![]() ![]() There’s a large metal ammunition case filled to the brim more handwritten notes, pictures, ticket stubs from past U2 concerts across the world, guitar picks and even some military dog tags. A massive silver road case jammed with notes, photos and trinkets at the U2 Joshua tree. There’s a massive silver road case jammed with notes, photos and trinkets. Visitors have left behind an array of tributes for band and tree weathered old acoustic guitars with rusty strings, stones with hand-painted messages, a piece of driftwood painted with the colors of the Irish flag. These guitars lean against the tree's fallen trunk. Another formation reads "Leave it behind," a reference to one of U2’s more recent hits, "Walk On." Visitors have left behind an array of tributes for U2 and the fabled Joshua tree. Messages in the sand spelled out with small stones beckon visitors closer. There’s a formation in the shape of a heart with "U2" spelled out in the middle in matching stones. If you set out on a search of your own, there’s one important thing to know: The fabled tree died and toppled over years ago, its massive trunk and gnarled, desiccated branches outstretched on the desert floor.Īfter hiking about a quarter of a mile toward the trees, things start coming into view. Fan-created rock formations welcome visitors to the site of U2’s Joshua tree. But there’s nothing but the wide-open desert expanse and breathtaking views of the Coso Range and snow-capped Sierra Nevada Mountains. ![]() I'm hoping to see a car or two pulled over, a tell-tale sign that some U2 pilgrims may be making the trek. But these are shorter and younger than the majestic, towering tree immortalized on the U2 album. (Steven Cuevas/KQED)ĭriving toward the western edge of Death Valley (the opposite direction U2 was driving on the morning "The Joshua Tree" photos were taken), I spot a small cluster of Joshua trees off in the distance after driving about 23 miles east of Olancha. Outtakes from Anton Corbijn's U2 photo shoot near Death Valley. There are no obvious landmarks or road markers to guide you there. After some considerable online sleuthing, I finally run down some GPS coordinates that I hope are correct. But if you set out to find that mysterious tree, you’re unlikely to find it easily. That downtown location is as easy to find as it is to download the entire "The Joshua Tree" album, released in March 1987. Once at the tree, they took a series of photos and then pushed on toward Los Angeles, where they’d later film a music video for one of “The Joshua Tree’s” biggest hits (“Where the Streets Have No Name”) at the top of a liquor store (now a Mexican restaurant) on Seventh Street and Main at the edge of L.A.’s Skid Row. They pulled over and hiked about 10 minutes south from the highway. Anton Corbijn's iconic shot of U2 and on the inside cover of 'The Joshua Tree.' (Steven Cuevas/KQED) U2 had spent several days exploring the otherworldly desert landscapes of the Coachella Valley and Death Valley (the photo that graces "The Joshua Tree" album cover was shot at Zabriskie Point in Death Valley). The story goes that it was Dutch photographer and filmmaker Anton Corbijn who spotted the tree while motoring along Highway 190 with the band out of Death Valley National Park. On the inside cover of "The Joshua Tree," the members of U2 stare grimly into the camera, a lone Joshua tree looming behind them. ![]()
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