{"id":7763,"date":"2021-02-01T09:51:03","date_gmt":"2021-02-01T09:51:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.mcelhinneyart.com\/?p=7763"},"modified":"2021-02-01T10:18:03","modified_gmt":"2021-02-01T10:18:03","slug":"hidden-valley-joshua-tree-national-park","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mcelhinneyart.com\/jlmcelhinney\/hidden-valley-joshua-tree-national-park\/","title":{"rendered":"SKETCHBOOK TRAVELER: Dispatch # 87. Hidden Valley, Joshua Tree National Park. February 20-21, 2012."},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

Drawing and writing are two sides of the same coin. Both are sensory-cognitive practices. One makes visible the spoken word, while the other transcribes visual sensation into written form. One finds in East Asian painting an almost effortless rapport between calligraphy and picture making, perhaps due in part to a writing system that has preserved some of its pictorial attributes. Instead of worrying about whether or not a drawing needs to confine itself to making pictures, remember the words of Rembrandt Peale: \u201cDrawing is little else than writing the forms of objects.\u201d Expeditionary journal keeping is less about producing works of art than engaging an experience, digesting data, and compressing the file. The practice itself is the art. Always in the back of my mind is the fact that Leonardo\u2019s greatest contribution is not the Mona Lisa but his sketchbooks. Written on the left side of this page spread is the following text:<\/p>\n

\u201c3:30 P.M. February 21, 2012. Joshua Tree National Mon. at about the midpoint of the Hidden Valley Nature Loop\u2014Amazing variety of plant-life. The rock formations bespeak of past violence + upheaval, making anthropomorphic fantasies clinging together like souls in Hell. Apart from the imminent danger represented by reptiles, inclement weather, and the shades of McHaney Brothers gang of cattle-rustlers, the terrible beauty of this place is teeming with life, and within the so-called Hidden Valley\u2014some of them without (outside of Hidden Valley), offering an infinity of subjects for drawing, painting, photography, and other modes of reflection.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Private efforts to preserve its unique setting and to protect a fragile ecosystem from real-estate development resulted in 825,000 acres being set aside as Joshua Tree National Monument in 1936. Forty years later, Congress protected 420,000 acres as wilderness. In 1994 Joshua Tree was promoted to park status. Naming the geological attractions in Joshua Tree National Park, like the buttes and arches in Monument Valley, was a way to bestow identity to recognizable features of terrain in ways that reflect a human desire for the picturesque. Skull Rock, Hall of Horrors, and Jumbo Rocks conjure up thrilling images of matinee adventures. Sculpted by tectonic activity and subsequent erosion, fantastical geological formations within the park have long served as a backdrop for television, cinema, and advertising photo shoots. Among these features is a semi-enclosed inselberg dubbed Hidden Valley. An easy mile-long loop trail and legendary escalades make Hidden Valley a magnet for rock-climbing enthusiasts.
\nOne remembers Chief Niwot\u2019s curse: beautiful places will attract so many people that their beauty will be lost. Sitting on a rock to produce this drawing, I was passed by dozens of hikers and a fair number of dogs. Many appeared to be late for an appointment with the next destination on their bucket-list, hastily consuming the experience rather than taking time to absorb it. The purpose of hikes is not to get to the finish line but to invite new experience. The words of John Burroughs came to mind: <\/p>\n

\u201cIf you want to learn something new, take the path you took yesterday.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Ascending (not descending) to the entrance of Hidden Valley, one beholds a sweeping vista stretching eastward across Lost Horse Valley toward Pinto Basin, past Ryan Mountain. Rising 1,000 feet above the pediment, the summit, at 5,465 feet, is one of the highest points accessible to hikers within the park. The large, rocky outcropping to the right is classified an \u201cinselberg,\u201d or island mount, because it rises from the desert floor like an island from the sea. Known as \u201cpediment,\u201d the flat expanses between scattered elevations and outcroppings appear flat but are in fact slightly inclined. As wind, rain, and chemical erosion gnaw away at its slopes, the mountain retreats. The descending ground level forms a plain, exposing large gneiss formations to spheroid weathering. Entering through fissures created by immense pressure underground, water and chemicals cause erosion together with windblown grit that sculpts the rock into organic forms. Scattered across the expanse between my perch and Ryan Mountain is an orderly grove of Joshua Trees, Yucca brevifolia. In arranging this composition, it was important for me to capture geological variations\u2014mountain, inselberg, pediment, and foliage. The image is framed with a shadowed foreground\u2014a Claudian repoussoir substituting the rock wall to the right for an arboreal anchor. It was designed with a leftward diagonal sweep into the distance. Emerging from the close, almost intimate confines of the Hidden Valley Loop, I was delighted to be greeted by this panorama. Preserving that feeling is what I sought to convey. <\/p>\n

Now available to own: Sketchbook Traveler: Hudson Valley
\n\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Explore my Quaranteam Dispatches<\/a>, from April 1-June 8, 2020
\n\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Drawing and writing are two sides of the same coin. Both are sensory-cognitive practices. One makes visible the spoken word, while the other transcribes visual sensation into written form. One finds in East Asian painting an almost effortless rapport between calligraphy and picture making, perhaps due in part to a writing system that has preserved … Continue reading SKETCHBOOK TRAVELER: Dispatch # 87. Hidden Valley, Joshua Tree National Park. February 20-21, 2012.<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7763","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog"],"yoast_head":"\nSKETCHBOOK TRAVELER: Dispatch # 87. Hidden Valley, Joshua Tree National Park. February 20-21, 2012. -<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mcelhinneyart.com\/jlmcelhinney\/hidden-valley-joshua-tree-national-park\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"SKETCHBOOK TRAVELER: Dispatch # 87. Hidden Valley, Joshua Tree National Park. February 20-21, 2012. -\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Drawing and writing are two sides of the same coin. Both are sensory-cognitive practices. One makes visible the spoken word, while the other transcribes visual sensation into written form. One finds in East Asian painting an almost effortless rapport between calligraphy and picture making, perhaps due in part to a writing system that has preserved … Continue reading SKETCHBOOK TRAVELER: Dispatch # 87. Hidden Valley, Joshua Tree National Park. February 20-21, 2012. →\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.mcelhinneyart.com\/jlmcelhinney\/hidden-valley-joshua-tree-national-park\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-02-01T09:51:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-02-01T10:18:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.mcelhinneyart.com\/jlmcelhinney\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/28.-Hidden-Valley-w-Field-Notes-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"James L. Mcelhinney\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"James L. Mcelhinney\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mcelhinneyart.com\/jlmcelhinney\/hidden-valley-joshua-tree-national-park\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mcelhinneyart.com\/jlmcelhinney\/hidden-valley-joshua-tree-national-park\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"James L. Mcelhinney\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mcelhinneyart.com\/jlmcelhinney\/#\/schema\/person\/a84ee3e94a50ad6214a495bf690a8988\"},\"headline\":\"SKETCHBOOK TRAVELER: Dispatch # 87. Hidden Valley, Joshua Tree National Park. February 20-21, 2012.\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-02-01T09:51:03+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-02-01T10:18:03+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mcelhinneyart.com\/jlmcelhinney\/hidden-valley-joshua-tree-national-park\/\"},\"wordCount\":773,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mcelhinneyart.com\/jlmcelhinney\/hidden-valley-joshua-tree-national-park\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.mcelhinneyart.com\/jlmcelhinney\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/28.-Hidden-Valley-w-Field-Notes-scaled.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Dispatches\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mcelhinneyart.com\/jlmcelhinney\/hidden-valley-joshua-tree-national-park\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.mcelhinneyart.com\/jlmcelhinney\/hidden-valley-joshua-tree-national-park\/\",\"name\":\"SKETCHBOOK TRAVELER: Dispatch # 87. Hidden Valley, Joshua Tree National Park. February 20-21, 2012. -\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mcelhinneyart.com\/jlmcelhinney\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mcelhinneyart.com\/jlmcelhinney\/hidden-valley-joshua-tree-national-park\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mcelhinneyart.com\/jlmcelhinney\/hidden-valley-joshua-tree-national-park\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.mcelhinneyart.com\/jlmcelhinney\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/28.-Hidden-Valley-w-Field-Notes-scaled.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-02-01T09:51:03+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-02-01T10:18:03+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mcelhinneyart.com\/jlmcelhinney\/#\/schema\/person\/a84ee3e94a50ad6214a495bf690a8988\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.mcelhinneyart.com\/jlmcelhinney\/hidden-valley-joshua-tree-national-park\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mcelhinneyart.com\/jlmcelhinney\/hidden-valley-joshua-tree-national-park\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.mcelhinneyart.com\/jlmcelhinney\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/28.-Hidden-Valley-w-Field-Notes-scaled.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.mcelhinneyart.com\/jlmcelhinney\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/28.-Hidden-Valley-w-Field-Notes-scaled.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":911},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mcelhinneyart.com\/jlmcelhinney\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.mcelhinneyart.com\/jlmcelhinney\/\",\"name\":\"\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.mcelhinneyart.com\/jlmcelhinney\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mcelhinneyart.com\/jlmcelhinney\/#\/schema\/person\/a84ee3e94a50ad6214a495bf690a8988\",\"name\":\"James L. Mcelhinney\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.mcelhinneyart.com\/jlmcelhinney\/author\/admin002\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"SKETCHBOOK TRAVELER: Dispatch # 87. Hidden Valley, Joshua Tree National Park. February 20-21, 2012. -","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.mcelhinneyart.com\/jlmcelhinney\/hidden-valley-joshua-tree-national-park\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"SKETCHBOOK TRAVELER: Dispatch # 87. Hidden Valley, Joshua Tree National Park. February 20-21, 2012. -","og_description":"Drawing and writing are two sides of the same coin. Both are sensory-cognitive practices. One makes visible the spoken word, while the other transcribes visual sensation into written form. One finds in East Asian painting an almost effortless rapport between calligraphy and picture making, perhaps due in part to a writing system that has preserved … Continue reading SKETCHBOOK TRAVELER: Dispatch # 87. Hidden Valley, Joshua Tree National Park. February 20-21, 2012. →","og_url":"https:\/\/www.mcelhinneyart.com\/jlmcelhinney\/hidden-valley-joshua-tree-national-park\/","article_published_time":"2021-02-01T09:51:03+00:00","article_modified_time":"2021-02-01T10:18:03+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/www.mcelhinneyart.com\/jlmcelhinney\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/28.-Hidden-Valley-w-Field-Notes-scaled.jpg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"James L. Mcelhinney","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"James L. Mcelhinney","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.mcelhinneyart.com\/jlmcelhinney\/hidden-valley-joshua-tree-national-park\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.mcelhinneyart.com\/jlmcelhinney\/hidden-valley-joshua-tree-national-park\/"},"author":{"name":"James L. Mcelhinney","@id":"https:\/\/www.mcelhinneyart.com\/jlmcelhinney\/#\/schema\/person\/a84ee3e94a50ad6214a495bf690a8988"},"headline":"SKETCHBOOK TRAVELER: Dispatch # 87. Hidden Valley, Joshua Tree National Park. February 20-21, 2012.","datePublished":"2021-02-01T09:51:03+00:00","dateModified":"2021-02-01T10:18:03+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.mcelhinneyart.com\/jlmcelhinney\/hidden-valley-joshua-tree-national-park\/"},"wordCount":773,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.mcelhinneyart.com\/jlmcelhinney\/hidden-valley-joshua-tree-national-park\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.mcelhinneyart.com\/jlmcelhinney\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/28.-Hidden-Valley-w-Field-Notes-scaled.jpg","articleSection":["Dispatches"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.mcelhinneyart.com\/jlmcelhinney\/hidden-valley-joshua-tree-national-park\/","url":"https:\/\/www.mcelhinneyart.com\/jlmcelhinney\/hidden-valley-joshua-tree-national-park\/","name":"SKETCHBOOK TRAVELER: Dispatch # 87. Hidden Valley, Joshua Tree National Park. February 20-21, 2012. -","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.mcelhinneyart.com\/jlmcelhinney\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.mcelhinneyart.com\/jlmcelhinney\/hidden-valley-joshua-tree-national-park\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.mcelhinneyart.com\/jlmcelhinney\/hidden-valley-joshua-tree-national-park\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.mcelhinneyart.com\/jlmcelhinney\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/28.-Hidden-Valley-w-Field-Notes-scaled.jpg","datePublished":"2021-02-01T09:51:03+00:00","dateModified":"2021-02-01T10:18:03+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.mcelhinneyart.com\/jlmcelhinney\/#\/schema\/person\/a84ee3e94a50ad6214a495bf690a8988"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.mcelhinneyart.com\/jlmcelhinney\/hidden-valley-joshua-tree-national-park\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.mcelhinneyart.com\/jlmcelhinney\/hidden-valley-joshua-tree-national-park\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.mcelhinneyart.com\/jlmcelhinney\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/28.-Hidden-Valley-w-Field-Notes-scaled.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.mcelhinneyart.com\/jlmcelhinney\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/28.-Hidden-Valley-w-Field-Notes-scaled.jpg","width":2560,"height":911},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.mcelhinneyart.com\/jlmcelhinney\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.mcelhinneyart.com\/jlmcelhinney\/","name":"","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.mcelhinneyart.com\/jlmcelhinney\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.mcelhinneyart.com\/jlmcelhinney\/#\/schema\/person\/a84ee3e94a50ad6214a495bf690a8988","name":"James L. Mcelhinney","url":"https:\/\/www.mcelhinneyart.com\/jlmcelhinney\/author\/admin002\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8rJt5-21d","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mcelhinneyart.com\/jlmcelhinney\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7763","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mcelhinneyart.com\/jlmcelhinney\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mcelhinneyart.com\/jlmcelhinney\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mcelhinneyart.com\/jlmcelhinney\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mcelhinneyart.com\/jlmcelhinney\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7763"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.mcelhinneyart.com\/jlmcelhinney\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7763\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7773,"href":"https:\/\/www.mcelhinneyart.com\/jlmcelhinney\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7763\/revisions\/7773"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mcelhinneyart.com\/jlmcelhinney\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7763"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mcelhinneyart.com\/jlmcelhinney\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7763"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mcelhinneyart.com\/jlmcelhinney\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7763"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}