I have been craving a trip to explore desert areas, but it seemed like when our calendar was clear a rainstorm moved in. We finally got a clear week schedule-wise, and although we left home in a rainstorm, southern California was clear. We drove as far as Victorville and stayed the night. In the morning we went on to Riverside for an enjoyable visit with Karen’s brothers and their families. In the evening we drove to Yucca Valley and spent the night.
Sunday morning we entered Joshua Tree National Park. I had a list of locations to hike, but we modified that as we went along. First we made a short hike to Ryan Ranch and saw the remains of the adobe walled ranch house, an old well, and some water storage tanks.
Ryan Ranch area
After that, we did a longer hike to the Lost Horse Mine.
Winch at the Lost Horse Mine
We considered hiking to Barker Dam since it was filled with water, but being the weekend it was very crowded and the parking lot was full. We spent the night in Barstow.
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