Today, we are aiming to hike the Lost Horse Trail in Joshua Tree National Park, which we've been told is the most popular trail in the park.
First, a photo of the western entrance to the park.
An overview of the Lost Horse Mine. The story is that Johnny Lang found gold when he went looking for his lost horse, hence the name.
The hike to the mine and back is about 6+ km and the loop is exactly 11.1 km. Here is a marker in one of the many sandy and dry riverbeds that are dotted around the park.
Unfortunately, Di did not make it all the way. A "bug" overnight left her feeling a bit low and she turned back. We met again at 11.15am.
A couple of pictures of what is left of the Lost Horse Mine. The mine operated intermittently between 1893 and 1936.
Unfortunately, bush fires are not only a problem for Australia. The Lost Horse Loop goes through blackened areas from earlier fires.
A pleasant surprise along the hike. Animals. Joshua Tree National Park has been almost devoid of animals. We couldn't even find ants here, and only the occasional fly. Right of a sudden, 3 long horned sheep appeared out of nowhere. These animals are very shy and like their territory to be free of humans. Apparently there are a total of 250 in the park but more commonly in wilderness areas. (Lucky) Hans managed to capture a couple of photos of them before they disappeared again.
And boy, do they blend in...
This is a white tailed antelope squirrel. Very cute little things. More used to humans and they occasionally come up and beg for food, albeit from a distance.
A pic from the trail. Absolutely fantastic views that a 2-dimensional photo can never make justice. The area below is declared wilderness.
A surprise along the way. An "open fire" with a number of rusty items next to it (which was surprising given how dry it is here) including the bottom of a bed including with springs.
In the meantime Di did some more exploring by car and reading "exhibits". Interesting things she learnd include details about Joshua trees and the creatures that rely on them to survive - including one bird which uses the spikes to skewer and store their food. Almost satay!
We loved this quote from 1969 about the Joshua Trees: " it is like an adventurous Yucca that has embarked on an endeavor to find out in how many directions it can grow, and to see what it can do in the way of forming branches". These trees on average live for 150 years. We think these treest are amazing and we completely disagree with early explorers' descriptions of the trees as "grotesque, spiteful-looking and unfriendly".
After the hike, we continued in the car to the end of the same road, to a place called Key's View. What you see here is part of the actual San Andreas fault line.
It was a bit strange to be so close to the fault line between the Pacific Plate and the North American Plate. And it was surprising that there are a few towns so close to it too, such as Palm Springs (where we are going tomorrow) and Cathedral City.
A great view to go with our lunch. The snow capped mountain in the distance is San Jacinto - more than 10,000 feet tall. We aim to see it up close from Palm Springs in our touring there on Thursday.
After that, back to the motel for a shower and change of clothes, after which we went to Yucca Valley for coffee, to shop at Food 4 Less and to fill up in petrol.
Finally found a cafe - they are not common here. This is an interior shot from Cafe MaRouge. Nice coffees, pastries and interior, but very expensive at almost $20 for the two of us. We are still learning about pricing of coffee - an espresso here is large and with an extra shot cost more than $5. Brewed coffee yesterday cost $1.70.
Preprepared food is cheap - Instant microwave meals cost 88 cents each - but buying fresh produce and meat to make a meal will cost at least $10 to $15. That might explain some of the obesity stats...
Low key dinner utilizing the microwave oven in the room again... Let's find out whether an 88 cent frozen meal is a bargain (or not !?!). Here's how they were served... On the left turkey with gravy, mash and peas, on the right pork meatloaf with BBQ sauce, mash and corn. Well here goes...
We are astounded. They are quite good. Better than any airplane and better than most frozen meals. Ok, so we can't eat these every day due to the fat content (a bit scary) but as a once a week meal for us for less than $2 we will definitely be trying others.
And the sun sets over Joshua Tree town and Safari Inn Motel...
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