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.
?BillinGlendaleCA
A good number of photographers will just drive around country roads to see things that inspire them, I’m not one of those people. A major reason is that to get to the countryside, I have to contend with LA’s notorious traffic. So I tend to do my exploration a bit more virtually, via Google Maps. When I look at an area I’m thinking of driving to, I turn on the photos in Maps and they can sometimes give me 360° views of the area and also other things around that particular area. Looking at Joshua Tree a couple months ago, I saw one photo of a lush green area, that’s not Joshua Tree! It was a bit further to the west and called the Whitewater Preserve. It’s along the Whitewater River that runs from the eastern slopes of Mt. San Gorgonio, by Palm Springs to the Salton Sea.
The Whitewater Preserve covers about 20,000 acres and these photos only depict the area around the ranger’s station and the picnic area. This part of the preserve used to be a family owned trout farm that went out of business in 2006 and the operation was purchased by the Wildlands Conservancy (who administer the preserve) and adapted the trout ponds to the pools and waterfalls that you see in the photos. It really is a stark contrast to Joshua Tree which is only about 30 miles away. The Whitewater Preserve along with the Pioneertown Mountain Preserve, the Mission Creek Preserve and the Big Morongo Preserve are all part of the Sand to Snow National Monument established by a Presidential Proclamation signed by President Obama in 2016.
The ranger station sits beside one of the old trout ponds with a small waterfall on the side. This photo is a composite with the top portion taken with a polarizing filter (which makes for better skies but removes reflections) and the bottom without.
Same view, this time with my IR camera equipped with an IRChrome filter.
They’ve connected the old trout ponds with little creeks and waterfalls with bridges over them.
Same view as above in infrared.
The walls of the Whitewater gorge in this area are an attraction in and of themselves and reflect in the old trout ponds.
Looking towards Mt. San Jacinto to the south.
One of the locals.
Lupines blossoming along the foot of the canyon. One of the interesting things about the IRChrome filter is that while the plants take on a red tone, the blossoms retain their original color.
Mary G
I had never heard of that and it looks lovely. I also hadn’t heard of the Sand to Snow prrogram. Happy TFG didn’t get around to trashing it. Did you do the Palm Springs tram before? I went up one spring from 85 degrees on the desert floor to six feet of snow at the top.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Mary G: Sand to Snow is a National Monument(much like Joshua Tree and Death Valley once were). Obama also declared the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument. I’ve never been up the tram or even to Palm Springs.
Baud
Is this what all the fuss was about with the Clintons? I didn’t realize it was so pretty.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Baud: The Clinton’s Whitewater is in Arkansas, no ginned up scandals at this one.
JPL
Wonderful pictures.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@JPL: Thanks.
Laura Too
How beautiful! I loved Palm Springs and the Salton Sea. I hope to go back and will add this to the list. Thanks!
cope
What a calm and peaceful place that must be. It’s always nice to discover local gems that one has never visited before. I love that feeling. I see the cliffs are layered sedimentary rocks but there are lots of granite boulders in the area. I assume they were eroded from the mountains above.
J R in WV
As usual, great work, beautiful locale.
Thanks for sharing. These photo features are one of my favorite parts of B-J…
arrieve
Wow. These are magnificent, Bill.
jonas
I’ve probably driven by this place on the 10 a hundred times over the years and never knew it was a former trout hatchery. What a bizarre place to put something like that! Anyway, I’m glad it’s been designated as a preserve, otherwise it just would have gone the way of other similar creek washes in Southern California — filled with yahoos tearing around on 4wds, turning the place into a shooting range and leaving beer bottles and shit all over the place.
UncleEbeneezer
Neat. Adding this to my list of potential scenic day trips. Have you been to the hatchery up near Manzanar? It’s a really cool little visit too, if you are on your way to Mammoth.
BTW- we visited the Storrier Stearns Japanese Garden in Pasadena a couple weeks ago. If you haven’t been there yet you should check it out. Small, but real pretty. And they have outdoor tables where you can eat whatever food you bring in. Only about 10 tables very spread out so totally safe. Cheers.
way2blue
My hat’s off to Wildlands Conservancy for purchasing this defunct trout farm and converting it into a haven. Good to be reminded of all the nature conservancy groups—working on our behalf. Thanks for sharing photos of their Whitewater Preserve.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Laura Too: Don’t forget the Cabazon Dinosaurs, just a couple of miles to the west on the 10.
@cope: The San Gabriels and the San Bernadino mountains are pretty much granite based.
@J R in WV: Thanks.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@arrieve: Thanks.
@jonas: I’ve driven by it a lot too, but usually I’m rushing to get to JT. It was nice to stop and see it once I knew it existed. It is right by the Whitewater river so it would be a logical place for a hatchery.
@UncleEbeneezer: The Mt. Whitney Fish Hatchery? I know about it but haven’t been, it looks nice from the photos I’ve seen.
The Storrier Sterns Garden has been on my “to go there” list for a couple of years, but I’ve never managed to get there.
@way2blue: You’re welcome, it was a fortunate find and well worth the few mile drive from the 10.
UncleEbeneezer
@?BillinGlendaleCA: That’s the one. It’s well worth visiting. A surprisingly nice little oasis of shade, pond, ducks etc. in the middle of a section of 395 that’s mostly desert. The inside has lots of cool pics and info about the history of Owens Valley.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@UncleEbeneezer: I’ll try to go there next time I’m up there during daylight.