On the Road is a weekday feature spotlighting reader photo submissions.
From the exotic to the familiar, whether you’re traveling or in your own backyard, we would love to see the world through your eyes.
It’s Wednesday, so of course we have BillinGlendale. From Bill’s comment that these photos are from only a small portion of Devil’s Punchbowl, I wonder if we are about to have a series on Devil’s Punchbowl, and may soon be calling him ?BillintheDevilsPunchbowl? ~WaterGirl
?BillinGlendaleCA
Devil’s Punchbowl is located in the southern Antelope Valley about a hour’s drive from Glendale. It’s a geologic feature formed the the intersection of two faults, the San Andreas fault and the Punchbowl fault. The convergence of these two faults has caused the rock to buckle up though the surface much like Vasquez Rocks but on a much larger scale. These photos are from only a small portion of Devil’s Punchbowl by the visitor’s center on the western edge of the nature area. We hiked down from the visitor’s center to just above the creek that flows though the canyon just east of the visitor’s center.
Heading down into the canyon, the snow on the hills is contrasted with the bare rock of the punchbowl.
As we head down into the canyon this rock makes a perfect subject for an IR shot.
Nearing the bottom of the canyon, you can see the punchbowl to the east.
This rock has pushed out from the bottom of the canyon(if it looks familiar, it’s the same rock as the IR shot, but from a different angle).
IR shot of rock looking up from the base of the canyon.
As we climb out of the canyon we look back to see the rock formation we just hiked by.
As we climb out of the canyon we have a magnificent view of the western portion of the punchbowl. The rest of the punchbowl is east of the ridge you can see at the center.
Baud
Is the sky enhanced? It looks really blue.
Beautiful hiking.
JPL
Amazing! Thank you for including the last picture, because I couldn’t imagine hiking over the rocks.
arrieve
Wonderful as always, Bill — you are so lucky to have such magnificent scenery nearby. Those rocks in IR are especially cool.
HeartlandLiberal
Went to our largest Kroger at 6:00 am to avoid the crowds this morning. Doing a shopping run for a 79 year old friend who stays at home to be safe. (We are just 74. Striplings. Baby goats, right?) We wear masks and plastic gloves. Were really disgusted that at least six Kroger staff members stocking shelves were not wearing their masks, or just keeping them pulled down below chin. A couple others covered their mouth, but their nose was completely exposed. Filed complaint with cashier during checkout, who said they would report to management. They had had all staff meetings explicitly instructing staff to wear their masks AT ALL TIMES. Seriously, how hard is it to understand that what might be a bad cold to you MIGHT F*CKING KILL US. Jeebus, what has happened to this country? My father and uncles who fought in WWII, if any of them were left, would be shaking their heads, asking, is this WTF I fought (and many died) for??
If you have not seen on Twitter @TheTweetOfGod, please do so. Checkout the trending hashtag #JusticeForCarolyn. Response by this wonderful parody account to limp slap on wrist Twitter gave the PretendPresident for accusing Joe Scarborough of murder. God accuses Trump of murder. In loving detail. Imitating Trump’s tweets. If only Dorsey and Twitter had consciences, and were not flaming hypocrites. Trump’s account has violated Twitters Terms of Service pretty much every day for over three years. And yet? I got put in timeout a few weeks ago for calling some jerk GOP member a ‘retard.’ Trump? Not so much for calling a member of Congress a skank. Who knew it would come to this?
I am tempted to go off on a tangent revealing my knowledge of German language, history, and culture, and point out how much we are starting to look like the Wiemar Republic and the rise of Hitler, but I will save that for another open thread sometime.
Jim Appleton
Nice work, Bill.
Here is Leslie Gulch, in Oregon. Similar forms, but different geology.
http://jimappleton.com/images/Pine-Creek/landscape2002_2.htm
J R in WV
Wonderful, beautiful scenery, well photographed. A shame there isn’t a high overlook where you can get the whole “punchbowl” and see the entire geological marvel at once.
Thanks again BIll~!!~
ETA: I love the mysterious ways solid rock can be folded and tossed, turned upside down, moved around like taffy. Out West where it’s dry you can see this plainly, but its here in the East too, just covered with green fuzz and hard to see.
Thanks for showing us all this geologic deformation, so fascinating!
Jim Appleton
Nice work, Bill.
Here is Leslie Gulch, in Oregon. Similar forms, different geology.
BruceFromOhio
Beautiful!
Regarding the infrared shots: is that “filtered” IR, or are you actually shooting IR film?
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Baud: I just reduced highlights as I always do to help bring out any clouds. The IR, of course, has darker skies.
@JPL: Thanks, the side of the canyon is just a bit less rocky.
@arrieve: I was really happy with the IR, it works well with rock formations. I’ll have to take the camera to Joshua Tree if I get there in the daytime.
@J R in WV: Over the ridge in the back of the shots is more of the punchbowl and it has the “Devil’s Chair” up by the mountains that gives a pretty good overview(from the pics I’ve seen) of the majority of the the punchbowl. It’s about a 7 mile hike and a bit too far for my hiking companion.
SkyBluePink
Always late to the post-
All are striking but the IRs are so wonderfully alien
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Jim Appleton: Thanks, Leslie Gulch looks interesting.
@BruceFromOhio: It’s a modified camera with an IR filter. Digital cameras have a cut filter in them since the sensors have sensitivity to IR and UV light and the colors would get weird for regular use. One of my cameras has been modified to remove this filter and replace it with glass. I use a filter on that camera to remove most of the visible light. When I take a photo with the IR camera I usually also take the same shot with my regular camera and blend the two shots to selectively bring back some of the colors that get lost.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@SkyBluePink:
Thanks, I’ve always liked IR and the unusual look.
BruceFromOhio
@?BillinGlendaleCA: A splendid collision of art and science! I wondered if I was seeing a bit of ‘true color’ in these. Nicely done.
ziggy
Wow, that is an amazing place, thanks for the photos!
stinger
Intrigued by visibly sedimentary rocks!
If I had to pick a favorite of today’s photos (glad I don’t), it would be the top one. Love the contrasting similarities!
Jim Appleton
@?BillinGlendaleCA:
Not a geologist, my understanding is that the dark formation along the crest into the distance is a remnant of the source of some of the basalt flows which cover most of Oregon out to the continental shelf. The cool features are endless, and only a small part of the Owyhee.
Here’s one more, sort of a reverse angle from far down the left center of the previous photo.
WaterGirl
@Jim Appleton: Have you considered submitting some of your pics to On the Road?
BigJimSlade
@BillinGlendaleCA – Thanks for the great pictures!
Q: Why do they call it the Devil’s Punchbowl?
A: Because the punchbowl has been spiked… with rattlesnakes!
Jim Appleton
@WaterGirl I made a living for 20 years on the road with camera.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@BruceFromOhio: Good eye. I use the visual color photo as a color layer in Photoshop and then reduce the saturation of some colors and darken others(blue).
@ziggy: I’ve been wanting to go there for a while. Originally it was supposed to be a hike with my step-daughter, but work got busy for her so I asked her mom if she wanted to go.
@stinger: I really had trouble getting the color right on that one and I’m not sure I’m even happy now with it. But, it does show the division between the rocks in the Antelope Valley climate area and the San Gabriels.
@Jim Appleton: Could be. While there has been(even recent) volcanic activity in Southern California, I’m not sure about that area. Though things to have a tendency to move around here. About 50 miles to the west is half a volcano, the other half is in Central California(the San Andres Fault cuts right though it).
@BigJimSlade: Hah! They have a nice visitors center at the trailhead and one of the critters they have there is a Mojave Green Rattler.