Reader-supported field notes from backcountry explorations of the Western United States

Starbuck's Exploring

Subscribe

CA Northern Death Valley

Blackrock Well Historic Writing and Petroglyphs

Blackrock Well Historic Writing and Petroglyphs

Back in 2006, Dan and I hiked out to this known petroglyph site we’ve been wanting to check out for a while. It was a bit of a hike, but we were well rewarded.

We were very surprised to find historical inscriptions by cowboy and miner Bill Keys (of Joshua Tree fame) and others. By the 1895 date on the rock, Bill would have been just 15 years old when he carved his name on the rocks. This is a great site!

Bighorn sheep petroglyphs

See the Wall Street Mill for some notes on Bill Keys.

Read next

Inyo Copper Mine

Inyo Copper Mine

Perched above the Lippincott Road in Saline Valley, unknown to most travelers below, is the nearly forgotten Inyo Copper Mine. Once owned by the Inyo Copper Mines and Smelter Company in the early 1900s, ore ranging from 4% to 41% copper was discovered here. The rich ore must have been

Lemoigne Mine

Lemoigne Mine

Jean François de Lamoignon (shortened to Jean or John Lemoigne), was a black-bearded Frenchman who differed from most of the other early Death Valley prospectors; he was a well-educated mining engineer. He came to Death Valley around 1879 to supervise the Eagle Borax Works. Unfortunately, by the time he had

Roode Rock

Roode Rock

While out wandering around in the wilds of Death Valley National Park, we found a historic inscription by William Roode (also Rood or Rude), who was part of the Jayhawkers escaping Death Valley in 1849. There is some debate as to if the inscription was really made in 1849 or