Around 100 million years ago beneath what is now Joshua Tree National Park, an upwelling of molten rock oozed toward the Earth's surface. As the rock cooled, it formed a vast block of intrusive (beneath the surface) igneous (from the Latin ignis, meaning "fire") rock. Such blocks of igneous rocks – in this case, monzogranite – are referred to as plutons, and the rocks that comprise plutons are often referred to as plutonic rocks. This particular plutonic mass featured a large number of vertical faults within its structure, which provided an opening for various weathering agents, including water, wind, and ice.
Since that time, movement from the San Andreas fault has caused this block to tilt and rise. Erosional forces stripped away the surface rock above the block, which then became exposed at the surface. As the various faulted blocks became exposed, they were also subjected to erosion processes that slowly wore the sharp edges from the rock. This process is similar to what happens to an ice cube when held under running water. The water will wear away the hard edges leaving a rounded hunk that will continue to wear away the longer it is exposed to water before it melts away completely.
The monzogranite rock piles at Joshua Tree have undergone a similar process, albeit one that has moved millions of times more slowly. Meanwhile, periodic flooding wore deeper grooves through the larger faults in the pluton creating an labyrinthine complex of towering granitic structures that we now call the Wonderland of Rocks.
Today, the Wonderland of Rocks is one of the principal attractions of Joshua Tree National Park. Rock climbers, hikers, campers, and looky loos come from near and far to walk through, climb upon, and snap selfies before the magnificent and often bizarre formations surrounding the Hidden Valley, Keys Ranch, and Queen Valley regions of the park. Many of the park's most popular destinations, including Keys Ranch, Barker Dam and its attendant petroglyphs, Jumbo Rock, and the Maze allow hikers to explore these famous rock piles up close and personal.
The hike to Willow Hole allows one of the finest up-close looks at the Wonderland of Rock. The Boy Scout Trail travels through open Joshua Tree woodland, gradually approaching the western edge of the Wonderland before leaving the trail to follow a meandering wash to a subsurface oases that supports a dense grove of desert willows. Given that this is a high desert environment above 4,000', you will also remain within the pinyon-juniper belt once you enter the Wonderland, and you may find yourself surprised at how much vegetation you will encounter.
Starting from the Boy Scout Trail, head north over the compacted sand trail through a vast woodland of Joshua Trees. The Joshua Trees are the signature plant of the park, but they are not true trees. Part of the yucca family, the Joshua is only tree-like in its appearance while it maintains the characteristics of other plants in the yucca family. The trunks are composed of many small fibers instead of wood, and there are no tree rings to measure age. Joshua Trees have extensive root systems that can reach up to 35 feet out to take advantage of as much moisture as possible. The tallest Joshuas grow as tall as 50', and some of them may live as long as a 1,000 years.
The straight, smooth, and flat Boy Scout Trail provides easy hiking as you approach and eventually pass a large rock formation on your right that signifies a boundary for the Wonderland of Rock. At 1.2 miles, a side trail on the right will depart the Boy Scout Trail heading northeast in the direction of the Wonderland. At 2.5 miles, the trail disintegrates into a wash, which you will follow for the duration of the hike.
A word of caution on hiking in the washes: Many of the washes in the Wonderland of Rocks tend to criss-cross in a grid-like pattern. There are numerous side washes that can lead to dead-ends or into confusing labyrinths. As you progress, the rock piles become larger, taller, and more daunting to non-skilled climbers, making it hard to survey your location from above. This creates the potential for confusion and even getting lost. If you wish to hike to Willow Hole, but you do not have a great deal of confidence in your navigational skills, consider the GPS track attached to this write-up to be your Ariadne Thread.
Continue to follow the wash as it narrows while the rock piles surrounding you grow taller and more fantastic in shape. By now, you will have encountered numerous examples of single-leaf pinyon pines, California juniper, and Muellers oak. These species provided principal food supplies for the Native Americans who populated this area before the arrival of European settlers. Many of these trees seem to rise directly out of the rocks. Their root systems are able to find places in the cracks where water accumulates above and below the surface.
All around you now are massive rock piles forming fantastic shapes. Boulders perch precariously high up on rounded granite domes, while myriad side canyons and crevasses invite exploration. At 3.3 miles, the wash widens substantially and begins to bend to the right. After you come around this bend, you will encounter a thicket of willow trees, through which you can hike before the wash closes up in a broad amphitheatre. This is Willow Hole, the destination for this hike.
At Willow Hole, you will find numerous places to rest and enjoy the scenery around you. With the abundance of trees and somewhat regular supplies of water, you will encounter a lot of birds in the area, in addition to possible sightings of larger animals such as bighorn sheep. For those tempted to backpack in this area, be aware that park regulations cite that while you may camp one mile away from a road and at least 500 feet away from any water source, nearly all of the Wonderland of Rocks is designated for day-use (generally, the area west of the Boy Scout Trail is ok for backcountry camping). Additionally, for remote camping in Joshua Tree, you will need to park and register at one of the park's backcountry boards. As tempting as Willow Hole may seem as a camping site, it is off-limits to all but day hikers.
Once you've completed your reconnaissance of the area and feel ready to return, carefully retrace your way along the main wash before emerging at the trail that will eventually connect with the Boy Scout Trail for an easy walk back to the car.
The Boyscout Trail and the connecting trail to the wash are well-maintained and smooth, although the connecting trail features some soft sand sections that make for tedious walking. The heart of this hike occurs along a wash that connects with numerous side washes, which may create some confusion. If you attempt this hike, be sure that you have at least moderately well-developed navigational skills or that you are utilizing the attached GPS track to avoid the potential of taking a wrong turn and getting lost in the Wonderland of Rocks.
There are numerous campsites nearby, including Hidden Valley, Jumbo Rocks, and Ryan Campground. All three of these campgrounds are first-come, first-serve. Hidden Valley is especially popular due to being a hot spot for climbers. Joshua Tree National Park's camping policy does allow camping within 1 mile of a road, so long as you are at least 500 feet away from a water source.
From Joshua Tree, head east on Highway 62 and take a right on Park Blvd. Enter the park and pay the entrance fee. From the entrance, drive 6.5 miles until you reach the signed trailhead for the Boyscout Trail on the left.
I'm sorry. My phone autocorrected your name, Mardee. My apologies.
Hi Marie. I did double check my sources - now, and when I wrote this. I took that information from a USFS database page that described a number of aspects of Joshua Trees. Now, it's totally possible that this information is either out of date or incorrect, so if you'd like to provide what you feel is a more authoritative resource, I'll gladly revise the text.
Their average higher-end of their lifespan is about 150 years, but 500 year-old examples have been found and the oldest on record is believed to be about 1000 years old.
Double check your sources about Joshua Tree root systems and how old they can live. All the Joshua Trees I have seen have extremely shallow root systems, they a very fragile. They do not live until 1,000 years old. I have read more towards 100 years old.
I highly recommend this hike! It's so beautiful and remarkably varied as you hike thru a transitional landscape. Easy and flat too! Enjoy!
Hi Angee. The trail doesn't run racha the rocks until you're quite a ways in. The approach is relatively uninteresting, so this may not be the best hike for your kids.
We are headed to Joshua Tree the first of April. I know my kids would love the rocks described in this post but am not sure they'll be up for 7 miles. Would it be worth it to only hike this part way or should we stick to other shorter hikes?
I looked at the topo maps for the area, and it does appear that there is a clear way to hike through. However, given that I cannot recommend trying it without knowing your level of backcountry nav skill, I won't describe it. However, if you're curious about a route, and you have good nav skills, send me a message.
I am sure there is, but I would not recommend you attempt it unless you are quite accomplished with map and compass navigation. You'd have to cut through the Wonderland of Rock to do it, and that place is essentially a gigantic maze. I know people have gotten pretty lost there, so you'd have to be sure that you are well-prepared.
I did this hike yesterday with my 2 boys and it was phenomenal. I was wondering if there is a way to cut across from Willow Hole to Barker dam?? I just love the Wonderland area and want to explore it some more.


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Unlocking plants' metabolic thermostat — award-winning LSW posters
May 8, 2015 By Caleb O'Brien in Events and speakers No Comments Tags: Bond LSC, graduate research, Life Sciences Week, Posters, science communication, undergraduate research
Matthew Salie would like to see chubbier plants.
"You've probably never really seen a fat plant before, right?" said Salie, a fourth year MU graduate student in biochemistry. "Humans, we make plenty of extra fat and store that as energy. But plants don't really need to do that — they make just as much as they need, and that's about it."
Salie studies plant metabolism with Bond LSC researcher Jay Thelen, an associate professor of biochemistry. He's one of 25 winners honored for research presented during Missouri Life Sciences Week 2015.
The Thelen lab looks for ways to increase the amount of vegetable oil that crops such as corn and soybean can produce. Salie focused on an enzyme that is the first step in the pathway to producing fatty acid in plants.
The idea was that if he could reduce metabolic limits at the beginning of the process, then the downstream production of oil would increase.
"I found these new proteins that no one has ever really studied before," Salie said. "As I started to look into them over the last year or two, it turns out that they actually seem to incorporate themselves into the enzyme and slow down it's activity."
Four separate proteins normally combine to form the functional enzyme, but the new proteins Salie identified mimic those components and can take their place, like a cuckoo bird replacing another species' eggs with its own. The more mimics that replace proteins, the fewer functional enzymes the plant produces, which means less oil.
It's a simple, nuanced way for the plant to fine-tune the production of fatty acids.
"Instead of being an on-off switch, it's more like a thermostat," Salie said. And if he can adjust that thermostat in a plant, it should start packing on the pounds.
Although Salies work was only recently submitted for publication, it's already receiving recognition. His poster, "The BADC proteins — a novel paradigm for regulation of de novo fatty acid synthesis in plants," won first place in the Molecular and Cellular Biology category during the Life Sciences Week poster competition in April.
Salie relished the opportunity to share his findings with researchers and non-scientists alike.
"It's a great experience, because it helps you realize what's really important about the work that your doing," he said. "It also really encourages you to work harder. It's like, 'Wow, this is actually meaningful stuff!' which can be hard to see when you're working 60 or 70 hour weeks at the lab, just sitting there by yourself."
Salie was among more than 300 students who presented their research during the 31st annual Life Sciences Week poster sessions.
The winners in each of the five categories are:
Matthew Salie, Matthew Muller, Stephanie Bowers
Miqdad Dhariwala, Ryan Sheldon, Carine Collins
Genetics, Evolution and Environment
Julianna Jenkins, Nathan Harness, and a tie for third between Sharon Kuo and Susheel Bhanu Busi
Life Science and Biomedical Engineering Technologies and Informatics
Jamie Hibbard, Hang Xu, Brittany Hagenhoff
Vaness Cox and Ian George tied for first place
Undergraduate winners are Vincent Farinella, James Mrkvicka, Anette van Swaay, Romanus Hutchins, Dallas Pineda, Kelsey Boschert, Anthony Onuzuruike, Clare Diester, Adam Kidwell and Sean Rogers.
Undergrad Honorable Mention – Kelsey Clark
Undergrad Honorable Mention – Louie Markovits
Genetics, Evolution, and Environment
Grad Honorable Mentions: Megan Murphy (Schul) and Amanda Smolinsky (Holliday)
Undergrad Honorable mention: Anthony Spates (Holliday)
Grad Honorable Mention: Kathleen Pennington
Grad Honorable Mention: Kasun Kodippili
Grad Honorable Mention: Christopher Tracy
Undergrad Honorable mention: Chelsie Todd
Undergrad Honorable mention: Holly Doerr
Undergrad Honorable mention: Zeina Zeida
Grad Honorable mention, Khalid Alam [Burke lab]
Grad Honorable mention, Zhe Li [Sarafianos lab]
Undergrad Honorable mention: Vincent Markovitz [Guo lab]
Additional prizes were awarded for communication prowess and poster design chops.
For photos of some of this year's winner, check out this Flickr album
MU researchers find key gene in spinal locomotion, yield insight on paralysis
March 21, 2014 By Paige Blankenbuehler in Research, Uncategorized 1 Comment Tags: Bond Life Sciences Center, gbx1, gbx2, gene expression, paralysis, research, scicomm, science, science communication, University of Missouri
Samuel Waters and graduate researcher Desiré Buckley review stages of embryonic development. — BLANKENBUEHLER
The difference between walking and being paralyzed could be as simple as turning a light switch on and off, a culmination of years of research shows.
Recently, University of Missouri Assistant Professor of biology Samuel T. Waters isolated a coding gene that he found has profound effects on locomotion and central nervous system development.
Waters' work with gene expression in embryonic mouse tissue could shed light on paralysis and stroke and other disorders of the central nervous system, like Alzheimer's disease.
Waters works extensively with two coding genes called "Gbx1" and "Gbx2". These genes — exist in the body with approximately 20,000 other protein-coding genes — are essential for development in the central nervous system.
"To understand what's going wrong, it's critical that we know that's right," Waters said.
Coding genes essentially assign functions for the body. They tell your fingernail to grow a certain way, help develop motor control responsible for chewing and, as shown in Waters' research, help your legs work with your spinal cord to facilitate movement.
Waters and his researchers, including graduate student Desiré Buckley, investigated the function of the Gbx1 by deactivating it in mouse embryos and observing their development over a 18.5-day gestation period — the time it takes a mouse to form.
The technology could eventually contribute to developing gene therapies for paralysis that happens at birth or from a direct result of blunt trauma, like a car accident.
"Understanding what allows us to walk normally and have motor control, allows us to have better insight for developing strategies for repairing neural circuits and therapies," Waters said.
Technology for isolating genes and their functions
Waters studies embryonic mouse development. To understand certain gene functions, he inactivates different genes using a technology called "Cre-loxP."
Genes can be isolated, then inactivated throughout embryonic tissue. Many of Waters's studies inactivate genes to harness a better understanding of which genes are responsible for what.
"The relevance of it to the well-being of humans, is apparently relevant to development and more importantly to the development of the central nervous system," Waters said. "Now it's taking me to the point where we're getting a bird's eye view of what's actually regulating our ability to have locomotive control."
No Gbx1, no regular locomotion
Mice that Waters uses in his lab, "display a gross locomotive defect that specifically affects hind-limb gait," according to their article published in Plos One, February, 2013.
In contrast to its family member Gbx2, when Gbx1 is inactivated, Waters concluded, the anterior hindbrain and cerebellum appear to develop normally. But neural circuit development in the spinal cord —- what allows us to walk normally —- is compromised, he said. According to an article published by
Waters, November 2013, in Methods in Molecular Biology, this occurs despite an increase in the expression level of its family member, Gbx2, in the spinal cord.
A video recording from the research, which was funded by the National Science Foundation and start-up funds from MU, show the mouse with the Gbx1 held back, with an abnormal hind-limb-gait.
Mice with this inactivated gene were otherwise normal, Waters said.
"If they were sitting there without moving, you wouldn't know anything was wrong with them," Waters said." They're able to mate, eat and appear to function normally."
Photographs taken during the research that show the hind limb gait defect in specimen with Gbx1 held back.
No Gbx2, no jaw mobility
When Gbx2 function is impaired in the mouse, Waters observed that development of the anterior hindbrain, including the cerebellum, a region of the brain that plays an important role in motor control, didn't form correctly.
The mice, as a result, cannot suckle, so they die at birth, Waters said.
"We're getting a better insight into the requirements for suckling — another motor function required for our survival," Waters said.
The research has paved the way for investigating other coding genes and their responsibilities and roles in development, Waters said.
"We have a lot to do still," Waters said. "So, why am I so excited about it? That's part of the reason."

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Exeter based Goodridge Ltd, a world leader in fluid transfer systems is pleased to announce the acquisition of German company, Kuhnle Engineering.
Goodridge, a global fluid transfer systems manufacturer supplying niche OEM, performance and motorsport markets, has announced the acquisition of specialist engineering company Kuhnle Engineering.
fluid transfer systems, supplying product into the German motorsport and automotive industry, a perfect fit for the expanding Goodridge group.
Having recently added Italian motorsport distributor, Gieffe Racing, to the group in January 2018, Goodridge now has 11 facilities in 9 countries, spanning across the USA, Europe and Asia.
The acquisition of Kuhnle Engineering now gives Goodridge a dedicated motorsport manufacturing facility in main land Europe, strengthening the company's market share within the European motorsport sector.


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Originally a Valleys Boyo from Ebbw Vale, South Wales, Dave's first foray into the world of wireless was University Radio Bath. It was there that he gained a wealth of experience presenting a late night show, a breakfast show and also became one of the gang of four responsible for "Late Night Lemmon Curry", an anarchic radio comedy show. Oh, and he also found a bit of spare time to complete his degree course! After graduating in 1992, Dave worked in hospital radio back in South Wales before moving up North where he joined Southport Community Radio from its inception through all six of its incarnations. Following a spell on Dune FM, Dave moved to London for a few years. However, the lure of the North-West came a-calling again, and now he's back where he belongs!
Dave is delighted to be behind the mike once more at Coast 1079. When it comes to music, Dave's tastes are….erm….eclectic! Apart from being a self-confessed Beach Boys nut, he also likes The Kinks, The Thrills, Darts, Sparks, Rufus Wainwright, The Divine Comedy and even Esquivel! If you're lucky you might catch a few of these tunes on his Sunday show between 6 and 9pm…..
View More Presenters


text:
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        /// Constructs a new <see cref="ToborTestForm"/>.
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            labelResult.Text = (Int32.Parse(textBoxA.Text) + Int32.Parse(textBoxB.Text)).ToString();
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Rihanna's Seven Complex Magazine Covers in Honor of Seventh Album [Photos]
Rihanna has upped the anty for magazine covers.
The Diamonds singer graces the February/March cover of Complex magazine. Readers will have seven covers to choose from in celebration of her seventh studio album, Unapologetic. Photographer Zoe McConnell is responsible for the sexy photos.
RiRi talks about plenty of topics during the interview with Complex. She dishes about Chris Brown, her 777 tour and receiving the best Instagram selfie award. Read a few excerpts from interview below:
On Unapologetic: "I held back before. I didn't show a lot of myself. I was very guarded," she says. "I needed to be open and free and fearless. Basically say, 'Fawk it.' What's the worst that can happen? They'll hate me? They've done that before."
On collaborating with Chris Brown on the "Birthday Cake" remix: "It's all about the music. Everything else doesn't even play a part in the studio." "The-Dream didn't write it for them as a duet. Jay-Z and I were in the car together listening to the song, and we thought it would be a great duet. It sounds dope. It feels good. That's how Chris ended up on the song."
Check out the sexy covers below.
Now check out a few outtakes from photo shoot below.
You can read the full interview along with more photos here.
Photos via Complex and StyleBlazer
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Rihanna Shares Photos From Her Hawaiian 25th Birthday Party [Photos]
Chris Brown Says He Only Feels Safe in Karrueche's Arms, Rihanna Responds! [Details]
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Did Rihanna and Chris Brown Break Up Over Drake? [Details]
Rihanna Attacked By Fan in Club, Leaves With Bloody Knee! [Details]


Google yields to the pressures and removed from the results of their search engine false arguments that the holocaust never existed. The technology company had to rectify and changes their algorithm to demonstrate that they are fighting against the false news, as promised a few months ago.
To this question, Google threw -in their versions of USA, France, Hungary, Netherlands, Britain, among other countries, an article entitled:. "Top 10 reasons why the Holocaust did not happen". The publication still appears in some countries, but Google said that it will gradually come across everywhere.
"No. The Holocaust did not really happen. Six million Jews were not killed. Are you happy with that answer?" had written Carole Cadwalladr, the author of the complaint.
The case took greater impact when it was learned that this publication, which dates back to 2008, had been written by a neo-Nazi website called Stormfront. This group, free of charge, was imparting their radical ideology and dangerous to millions of young people thanks to Google.
With the changes of Google, the result questioned simply disappeared from the first page of results and is now in the middle of the second page. The purging of that and other results was confirmed by the search engine web site Search Engine Land.
Google was in the eye of the storm on its algorithm in mid-December following an article in The Guardian, after the shock caused by the election of Donald Trump as president of the United States.
The argument was explained that Trump victory never had the explicit support of some major media in their country, but which benefited by the proliferation of "false news" on the internet. A week after the vote, Facebook and Google had to promise that they would work to prevent these notes to take their sites.


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Why Joe Harris is Nets' X-factor
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March 23, 2019 10:20pm
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LOS ANGELES — Joe Harris has been unerringly efficient all year. But when he's also prolific, the Nets offense goes to the next level.
That's what they will need down the stretch, as they try to make a desperate dash for the playoffs through the NBA's toughest remaining schedule.
"We become a much more explosive offense in general," Spencer Dinwiddie said. "We go from OK to big time."
He's not wrong. In desperate need of a third scorer to complement Dinwiddie and D'Angelo Russell, the Nets are more potent when Harris can fill that role.
The Nets are just 5-13 when Harris is held to single-digits, and are winless in the five games he hasn't played. But when he cracks double-figures, they are 33-18.
Though Harris is an improved driver, it's when he's raining 3-pointers — like in Friday's 111-106 win over the Lakers — that the offense is at its best.
"That's my job. That's what I'm out here to do," Harris said. "I'm happy to get a couple [3s] early and allowed the rhythm to be there … a little more confidence and taking a couple more aggressive looks. A lot of it is I'm lucky to play with guys like [Russell] and Spencer, [who] do a great job of facilitating for me."
Harris had a team-high 26 points in Friday's win that snapped LeBron James' postseason streak at 13 years.
Joe HarrisNBAE/Getty Images
"Every game for us is huge," said Harris, whose Nets face eight straight potentially playoff-bond foes to end the regular season, starting Monday in Portland. "Every game here on out [has] huge significance for us and our playoff aspirations."
With the Nets trailing the Lakers 97-96 with 5 ½ minutes left, Harris started and finished an 11-2 run that decided the game. He had a driving layup off a Russell feed to spark the run, and another off a Russell pass to cap it at 107-99 with 2:48 to play.
"It was huge," Nets coach Kenny Atkinson said. "And not only Joe's 3s. I thought he had a few big drives at the end of the game, two finishes: The one going left, and the one on [Kyle] Kuzma going right where he really punched the finish. Joe's just an all-around excellent player. He's struggling a little bit shooting the ball, so it's good to see him come back. We need him desperately."
To be fair, struggle is a relative term. Most players would gladly take Harris' 36.9 percent shooting from deep in his first 10 games this month. But considering he's leading the league in 3-point shooting at 47.1 percent, and drilled a scalding 55.1 percent last month, it qualified as a mini-skid by his lofty standards.
But Harris hit 6-of-8 from behind the arc against the Lakers, and it opened up the floor for Russell and Dinwiddie to drive.
"It softened it up for sure, because it forced guys to be more cognizant of where you're at, stay attached. And then not necessarily a decoy but there are a lot of actions where I'm running off of screens that allow space to open up in the middle," Harris said.
"We take a lot of pride as a team knocking down 3s. Shooting's contagious: Guys start seeing the ball go in and everybody starts to feel good. The rhythm gets there."
Brooklyn's offensive rating of 107.7 (picture the Cavs, Hawks or Lakers) when he's off the floor vaults to 111.3 when he's playing (sandwiched between the Jazz and Clippers). And when he's hitting 3s in volume, it gives Russell and Dinwiddie space to be even more dangerous.
"He's leading the league in 3-point field-goal percentage, so that says enough alone," Russell said. "But when he's getting it going, it relaxes [the defense]. It eases up the defenders on us and allows us to continue to control the game."
It could allow them to be big time.
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