The White Heart of Mojave
An Adventure with the Outdoors of the DesertEdna Brush Perkins - With original black & white/colorized photos and additional color photography by Walter Feller
Contents
The Feel of the Outdoors
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BEYOND the walls and solid roofs of houses is the outdoors. It is always on the doorstep. The sky, serene, or ...
How We Found Mojave
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WHEN the automobile was delivered into our hands at Los Angeles we wanted to turn around immediately and drive back ...
The White Heart
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WE had indeed found her. The morning sun came up over the immense valley ringed with beautiful, reposeful mountains. ...
The Outfit
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DEATH VALLEY was the goal, but after the day at Saratoga Springs one thing was certain: no matter if we could get ...
Entering Death Valley
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THE way to Death Valley from Beatty is across a shallower valley and through Daylight Pass at an elevation of ...
The Strangest Farm in the World
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ON the fourth day we bade "Old Johnnie" farewell, and descended into the quivering white basin. The next camp was to ...
The Burning Sands
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EVERY day that we stayed in Death Valley seemed more awful than the last. From ten o'clock in the morning until ...
The Dry Camp
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WHEN the sun stood over Tucki and the mesquites began to have real shadows beside them we resumed our journey. ...
The Mountain Spring
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THE next day's climb was easier, for by the time the sun had asserted its full vigor we were at an altitude where ...
The High White Peaks
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WILD ROSE CANYON has a lovely name, justified by a small clump of bushes that may bear wild roses sometime. ...
Snowstorm and Sandstorm
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BREAKFAST was late next morning like Sunday breakfasts in houses. Charlotte asked if it was Sunday. No one knew ...
The End of the Adventure
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IT was April when we returned to Silver Lake. Spring was walking on the desert. The sand and the stony mesas were ...
The White Heart of Mojave by Edna Brush Perkins is a cool travel story from 1922 about an adventurous trip through the Mojave Desert. Perkins and her friend, Charlotte, decided to explore this desert, which most people thought was a dry, harsh place. But Perkins shows that the desert has a unique beauty and a peacefulness that’s hard to find anywhere else.
Perkins strongly supported women's rights and took on this journey with the same boldness and courage she had in her activism. The book isn’t just about what the desert looks like—it’s also about how exploring new places can help you grow as a person and how it’s important to challenge society's expectations, especially for women back then. Perkins writes about the brutal heat, the rugged terrain, and the interesting people they met who lived in the desert.
Her writing makes the Mojave Desert come alive as a place of bright, white beauty, where the emptiness and quiet can make you feel refreshed and thoughtful. Perkins wants readers to see that the desert isn’t just empty and lifeless; it’s a place where you can think deeply and discover something new. Her book is still an inspiring story of adventure from the early 1900s, showing the Mojave Desert in an exciting and meaningful way.
Editor
