WW2 Bombing Range

 One of the things I love about blogging is meeting people out there in the blogosphere with similar interests (fellow desert explorers). Some become virtual friends, while others have become hiking partners and true friends in the traditional sense of the word. One person who I've hiked with, and hope to hike with again, is a true desert explorer and a wealth of information. He mentioned an old WW2 bombing range within the boundaries of Joshua Tree National Park, and I was totally intrigued. First of all, I had never even heard of it. If I've not head of it, then it's likely one of those "secret" places that few have seen. Second, it's a very short hike (about a mile or so), so I thought it might be fun to take my wife and granddaughter to see what we could find. My friend said he was able to research the site and found it was used between 1944 and 1946. Dummy bombs would be dropped on an area as target practice in order to hone the skills of pilots and improve accuracy. The dummy bombs were made out of metal (likely full of sand) and had "spotting charges" (a small explosive used to help spot the point of impact).

In preparing for a visit to the location, I spent some time studying Google Earth. If there are any bombing practice remains, they must be small. I couldn't see anything that really stood out. However, I could see what might be the remains of curved lines in the sandy soil (yellow arrows, above) making a kind of bullseye target. The WW2 pin would be close to the bullseye center. Pretty cool!
 

As we started our hike, I challenged my granddaughter: "Let's see who can find the most bomb remains!" That got her interested.

 

Ta da!!! Lilly finds the first scrap metal, which we assume is the remains of a practice bomb. It has a nice rusty desert patina and looks like it's been sitting here a long time. OK: Lilly, 1; grandpa, 0!

 

But not everything had a happy ending on this hike. See my wife on the horizon in the photo above? She's exploring and also carrying our dog. We brought our chihuahua with us on the hike, thinking she would enjoy it. But shortly into the hike, she didn't want to walk any more, so we took turns carrying her. Not long after this photo was taken, my wife stepped on top of a burrow. Her foot sunk deep into the sand, she lost her balance, but as she fell, she wanted to hang onto the dog to protect it. She ended up landing on her right shoulder. We would later learn that she fractured her shoulder, along with other complications (I'll spare you the details). Thanks goodness she's doing better now. The shoulder is healing and she begins physical therapy soon.

 

Hard to tell what shape these practice bombs were prior to being dropped out of a plane, but they sure are mangled!
 

My wife found this desert tortoise shell. Some of the pieces of armour (called scutes) have fallen off, leaving the white subshell. I always feel a little sad coming across these. It's very rare to see a live one, although years ago they were common. They seem like a species right on the brink.

 

We came across this old amber jar. What's it doing out here?? (photo by Lilly)

 

We found these old rusty buckets in the area.

Bottom view: Something about "Steel Container Co", Made in Chicago, and patented in 1943.

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See the "W" carved into the top of the bucket? Just a guess, but maybe water storage? Water could have been cached out here. Perhaps soldiers were stationed out here during the practice runs to record bomb drop locations.
 

A good time of day for a shadow selfie!

I have no idea!

Thanks for stopping by. Stay safe & stay healthy.

On, and no more hikes with our chihuahua!!

 

Linking with Skywatch Friday.