Wandered over here from the dunes. I used to frequent this area when I lived in San Diego, but haven't been back in years. While laced with Jeep and quad trails you can hike here too and not be bothered much with motor vehicles. The geology is quite amazing, more reminiscent of some places in Utah, with multi colored rocks and sandstone galore. I managed to get some pictures of some sandstone towers in a narrow canyon in decent light. Lots of flowers, some amazing displays of the red chuparosa, brittlebush, other flowers endemic to southern Cal deserts.
I visited some nearby mines and a lot of people were out prospecting for gold, it was interesting to see some of the setups. The canyon was beautiful and I managed to get away from the zoo at the main mine and see some old buildings and workings on up, before the heavy winds sent me packing.