Veterans Day weekend hosted more Mojave
Desert activity than you can shake a stick at. Desert
enthusiasts took advantage of sunny skies and shirt sleeve weather.
A sleeping bag was all that was necessary for a comfortable nights
sleep.
My brother Tony came down from the Pacific
Northwest for our annual ranch trip which gave us a chance to
exercise the ATV's and explore new areas and report them to you readers.
The highlight of the weekend was a trip to an abandon onyx mine.
We learned about this mine from the book, "Gem
Trails Of Southern California." The mine is a hour and a
half ride from the ranch on ATV's. A "regular" 4WD vehicle
could make the trip but it would be a challenge with several sandy
areas with some having steep angles.
The last two miles to the mine has to be hiked
into because it is lies within the
Bristol Mountains Wilderness Area. Even if you were
allowed to drive in with a 4x4 it would be difficult due to
overgrown shrubbery, large rocks, and sharp ruts. ATV's
traveling slow would
have little problem if they were allowed.
Once at the mine you will find an abundance of
strawberry onyx. It literally litters the little site. This
particular mine is one of the few places on earth that produces this
gemstone and yet it's virtually untouched. The Gem Trails book suggested
that the mine failed because of the expense of getting the onyx back
to civilization. Hard to believe...
This is a beautiful area to explore and if you
go, hike to the top of the small mountain on the east side of the
site for a gorgeous view of the Kelso Dunes!
What Ranch And Sky Have In Comet
It was amazing, Holmes.
The picture doesn't do it justice but it was
quite spectacular to look at the desert night sky with a pair of
binoculars and see this thing staring back at us looking much bigger
than galaxies and nearly the size of the moon!
It was
Comet Holmes which has no tail and was
only visible for a few weeks.
The ranch is a great star gazing area because
of
its remote location away from city light pollution.
That's Funny
I used to be indecisive.
Now, I'm not sure.
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Yuri-Alice Delfino promoting
green thinking...Landon Swain filling the tank...Sharron
Trell saying her less than 50 mile trip should count as holiday
travel...Ann Servin spending some time at the checkout
lane...Tony Bacon troubleshooting the blue ATV...
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