Ryan Ranch Sunset

 Ryan Ranch in Joshua Tree National Park has a fascinating history. Here's a quck snippet:

 

The Ryan brothers homesteaded at this loction to take advantage of a natural spring that was once active here. The water was essential to the Lost Horse Mine, which they co-owned. Ryan Ranch supported the mining operation, pumping water 3.5 miles to the mine, in addition to processing ore and serving as a mining office and home. The cattle raised here helped feed the family and workers. Some 60 people lived at the ranch and mine during the gold boom. By 1908 full-time operation of the mine had ceased and the Ryans turned their attention to cattle ranching, until the establishment of Joshua Tree National Monument halted grazing.

 

Walking around Ryan Ranch is like stepping back in time. These old adobe walls are all that remain of the original ranch house. 

 

 

 

 

Close up of adobe wall. It looks like there is straw in the mixture!

 

A second, smaller adobe structure was once here.

 

Anyone missing a motor?

 

 

Looks like a storage structure of some kind.

Largest water tank at Ryan Ranch

A newer structure, probably built in the 50's.

 

Joshua tree "forest".

 

 

 

 

Imagine sitting among the Joshua trees in total solitude, watching the pastel sky slowly and silently deepen. The transition is subtle; before you know it, darkness takes over, shifting the horizon to a rich, deep blue as the stars begin to spark to life.

 

Side note: These last 4 photos (two above, two below) were taken with my cell phone. All were taken 30-45 minutes after sunset when things were getting quite dark. They were taken without a tripod, and I was expecting a blurry mess, but somehow they turned out quite nicely and relatively sharp. Amazing! Related note: The Hasselblad X2D II 100C has 10-stop in-body image stabilization. Hasselblad claims you can take perfectly sharp images in the dark!! I'm not throwing out my tripod yet (the Hasselblad camera body alone costs nearly $8,000), but the technology keeps getting better and better. It won't be long before a tripod is no longer needed except for special circumstances like astrophotography.

 

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