Thursday, July 15, 2021

Lucky Boy Loop (Part 2)

I'm continuing my hike that loosely follows the Lucky Boy Loop trail (I say loosely because I've added a number of detours and side excursions). You can read Part 1 here. As I round a sandy wash, I notice what appears to be poles sticking out of the ground. That's strange. Let's go take a look!
 
A small dam! I'm surprised because I don't recall anyone ever posting pics of it. Back in the day, I'll bet this captured a lot of water for whatever livestock they were running back here. An interesting find!
 
A little past the dam, there's a nice arch. An elephant, perhaps??

California Juniper with its blueish berries.
 
As I follow the wash, I notice an area of obvious digging (red arrow). Mine tailings would be my guess, but let's go check it out.
 
Wow, this is interesting! Not a mine at all, but a well. The park Service has caged it off so no one can fall in, but it makes it tough to get a good photo.

It looks like the well used to be fenced off. The cage probably came later because a fence would be too easy to climb. The park service never bothered to remove the old fence.
 
This is the best I could do sticking my camera lens through the lower part of the cage. You can see the outline of the well, but not down into it. The rectangular shadows in the foreground are made by the sun shining through the top of the cage. Can you even imagine how hard it must have been to dig this well using pick and shovel?
 
Ah, that's better! For this photo, I climbed up on top of the cage and shot straight down using my cell phone. The cage seemed plenty strong and secure, but I did notice the openings in the cage were just large enough to swallow my iPhone mini. Hang on tiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight!
 

This is the only thing I could find out about this well. Just a brief mention in the JTNP archives. It's called the Morgan Kimball Well, and it's 85' deep. It's proximity to the Desert Queen Mine means it very likely supplied water to the mining operations in the area. An interesting piece of history!
 
It's time to start heading south back to the car. Not far... may be a mile or two. The actual Lucky Boy Loop trail continues west over to the Desert Queen Mine Road, and then follows the road south. But walking along a dirt road isn't much of a challenge, and your not likely to see much of interest, so I'll take an open desert route that goes by some interesting rock formations. 
 
I notice that the skies are really getting pretty, with big fluffy clouds sailing in overhead. I'm in no hurry, and I end up taking a lot of photos along the way.
 
A nice shady spot to stop and rest.






It turned out to be a beautiful day for a desert hike. The modified Lucky Boy Loop trail provided some great scenery and interesting discoveries!
Thanks for joining me on this adventure.
Stay safe and stay healthy!
  
Linking with Skywatch Friday.

40 comments:

  1. somehow I always feel like we're the first people discovering things even though that is far from true - thanks for another adventure

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  2. I can't even imagine digging a hole 85 feet deep with pick and shovel. Just getting the dirt out would be a job. Plus it would be awful close down there. Climbing up at the end of a shift would be fun.
    You are such an intrepid explorer.

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  3. Interesting finds, especially the well, and some great scenery.

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  4. ...I feel like a lucky boy to be able to see these beautiful images from the air conditioned comfort of my home. The blue skies with the puffy clouds are wonderful. I should never take water for granted again. Thanks for being my tour guide.

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  5. That well is a great find. It's probably all dried up now, I imagine.

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  6. Dearest Peter,
    Excellent photos and captivating writing that almost makes one wanting to go there next in person for seeing these many little miracles.
    That mine is certainly a historic thing and indeed, how in the world have the EVER managed to dig it that deep, with very limited tools...
    Sloppy job for not removing those old fence parts!
    Hugs,
    Mariette

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  7. Great photos. The well looks pretty deep.

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  8. A beautiful and unforgiving landscape you've got there.

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  9. There are a lot of tough jobs in the world but digging wells in the desert must be among them. Incredible landscape photos as always.

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  10. I saw that elephant before I read the txt. :) Nice, rock solid photography as usual. My "Camera Cousin".

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  11. It does look like an elephant, and the well's cover looked like a stage--- I imagine someone singing songs for lizards... Your pictures are, as usual, amazing.

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  12. Well well what a post. Exquisite pictures! I liked the sky shots. The iphone camera is quite handy to shoot through meshes and cages.

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  13. The breathtaking beauty of the desert never ceases to amaze us. Again, overwhelmingly well captured. Don't want to fall into repetition all the time but it's no different.

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  14. another great location and hike.

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  15. Very interesting. Unusual pictures, you did good with the well photos missing the cage with the lenses. Great photography as always.
    Sherry & jack on the first coast

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  16. Greetings and Salutations! Where there is a well there is a way to shoot missing the cage. You done dude it! LOL! Great job on the photographs. I enjoy going on adventures with you.

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  17. It's been so hot out west. I hope you have built-in air conditioning! I love wash trails as they are ususally flat and easy. I'm glad you didn't drop your phone. Or you!

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  18. The landscape there never ceases to amaze me. It'd good to see the park service takes safety seriously. It must be quite the job to maintain that area.

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  19. As often as you're out there it seems there are always new things to find for us! The dam is very interesting, and picturesque.

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  20. Stunning photos of your great adventure!
    Greetings from Germany

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  21. Such intrigue and wonderful photo finds you have posted ~ Xo


    Living in the moment,

    A ShutterBug Explores,
    aka (A Creative Harbor)

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  22. A very interesting walk that. Can see why the well is fenced off. 85ft deep is not something you would want to fall down let alone drop you cell into. Photos are top notch again this week

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  23. Such interesting finds this time, especially the well. 85 feet, dug by hand - I'm glad authorities made it impossible to get into.

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  24. Forgot about linking to Sky Watch,up till now, because there is once again a blog problem, not from Wordpress but from an outside company who I had asked for help with a plugin. The first month free. I wrote them 2 emails after 2and 3 weeks I didn't need their services, and yesterday night I get an email, to pay or they would delete my blog in 24 hours.It's still there, so hopefully they got my midnight email, but just in case I already changed my username from Jeshie to Emille.
    For some reason your captures tell about the harsh heat in summer. Hope you could recover your Iphone?

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  25. A fascinating well and beautiful captures of the sky.

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  26. Thanks for the desert tour and showing us the Morgan Kimball Well. Beautiful desert view and sky shots.

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  27. That’s an interesting story about the well.

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  28. I do like your determination to get the shot SPP 😊 you were well rewarded! Lots of interesting discoveries on this walk and beautiful images as always 💜

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  29. Beautiful skies in your photos! Those old wells and cisterns are certainly a hazard! I live on what was once an old cattle ranch and many of these structures are still open and dangerous and our community is making an effort to have them filled in or capped.

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  30. I sure was a beautiful day for your hike. How neat to find the well and then be able to find more info about it. Your pictures are superb. Great sky and clouds too.
    MB

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  31. Great to find that old well overthere and wonderful photos again.

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  32. Caught up on both parts of the Lucky Loop Trail and enjoyed so much. Love learning the history attached to the well and fence and the "desert gold", which made me laugh -- we bought a couple of cans of sardines recently for the first time in years and remarked how they used to be the only thing you could open without a proper tool; now a lot come can-opener free. ... But the once-occupied cave itself and the beautiful blue skies above the amazing rock formations of course was the best part. Thank you for sharing this awe-inspiring hike.

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  33. Juniper Berries!!! (suddenly feels like home.)
    There are swell parks here - and the rangers are nice - They recognize us because my pupster is super noticeable. But, our adventures are mighty different than the ones you share. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you for 'taking us with you' along the way.
    So Much Beautiful . . . wow 💙

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  34. When Do You Think The Time Frame Of The Fabrication Of That Damn Was - Dig The Elephant Arch - Stay Rowdy My Man

    Cheers

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  35. There is always something new to see in the desert.

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