Vasquez Rocks

Natural Area Park, Los Angeles County

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I decided to join a bunch of geocachers in a celebration of life by going on some interrupted plans made 5 years before. The destination is one we all know although we probably do not realize it. No one pays quite as much attention to the landscape stars, but this particular landscape has been seen on screens of all sizes and continues to be. They can even be found in animated form. Today, there are quite a lot of folks enjoying them in park form. We stop by the interpretive loop for a brief geology refresher (and the earthcache) before heading off on a spur filled loop around the place.

those rocks — The most climbed rocks of the day are right next to the parking lot.

the line returns to the flat — We only climb a little way up and then return.

Some wonderful weathered rocks. The freeway is not so far away marking the south end.

The place certainly does give the impression of a rough and rugged area, but pull back and it is quite civilized. Houses on large lots can be found around the edges and the freeway climbs out of Los Angeles to the south. At the moment, clouds seem to be moving in to take away some of that stark quality that the hot sunlight can give the area.

rocks on a hillside — The rocks go on up the hill. In the distance, there is a house. We will just have to fix that in post production.

bright yellow mariposa lily — It may be desert, but life hangs on and can even be a little showy like this mariposa lily.

small cave — A cave just big enough to lay down in. Perhaps it has been the hiding place for some fugitive in some movie?

Weaving high into the rocks on the hill, we get a good overview of the area. We have to wander about them a bit because they contain the cave. Of course we imagine that this is where Vasquez kept his stolen horses.

now among those rocks — Out on the hill and taking in a bit more view and admiring a bit more of the weathering.

houses at the edge — Houses and movie ranches surround the area.

A towering and smooth wall impresses for a moment, but we are still coming to the cave.

cave among the rocks — The cave is vast, at least for southern California. A small hole for more determined hiding can be found at the side of it.

We continue around toward the freeway and downward. Suddenly things seem just a bit more green than the rest of the area. The canyon below is an oasis of water.

desert varnish — Desert varnish adorns the more static rocks of the area.

hole in the ground — The canyon through the rocks is lovely, especially with the contrasting greens.

water in canyon — Look carefully and there is even a bit of water flowing in the canyon.

A little further around and suddenly we are on the Pacific Crest Trail. There are no hoards of through hikers coming along it just yet, at least now while we are there. I actually expected to see at least one early hiker beating the desert heat. Horses are directed along a secondary path rather than the hiker path. That route looks downright unsafe for horses to me and one who has been around the park many times confirms that it gets pretty sketchy in a couple spots.