The Lonely Desert

I remember driving the Jeep east on Highway 62 with my wife and granddaughter. It was hot, so I had loaded a 5-gallon water container in the Jeep. I wanted to check out an old mine that was only a few miles off the highway. Going east on Highway 62 out of 29 Palms quickly turns into open space. It's been called "one of the most desolate stretches of highway in California." Once you get past the Wonder Valley homestead cabins that dot the landscape, that's it. Nothing else.

Back when I was skinny!

After driving due east for about 30 miles, we came to the little GPS dot on my cell phone map that indicated the turn off. There was a very faint road heading south, toward the mountains, which is what I was looking for.

After driving just a couple hundred yards, I felt the Jeep sinking into the sand. Even 4WD didn't seem to help much. The sand was powder-fine. What the locals call "blow sand"... the really small particles that are picked up by the wind and then accumulate in certain areas. I just barely managed to turn the Jeep around without getting axle-deep in the sand. No mine today. We spread out a blanket and let our granddaughter play. I went out to explore the local area.

The desert Smoke Tree (Dalea spinosa) is primarily seen in desert washes, which would seem like a nearly impossible environment for a plant to survive. For most of the year it looks more or less dead, with a grey color hinting at green, but not really green. It really does resemble a puff of smoke. But they have a certain ragged beauty when you come across one in the late afternoon light.

Not far from where the Jeep was stuck parked, I was surprised to came across some old fence posts, barbed wire, a rusty water tank, and a concrete foundation that indicated a cabin had been here. Someone, or perhaps even a family, had lived here many years ago.

Judging by the amount of rust and decay in this old water tank, it was a long time ago. Just a guess, but may be in the 1930's or 40's? A quick search on Wikipedia tells me the state highway between Yucca Valley and 29 Palms didn't even exist until 1962. For most of the years before that, it was just tracks in the sand. And the road beyond 29 Palms going east (leading to this location) was added even later. When this little homestead cabin was built and lived in, there was no paved road. A trip to 29 Palms from here would have taken hours. Perhaps a full day, and the risk of getting stuck in the soft sand or having a breakdown would have been high. 

Whoever lived here would have needed to be very self-sufficient. It would be much to far to drive for water or groceries. The fence posts and barbed wire tells me they likely had livestock of some kind. No electricity. No running water. This would have been bare knuckle survival. Who were they? Why did they choose such a remote, lonely location? Another desert mystery!

This side of the water tank is badly rusted away. Let's go take a look inside (or course, first we will look closely for snakes and other critters!).

Capturing the setting sun through the rusty, eroded side of a metal water tank. We went looking for an old mine and instead found the abandoned dreams of a desert pioneer. The old mine will just have to wait!

Thanks for stopping by. Stay safe and stay healthy!!
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