Another look -- Friday, 1/20/23

Joshua Tree Nat'l Park encompasses a whole lot of territory, 1,234 square miles -- a person could spend years exploring this national park!  Jimmy and I visited one other time ten years ago in March, going to a different area, and it was warm then -- we were in shorts! Yesterday we climbed a mountain here and we were mighty cold.  Today we returned to see more of this fascinating place, dressed appropriately for the icy weather we'd face, in parkas, long johns, gloves.

But, oh, we didn't factor in gale-force winds from the North -- the kind that takes your breath away when you face into it and chills you to the bone no matter what you're wearing!  When we arrived at the park, we drove to Keys View, 5185' and end of the road, for the panoramic view of the valley and surrounding mountains.  Here the temp was 35° and that's where the wind hit us.  I took the above pic and we left toot sweet.  The temp moderated as we descended, but never rose above 41°.  In the pic above you're seeing Mt San Jacinto with Palm Springs nestled below, and the San Andreas Fault -- the linear dark/ish ridge you see in the middle of the photo.

Then we turned onto Lost Horse Mine Road, parked and commenced a short walk.  Truly, it was too windy to tackle a hike to the summit.  We didn't need that.

Ichabod Crane was here?

We started up the trail and returned to the car via a wash (less wind).

Kinda bumpy, tho -- we had to do some clambering.

Further up the road, we decided to check out Wall Street Mill and Barker Dam in that order.

Do you take this with a grain of salt, so to speak, or trust this as gospel?  Heck, a plaque was erected to commemorate the deed.  Either way, stuff like this makes a walk more interesting.  I did some reading and learned that Keys served five years in jail for the murder, but ultimately was released and pardoned.

Wall Street Mill is what's left of an old gold mining operation, plus relics from the past, including this broken-down windmill.  It's a two-mile R/T fairly easy hike on sand, with that durned wind whistling across the high plain.  I held my gloved hands across my cheeks to keep them from freezing.  Ever notice it's harder to breathe in arid land when it's cold?  Regardless, we rambled all over the area.

Today Wall Street Mill is considered the best-preserved gold mill in Joshua Tree and listed in the National Register of Historic Places.  Barker Dam is also on the list.

Jimmy is examining part of the old mill.

I 💗 you.

Eventually the trail dead ends at/on the rocks!

Hmm, notice I'm not alone?

One of the old relics -- haha, that would be the truck with flat tires!

I'd packed chicken sandwiches and home-canned pears, which we gobbled down when we got back to Smartie.  We also warmed up sitting in the car!  After lunch, we followed a wash to get to the Barker Dam trail.

Jimmy on the trail, walking between Turbinella Oaks, which I'd never heard of!  On this particular trail were lots of neat clumps of prickly pear cactus, if clumps is the right word.

And then the trail turns to rock-hopping.

National Parks are The Best.  Each has a splendor and appeal of its own.  In our large country, Americans are lucky to have so many!  This one didn't seem to be overrun by visitors, at least while we were visiting.

A rancher by the name of C.O. Barker built the dam around 1902 for his cattle.  Hard to imagine this high desert could support ranchers much less cattle, isn't it?  But back then, this area was a much more lush range where cattle grazed on galleta grass and drank their fill of clear water. (hard to believe today)

Barker Dam created a reservoir.  You're looking at it, center.  No water.  Dry. I read that long ago this desert had more rainfall and water could be stored behind the dam.  Nowadays, perhaps after one of the summer monsoon thunderstorms it might have water, but otherwise, not.

This was fun!

After my visor blew off twice, I decided to carry it.

Below the dam are the remains of a cement double-rim cattle watering trough built by the Keys' family in June 1939.  Kind of amazing it's standing after all these years.

We continued on the path that eventually led us to the car.  While we didn't climb any mountains today, we put over 15,000 steps (5.8 miles) on the ol' fitbit.  We're getting our exercise in the desert!

We got home to Tergel earlier than we did the other day, which we appreciated.  Plenty of time for a nice long swim, a brief soak in the hottub and an easy dinner.  Notwithstanding the wicked cold, we enjoyed our time at Joshua Tree NP.  The incredible rock formations are a sight to see -- because there are so many, it boggles the mind.  Though we didn't see much wildlife (one bunny wabbit), we were held spellbound by scenes such as above.  I liked seeing all the cacti, some of it tucked into wee cracks or out-of-the-way hidey holes.  If you've never been, we recommend a tour of this magical national park.

Saturday was for mundane things like going to the store and gearing up for leaving on Sunday, heading home.  Our two wks is over on Sunday.  What a grand time we had!  We pulled out the bikes this afternoon and got a short ride in, pedaling thru nearby mobile home parks (full of old people) and on local roads.  That's where we spotted the Roadrunner, below.

Beep Beep