I spent some time in the Coachella Preserve this weekend as part of an ongoing project to capture the many facets of the San Andreas Fault and 

it's impact on Southern California.

The San Andreas Fault usually inspires some fear trepidation being associated with destruction and the "Big One". However, it also sustains life at different points along its path.

In the Coachella Valley the geology associated with the fault has allowed water to reach the surface and created a string of oases that literally sit on top of the fault.

It's not just the palm trees that sit in lonely groves surrounded by miles of hostile desert, these islands of life support all types of insect, bird and mammal species. 

There IS another side to the San Andreas Fault.

This year I actually remembered to do some basic housekeeping stuff. i'm so proud of myself for:

1. Remembering to edit my copyright preset in Lightroom to read 2013 (last year it was March before I realized I had not done it!).
and..
2. starting a new catalogue on new hard drives (2 LaCie 2TB drives if it matters - one is the backup).

So now everything is well with the world as we head into the great unknown of 2013, fingers crossed.

The first images stored on those crisp new drives are from a quick jaunt I took to Afton Canyon in the Mojave Desert this week. It really is an intriguing place. It sits right on the edge of the National Preserve, is managed by the BLM and has the ancient Mojave Road, the Union Pacific Railroad and the Mojave River running through it.

Slot Canyon

A lot of human and natural history has bottlenecked between the walls of what has apparently been called "California's Grand Canyon" (a bit of a stretch I think). There are also a number of slot canyons that feed into it that I found really kind of wonderful.

Railroad bridge into the heart of Afton Canyon

Thoughts of the Native Americans, settlers and railroad workers that passed through here and the messages inscribed on the remote railway bridges mean that "ghostly" is the first word that springs to mind when I think about Afton Canyon. No doubt some images from here will find their way onto the website in the next few weeks.

Hot Spring - Amargosa Series