyph Wall Trail
* Pine Creek Canyon & Fern Canyon
* Piute Range
* Prospect Trail
* Racetrack & Grandstand
* Rachel, NV
* Rainbow Canyon
* Rainbow Wells
* Randsburg
* Red Cliffs
* Red Spring
* Red Tail Hawk Origin Site
* Redstone
* Redstone Discovery
* Rhyolite
* Rings Trail & Banshee Canyon
* Rosie’s Mining Cabin
* Sandstone Quarry
* Scout’s Cove
* Seven Keyhole Alcove
* Seven Keyhole Canyon
* Seven Magic Mountains
* Seventeen Mile Petroglyphs
* Shaman Hill
* Shaman Knob
* Shooting Gallery
* Six Big Horn Sheep panel
* Sixmile Flat – North
* Sixmile Flat – South
* Sloan Canyon
* Southern Nevada Mine
* Spiderman Petroglyph Site
* Spirit Mountains (Ave Kwa Ame National Monument)
* Spring Valley (aka Lone Grapevine)
* Stagecoach Stop
* Sunnyside Cliff
* Surprise Canyon
* Teakettle Junction
* “The Mother” El Sur
* Tikaboo Peak & Area 51 (aka Groom Lake and Dreamland)
* Tillman Signature Site
* 21 Goats
* U2 – The Joshua Tree “…Dream Beneath a Desert Sky…”
* Ubehebe Crater
* Unknown Habitation
* Unknown Mine
* Upper Pahranagat Lake
* Valley of Faces
* Valley of Fire
* War Shield Canyon
* Wee Thump Joshua Tree Wilderness Area
* Weepah Spring
* White River Narrows – Amphitheater
* White River Narrows – Ash Hill
* White River Narrows – Calendar Fence
* White River Narrows – Cane Site A
* White River Narrows – Martian Home
* White River Narrows – Site VI
* Whitney Pocket
* Willow Springs
* Woods Wash
* XB-70 Valkyrie Crash Site
* Yellow Man
* Yellow Plug
* Yellowstone
* Zabriskie Point
If you’re willing to share any rock art, ghost towns, or abandoned mine locations, please let me know by clicking on my Contact Me page. I’m mostly interested in locations that are around southern Nevada, southwest Utah, northern Arizona, or southern California. THANKS!
