Joshua Tree National Park--Belle Campground

The drive to Belle Campground was just a short one and we were set up in no time. Our site was next to some big rocks. It reminded us of City of Rocks State Park in NM.We just wished it had TV, Internet and cell phone coverage. Oh, well, we were still in the wilderness.

 

 Our first night at Belle, we had a beautiful sunset with a Joshua tree silhouetted

 The next day we chose three short hikes in different areas. The first was Skull Rock Trail near Jumbo Rocks Campground.

 The skull kept calling to me saying it had an itchy nose. So I went over and gave it a scratch.

 We continued around the trail enjoying the rock formations.

  Our next trail was Barker Dam Trail. This dam was used to collect water for the cattle that once grazed in the area.

 We finished our day of trails with Hidden Valley. We didn't take a lot of pictures since it was the most crowded trail we hiked that day.

The next day we returned to Barker Dam Trailhead, but took the Wall Street Mill Trailhead. Our first stop was the windmill that used to help pump the water.

 This stone marked the place where W. E. Keys killed a man. Keys served 5 years and then returned to the area.

This is Wall Street Mill. It was where gold was separated from ore. Bob and I thought we should be wearing HAZMAT suits since mercury was used in the process. The ore was mixed with water and mercury, then crushed in the stamp mill. Then the mixture passed over plates coated with mercury so the gold would adhere to the mercury.

 There were many old trucks in the vicinity of the mill. Most still had remnants of their tires. This truck was scary--the driver sat over the gas tank!

 Near the abandoned house was an area hidden by trees. The bricks were used to close the entrance and the resulting 'cave' was used as a refrigerator for perishables.

 Later in the afternoon we went to White Tank Campground to see the largest arch in Joshua Tree NP. It was really rather small.

I thought this rock was going to fall so I had Bob hold it up.

 Here is one of the formations that caught our eye.

The next day we were moving north to a campground near Barstow, California. We could only hope it would have Internet, TV, and cell coverage.