Hemingway Bluff

The Sunday afternoon kayak outing was canceled due to strong winds.  This week I'll show some interesting pictures from 2010, at Hemingway Bluff in  Joshua Tree National Park.  This is a very popular site with rock climbers.

There's two climbers looking over the edge, and one ascending in a huge crack. I don't know how they do it.  In front of the bluff is a pile of  huge boulders.

I started looking into the little shelters at the base of the boulders, and saw flat slabs.

 These could have been work surfaces.  The biggest surprise was these big flakes of rock under the edge of the large boulder to the left.  These were held in a standing position by other rocks.  One would expect these flakes to be lying flat, like the large ones, instead of standing up, if this was only a natural process.

These resemble manitous.  Who knows how long they  have been standing in this protected area under a boulder, and what their purpose was?  Outside the boulder complex, some more familiar sights.