197708 Desert Magazine 1977 August

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W I LL I AM and JOYKNYVETTCo-Publishers/ Ed itorsGEORGE BRAGA, ArtDirectorMARY FRANCES STRONC, Field Trip EditorF. A.BARNES, Utah Associate EditorGLENN VARGAS, Lapidary EditorK. L.BOYNTON, NaturalistMARVEL BARRETT, Circulation ManagerColor SeparationsbyHenry Color ServiceLithographedbyWolfer Printing Company, Inc.Available inMicrofilmbyXerox University Microfilms

DaoxLVolume 40,Number 8

MAGAZINE

AUGUST1977

CONTENTSF E A T U R E S

THE COVER:The thrill of challengingLava Falls on theColoradoRiver is thehighlight of a12-day float trip. See articleon page 24. Photo byDaveHoward of Ocean Beach,California.

TRAILING THE"PONY" IN NEVADA

THE GRAVE OF THEFOUR CHILDRENA GLIMPSE OF 1890

PICACHO'S LOST GOLD LEGENDS

HIGH MOJ AVE'S LONESOME TRIANGLE

12 DAYS ON THECOLORADO!

A DESERT BLESSING

FORTYNINE PALMS

DINOSAUR HUNTING INCOLORADO

CLOWN OF THEDESERT

D E P AA PEEK IN THEPUBLISHER'S POKE

NEW BOOKS FORDESERT READERS

CALENDAR OFWESTERN EVENTS

THE TRADING POST

BOOKS OF THEWEST

RAMBLING ONROCKS

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

8 Mary Frances Strong

12 LeeCoe14 Hartt Wixom

16 Harold O. Weight

20 Bill Jennings

24 Dave Howard

30 Vada Carlson

32 Dick Bloomquist

34 AlLook

40 Katherine Sheehey

R T M E N T S4 William Knyvett

6 Book Reviews

13 Club Activities

42 Classified Listings

44 Mail Order Items

46 Clenn andMartha Vargas

47 Readers' Comments

E D I T O R I A L , C I R C U L A T I O N AN DAD VE RTI S I NG OFF I C ES: 74-425 H ighw ay 11 1 , Pa lm Deser t , Ca l i f o rn ia 92260 . Te lephone Area Code 714-346-8144.l is ted inStandard Rate and Dat a . SUBSCRI PT I ON RATES: Un i t ed S t a t es and possess ions; 1year, $7.00; 2 years , $13.00; 3 years , $19.00. Allothercoun t r i es add $2.00 U.S. cur rency foreach year . SeeSubsc r ip t i on Order Form inth is issue. Al low f ive weeks for change ofaddress and send both newand old addresses wi th zip codes . DESERT Magaz ine ispubl ished monthly . Second c lass postage paid atPalm Desert , Cal i forn ia andatadd i t i ona l mai l -i ng o f f ices und er Act ofM a r c h 3,1879. Contents copyr ighted 1977 byD E S E R T M a g a z i n e and perm iss ion torep roduce anyoral l contents must besecur-ed inwr i t i ng . Unso l i c i t ed manusc r ip t s and pho t ographs w i l l notbere t u rned un less accompan ied byse l f -addressed , s tamped enve lope .Deser t /August 1977 3


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B A C K I S S UB A R G A I N SODDS ANDENDS

Miscellaneous Copiesfrom 1959 to 1965Package of 10$0003No selections availableVOLUMES FORYEARS

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in thepublisher'syoke1 IFE IS fu l l of highs and lows and heColorado River and its t r ibutariesabove Lake Powell are experiencingwhat could be the lowest runoff in 71years. Massive Lake Powell behind GlenCanyon hasdeclined more then nine feetsince the end of thewater year last Sep-tember, and is expected to drop an addi-t ional nine feet by this September. Evenwith the low water, bookings for r iverrunning have been surprisingly heavy.The cover and feature article by DaveHoward tells graphically in pictures andwords the thr i l ls of challenging therapids of the Colorado.

M ary F rances S t rong " t r a i l s theP ony " in Nevada w ith thesecond half ofher two-part story this month, while his-torian Harold Weight closed his f i le onthree lost legends in California's Picachoregion. The f irst of the three, Bi l l Wi lds,an old Colorado riverboat man, is fea-tured in this issue.

Looking for some cooler spots in thedesert? Bill Jennings takes us to theLonesome Trian gle of the Mid Hil ls forsome Mojave desert summer fun, andDick Bloomquist guides us to the cooldesert oasis of Fortynine Palms inJoshua Tree National M onum ent.

After taking a look into the past inCallao, Utah, we visit the grave of fourchildren in Arizona, dig up some mas-sive dinosaur bones in Colorado, laughat the "c lown of the deser t , " the road-runner, and learn all about the value ofthe desert yucca. Andthat 's our issue forth is month.

Please note: Much to our dislike, thesubscription rates will increase effectivethis issue. Continuing paper and postalincreases leave us noalternative.

y o t t is p a r eI S N O T u p ?i t c o u l dl e t y o u D O W N !How much air's in your spare?Any? If you're not on the ball,you'll find out the answer to thatquestion when it's too late. Mostpeople would check the air pres-sure in their spare time more oftenif it were more convenient. Right?Well, with this Inflate-a-spare kit itis convenient: You mount a valvestem in a handy place and thenconnect it to the spare with the tub-ing provided. You can read pres-sure without opening the trunk orclimbing under your pickup ormotor home. Slick. It's $5 for astandard valve stem unit, $6 forlong stem. Shipped postpaid. Cali-fornia residents please add 6%state sales tax.

Send orders to:DESERT MAGAZINE, Dept. T,

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P. O. Box 370, Yuma, Arizona 85364 orP. O. Box 2 8 3 0 , San Diego, Calif. 92112Deser t /August 1977


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3 GREAT BOOKS!INDIANJEWELRY MAKINGFor the first time Indianjewel ry makers , whetherexperienced or novice, haveat their disposal a full-colorphotographic essay of basicIndian designs. The bookutilizes a sequential, step-by-step approach for thecraftsman. In addition tobasic designs, a short pic-torial history of Indian jew-elry making as well asmodern day techniques andtools are presented. Valu-able information on how toset up a work bench, gaugewire, know the weight ofsilver, etc.

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I N D I A NJEWELRY- ^ M A K I N G

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TURQ UOISE, The Gemof the CenturiesBeaut i fu l i l lus t ra t ions inaccurate color can help youidentify the turquoise inyour jewelry. Pictures ofturquoise from 43 localitiesfrom U.S. and around theworld. A must for anyonepossessing even one pieceof turquoise.FETISHES And Carvingsof the SouthwestA vivid pictorial account of

the use and beliefs associ-ated with fetishes and thehistory of popular fetishnecklaces since prehistorict imes. This book presentsthe wide range of fetishesand carvings from severalSouthwestern Indian tribesas well as the outstandingworks of several knownfetish carvers.

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Read all about the Assassination ofAbraham Lincoln and many otherHis tor ica l Events in a GenuineReproduc t ion o f the New YorkHera ld , Saturday, April 15, 1865Edit ion. Send only $4.50 to-

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others l i t t le kno wn, and one never beforementioned in writ ten history, on this7,000-mile tour of the Old Southwest.

A l ively, humorous text and 296 stun-ning black and white photos recall theroaring t imes when miners dug for gold,silver or coal in California, Arizona, Ne-vada, New Mexico and the southern por-tions of Colorado and Utah.

The author visited all the sites andtook all the photographs. He studied theremains of litt le-known places to findwhy the town had existed and to specu-late on when and why it was deserted.He describes how, with special maps,anyone can find his own ghost towns.

The book shows such colorfu l places asValedon, St. Elmo, Turret, Gold Point,Sagamore Camp, French Corral, Colum-bia, Virginia City, Cisco, Frisco, andunknwon Wolf, Colorado, which has nowrit ten record.

Hardcover, lavishly i l lustrated, bibl i-ograp hy, 365 pages, $9.95.

HELLDORADOSGhosts and Campsof the old SouthwestBy Norman D. Weis

Author Weis covers the weatheredruins of 67 g host towns some famo us,

N E W T I T L E S F O RF A L L / W I N T E R , 1 9 7 7 . . .Dick d'Easum . . . SAWTOOTH TALES . . . paper . . . $6.95

Ralph Friedman . . . TRACKING DOWN OREGON . . . pap er. . . $5.95Don and Myrt le Holm , . . BOOK OF FOOD DRYING,PICKLING AND SMOKE CURING . . . paper . . . $4.95

Gene P lowden . . . SINGING W HEELS ANDCIRCUS WAGONS . . . pap er . . . $4.95Sessions S. Wheeler . . . THE BLACK ROCK DESERT . . . paper . . . $4.95Details of these and other t it les in our 1977 Color Supplement Catalog.Please write for a copy.

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CALIFORNIA PLACE NAMESThe Origin and Etymology ofCurren t Geographical NamesThird Edit ionBy Erwin C. Gudde

This book presents the story of thous-ands of geographical names of Califor-nia, giving their dates, circumstances ofnaming, their origin and evolut ion, theirconnection with our national history, andtheir relation to the California landscape.

Pronunciation of unusual names is giv-en according to local usage. The entriesare arranged alphabetically, with cross

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re fe rences when necessary . Nameswi th in anentry arepresented chrono-logical ly.

This third edit ion incorporates manynew entries and extensive revisions toolder entries, all theoutgrowth of theauthor's research. An important addit ionis the reference l ist ofobsolete and var i -ant names.

Hardcover, 416pages, $15.75.

GRAND CANYON J EEPTRAILS 1North RimBy Roger Mitchell

Everyone has been tothe Grand Can-y o n , or at least heard of t.But practical-ly no one hasheard of the ShivwitsPlateau, much less been there. This bookdescribes eight interesting tr ips in thatforgotten area on theNorthwest rim ofthe Grand Canyon. This is a ruggedlonely land farremoved f rom theusualtourist spots and general ly unknowneven to thegovernmental agency re-sponsible for itsadministrat ion.Whi le much has been publ ished aboutthe Grand Canyon, practical ly nothinghas been publ ished about the ShivwitsPlateau Country. M uch of hemater ia l inthis guide is original research, neverhaving appeared inpr int before. Mostof

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T H EG O L D H E XBY KEN MARQUISS

$3.50i Asingle man's endeav-\ ors, Ken hascompiled20 of histreasure huntsin book form. Hisfailure to hit the"jack-pot" does not mean he is treasureless.From gold panning to hardrock, fromdredging toelectronic metal detecting,heenjoyed a lifetime of "doing his thing."

Magazine Book ShopP. 0. Box 1318

Palm Desert, California 92260Please add 50c for postage/handlingCalif, residents add 6% state sales tax

the tr ips described have some feature ofsignif icance for thesportsman, the na-tural is t and the photographer. All offerspectacular scenery and aunique back-country experience. A rating system isalso included so you can determine howrough a road is before you try t.

Roger Mi tchel l is nostranger to themountains, forests anddeserts of thegreat Southwest. He has spent much ofhis l i fe exploring backroads and long for-gotten trai ls. Hisprevious publ icationsfo r LaSiesta Press, Death Valley JeepTrails, Inyo-Mono Jeep Trails, WesternNevada Jeep Trails, Eastern Sierra JeepTrails, Western Sierra Jeep Trails andExploring Joshua Tree remain popularwith backcountry explorers, and are alsoavai lable from the Desert MagazineBook Shop.

Grand Canyon Jeep Trails is paper-back, amply i l lustrated, 47pages, $1.50.

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Canyonlands Sy Nig h tis aunique two-hour cruise on theColo-rado River at dusk, astwilight fades intonight.Along the way, astartling variety of light-& ingeffects bring to life thedarkened redrock cliffs of theColorado River gorgeduring aninspiring program dramatizingsouth-eastern Utah's unusual natural andhuman history.Canyonlands ByNightCruises leave our dock at the highwaybridge near scenic Moab, Utah, everyevening throughout thetravel season.

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Canyon walls come tol ife under 40,000watts of controlled illumination.

Desert/ August 1977


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T H E W ITI H N E V A D AP ART I I T HE T O UR

by MA RY FRANCES STRONGphotos by Jerry Strong

HE PONY EXPRESS began mail de-0 l ivery between San Francisco, Cali-| fornia and St. Joseph, Misso uri on

Apri l 3, 1860. The very daring nature ofthe operation man and horse againsttime , the elements and hosti le Indiansquickly captured the interest of the na-t ion. Though the service lasted but abrief 18 months, the Pony Express at-tained immortal i ty as one of the mostdramatic undertakings in Western His-tory.

Du r i n g o u r Na t i o n ' s B i ce n te n n ia lyear, the Bureau of Land Managementmarked the Pony Express Route acrossNevada. Many former station ruins havebeen protected and two interpretiveWaysides erected. In our modern carsand recreational vehicles, we can nowenjoy a nostalgic, informative and lei-surely journey "Trai l ing the Pony inNevada ."

At least three days should be al lowed

Cold Springs Pony Express Station is one of the best preserv-ed. It was situated in the heart of Paiute Territory and, conse-quently, was subjected to many Indian attacks. During one

raid, the station keeper was killed and all the spare horsesstolen. An interpretive Wayside depicts the "Pony days."

Desert /August 1977


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for traveling this 225-mile section of theroute. You wil l need time to " loiter pro-pe rly " at various points of interest. It isnecessary to browse around and visual-ize "how it once was" to ful ly savor thepast. A two-week vacation may easily bespent in traveling through this region ofNevada which is r ich in history, rock col-lecting areas, photogenic geological for-mations and archeological sites.There are side tr ips to lure youVir-ginia City, Sutro's Tunnel, Lake Lahon-tanto name but a few. Rock collectorsmay elect to spend a few days at theWonderstone locales (Desert, January1975) and the Broken Hil ls Wood de-posits (Desert, September 1972). In anycase, the choice is you rs. Be it three daysor three weeks, "Trai l ing the Pony inNevada" is a tr ip you are sure to enjoy.The approximate mileage between pointsof interest is given on the accompanyingmap.

Genoa, the second Nevada station onthe Pony Express Route from California,is an excellent point from which to beginthe tour. Originally known as MormonStation (1851), it was the first permanentsettlement in Nevada. The site has been

established as a Historic State Monu-ment where a fine museum is housed ina replica of the early log station.

From Genoa , the Pony Expressheaded north to Carson City. The routeturned east at this point and followed thebanks of the Carson River. This has be-come a beautiful dr ive on Highway 50. Aside trip can be made to Virginia Cityonce Queen of the Com stock, now a tour-ist attraction.

Continuing east, Stop #2 is the littlecommunity of Dayton. The site of aformer "Pony" station is now occupiedby the Union Hotel. An histor ical markercommemorates the days of the PonyExpress.

From Dayton, Highway 50 curvesnortheast and soon passes the entranceto Sutro's Tunnel. Only a few buildingsmark the site of the once thriving town ofSutro. When excessive water was en-countered in the Comstock Lode, AdolphSutro presented a plan to drive a drain-age tunnel up from the valley floor to apoint high in the mountains. Congresspassed special legislation in 1866 to"grant Adolph Sutro, for the r ight of wayand other privileges to aid in the con-

struction of a tunnel to the ComstockLode in the State of Nevada."

Sutro encountered violent oppositionto his plan by those holding controllinginterests in the Comstock. Consequent-ly, he had difficulty raising the capital tofinance the project. Work finally beganin October 1869 and was completed inJuly 1878. It connected with the famedlode at the Savage Mine, passed a milenorth of Gold Hil l and reached to withinone mile of Mt. Davidson summit. It suc-cessfully drained the entire ComstockLode.

Continuing east on Highway 50, Stop#3 is Fort Ch urchil l State Parka formerPony Express relay station. There is achoice of two routes to Fort Churchill via Highway 50 to Silver Springs, thensouth on Alternate 95 for eight miles tothe Park entrance. Or, you can takegraded State Route 2 (the old R iver road)and enjoy a leisurely dr ive, fol low ing theCarson River to the Park.

Fort Churchill is one of the most pic-turesque ruins I have ever seen. Wespent a ful l day just wandering amongthe old buildings. Be sure to stop at thePark museum and see the replica of the

I Hawthorn. Gobbs'

Tro/7/ng t/ie Pony/nA/evac/a Tour Stops

Pony Exprt tt StationA Arctwological

Pony Express Route SITES

G GeologicalH Historical

S Stags Station

Desert/August 1977


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original fort. It was sizable. The PonyExpress relay station was housed in theheadquarters building which st i l l standstoday. The history of the fort (1860-1868)is ably chronicled at the museum wherepamphlets and brochures are availablefor visitors. Adjacen t to the r iver, a tree-shaded campground provides attract iveovernight accommodations.

From Fort Churchil l , the next 40 milesof Pony Express Route leads across al-kali flats, the sink of Carson Lake andSand Springs Marsh to the site of SandSprings Station. This section of the trailis advisable only for four-wheel-drive ordune buggies. Carson Sink Station, Stop#4south of Fallon, was the only relaystation on this run. Its adobe ruins canbe visited by driving south from Fallonon Highway 95.

Conventional vehicles should headnorth from Fort Churchil l and take High-way 50 east to Fallon. Enroute you wil lpass Lake Lahontan Recreation Area.You may be tempted to stop and enjoythe excellent boating, f ishing, swim-min g , rock collect ing and cam ping avail-able here. Fallon offers all supplies andan opportunity to visit the Churchil lCounty museum.

There are eight stops, not counting10

any rock collecting locales or other sidetrips you may elect to make, along the115 miles between Fallon and the ReeseRiver. The first, Stop #5, is Crimes Point an archeological site. In the hills left ofthe highway, there are several caves be-lieved used by prehistoric Indians from5000 B.C. to 1500 A.D. They also left be-hind numerous petroglyphs and manos(grinding holes) on large basaltic boul-ders near the highw ay. On the r idge be-hind the historical marker, the remnantsof an old drift fence have been found.The Indians used it for driving antelopeand deer. Grimes Point is the turnoff tothe wonderstone locale.

Beyond Crimes Point, Highway 50slowly curves east and crosses SandSprings Marsh. The Pony Express Routecrossed, what is now Highway 50, nearthe center of the marsh and curvedeasterly. For the next 50 miles we willagain be trail ing the Pony.

Sand Springs Marsh is a large playathat was formerly an arm of AncientLake Lahontan in Quaternary Time.Dur ing wet weather, "Pony" r idersmust have been forced to make a detourto prevent their horses from miringbelly-deep in the mud.V Stop #6 is the turnoff to Singing Sand

Long before thewhite man establishedEastgate as an OverlandStage Station, Indiansoccupied this area.They left rem nants ofa pole hom e [circa1500A.D.]andanimportant tool makingculture known asthe Eastgate Series.

Mountain and site of the Sand SpringsPony Express Station. The exact locationof the ruins is in doubt. It is believed tobe either im mediately w est of the monu-ment or one and one-half miles north-west. During our recent visit we pickedup several horseshoe nails along withbits of old metal and fragments of purpleglass at what we assumed was the sta-tion site. The Overland Stage also usedthis route so our memorabil ia may befrom one of its stations.

Sir Richard Burton, English explorerand author , v iv id ly descr ibed SandSprings Station during his travels alongthe route in 1860. "Sand Springs de-serves its name. The land is encumberedhere and there with drif ted r idges of thefinest sand, sometimes 200 feet high andshif t ing with every gale. The stat ionhouse was no unfit object on such asceneroofless and chairless, filthy andsqualid, with a smokey fire in one cor-ner, impure floor: the walls open toevery win d , and the interior full ofdus t . "

Sir Richard had few kind words for anyof the Pony Express stations along theroute. He, obviously, found the accom-modations not up to the standards befit-t ing an English gentleman.

Desert/Au ust 1977


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"Sing ing Sand Mounta in" has been afavorite playground for dune-buggy en-thusiasts for many years. The namecomes from an unusual " squ eak y"sound produced when walking over thesandy slopes. A graded road leads ashort distance north to an undevelopedparking-camping area. Be careful to stayon solid grou nd. This is a good ov ernightstop and al lows the opportunity to takephotos and explore the huge dune.Y o u n g s t e r s , p a r t i c u l a r l y , e n j o y t h echance to "play on and rol l down" thesandy dunes.

Continuing east, the highway cl imbs apass, crosses Fairview Valley and junc-tions with State Route 23. A quarter of amile south is Middlegate Stationfor-merly an Overland Stage stop, it nowdispenses gasoline, snacks and refresh-ments. State Highway 23 takes rock col-lectors south to the petr i f ied wood lo-cales.

Stop #7 requires a five-mile detour toEa s tg a te a n o th e r f o r me r O ve r l a n dStage station. This area has been desig-nated "an important archeological site."South of the histor ical marker, on abench at the base of the mountain, a"bru sh and pole ho me " was d iscovered.It is believed to have been built by pre-historic Indians about 1500 years ago.

The Indians were typical Great BasinPeople who subsisted on large and smallgame, as well as seeds, nuts and roots.Very distinctive projecti le points East-gate Serieswere found on the site.Such finds are valuable cultural indica-t ions.

Returning to Highway 50, Stop #8 wil lbe at the ruins of Cold Springs Pony Ex-press Station. Its rock ruins are some ofthe most well-preserved and indicate afour-room structure. It provided a barn,storage area, l iving quarters and corral.The latter two were adjacentnot onlyto protect the valuable horses but to givethe men the benefit of the animals' bodyheat! In the surrounding rock fortress,gun portals are still visible in the walls.Cold Springs Station lay in the heart ofPa iu te Co u n t r y a n d su f fe r e d ma n yIndian attacks. In later years, it servedas an impor tan t s tage and f re ig h tstation.

An interpretive Wayside has beenbuilt at Cold Springs by the Bureau ofLand Management. Free brochures anda guide for several mini- tr ips are avail-able. You wil l also enjoy an artis t 's con-ception of the people, places and eventsdur ing the t ime of the "Pony."

Stop #9 is a short distance north.Watch for the ruins of an early-day tele-

graph repeater and maintenance station.It was this transcontinental l ine thatbrought an end to the Pony Express Ma ilService.

Our route continues north along thebase of the Desatoya Mountains, thenbegins a wide, northeasterly arc acrossEdwards Valley. In prehistor ic t ime,grass and brush flourished around theva l l e y ' s sp r i n g s a n d i n te r m i t t e n tstreams. Shoshone Indians and their an-cestors came seasonally to gather wildseeds and hunt small game. EdwardsValley was also the site of their wintercamps. Stop #10 is at the historicalmarker .

Colonel John Reese discovered theroute through Edwards Valley whichproved to be shorter than the HumboldtTrai l . Five years later (1859), the routewas established by surveyor JamesSimpson. Over i t came the emigrants,Pony Express, Transcontinental Tele-graph and Overland Mail Stages.

After rounding the Desatoya Moun-tains, the Pony Express Route heads duesouth to Smith Creek Station; thennortheast to Dry Wells and Jacob's sta-t i o n s . We w i l l co n t i n u e to f o l l o wHighway 50 across Edwards Valley andjoin the Pony route at the site of Jacobs-v i l l e Continued on Page 38

Singing Sand Mountainis so named for

the unique soundemitted when treadupon. Po ny Express

riders probably cursedthis stretch of their route

during strong windstorms. Today, dune

buggiests come from allover the state to frolicon the slopes.

Desert/August 1977 11 '. > '


12/48

T h eG r a v eo f t h eF o u r C h i l d r e n

H EAR T HE Papago town of Santa Rosain southern Arizon a, l ies the Grave ofthe Four Child ren. The fierce Arizonasun glares over the desert, w itherin g theremnants of spring greenery that dot thePapago Indian Reservation. It wouldseem the advent of water in this parchedland could only be a welcome sight. Butthe Grave of the Four Children bearssilent testimony that this is not alwayss o .

" I t was long, long ago, maybe so . . .100 years . . . when the ground openedand the water came . . . " so the s torygoes.

But this water did not bless the Pa-pagos who struggled for existence in thisinhospitable desert. I t surged forward,spreading over the f ields and into thehomes. Deeper and deeper the coldwaters rose, and st i l l the f low c ontinued.Joy that had held forth when f irst thefields were wet down changed to alarmas the wett ing became a f lood, washingaway the f ields, tearing apart theirhomes, carrying away clothing and cook-ing pots, even drowning the unwary.Their whole countryside was underwater and no amount of prayers, medi-cine men or dances could stop it. Feardwelt in every heart. At last the councilconsented to listen to the pleas of theirmedicine men.12

by LEE CO E

Four gaps in the ocotillo fencesallow entrance to the mound of stones

which cover the wall. This is inharmony with other Papago

religious tradition.

" I t is necessary to make a supreme sa-crifice to this water god who has rejectedall other offerings," they maintained.

Sadly the council agreed. J ust how thesacrificial victims were chosen is notto ld , but that more than just life must begiven up was understood, and so it wasthat four children, dear to all, were pre-pared for the sacrifice. Great must havebeen the sorrow as this f ina l , desperateoffering was borne through the swirl ingwaters to their source. App ropriate cere-mony was observed, as the four litt leones were cast into the hole from whencethe waters rose. As the last small formdisappeared, chanted supplications roseon high. Then sadly, hopelessly, thebeaten Papagos returned to their ruinedhomes.

Morning came, waking the peoplewhere they huddled on platforms abovethe waters. Looking about them fearful-ly, it seemed the water was receding.Unbelieving, hardly daring to hope, thePapagos of Santa Rosa hastened to thehole that was their children's grave. It

was sothe water no longer came forthfrom its gaping mouth.

Before the weary task of clearing andreplanting f ields, of rebuilding homes,there was something they must do. Somegathered ocotillo branches, some scrap-ed up stones and brought them to thehole. Others went up into the hills for thelarge, f lat sandstone rocks they needed.Sti l l others fashioned children's trea-sures, packed precious food for a longjourney. When the day ended, the glow-ing sky silhouetted a cairn of stones en-closed in a ceremonial hut of ocotillowands, with four doors opening to theEast, the North, the West and to theSouth. No more was there a ho le, and thefour children had food and toys for theirjourney.

Desert /August 1977


13/48

Present day explorers of the PapagoRe se r va t i o n can f i n d th e ch i l d r e n ' sshrine by taking the A jo road west out ofTucson, going beyond Sells to Oquitoa.Here they must turn r ight and drive toVentana Road. Turning left onto Ven-tana Road, there is an earth dam acrossthe wash south of the road. A short dis-tance before you get to this dam, a dir troad leads off to the left and will take youto the Crave of the Four Children. Queryat the nearby Santa Rosa Trading Postmay illicit the legend as it has beenhanded down by word of mouth amongthe Papagos. Fr iar Ventura Bonaven-ture, who spent a quarter of a centuryamong these Indians, has this referenceto the legend:" . . . Dur ing the Grea t Pueb lo PeriodDesert/August 1977

(13th-15th Centuries)," wrote Fr. Bona-venture, " there occurred an extremelyheavy flood in the Altar Valley aroundOquitoa which destroyed the entire vi l-lage of Vamuri, barr ing four childrenwho had been playing in the higherreaches adjoining.

"These orphaned childred were pick-ed up by a salt expedition from SantaRosa and taken back with them. The ex-pedition had barely reached Achi (SantaRosa) when a copious spring burst forthout of a badger hole. The Piman (sic; thePapago Tribe is an offshoot of the Pimagroup) tradition has it that the GreatFlood was caused by a similar occur-rence. Fearing a recurrence of the floodand laying the blame on the four childrenwho had survived the Altar Valley flood,and taking the sudden appearance of thespring at the unlikely location as a signthat the relatives in the underworld de-manded the presence of the children, i twas decided to send the children tothem. When the children had been sunkin the spring to the accompaniment ofgreat ceremony, the water ceased toflow. To commemorate this event and toshow their gratitude, the Wiikita (songceremony) is celebrated at intervals torenew the monument of ocoti l lo."

Whichever of these or several otherversions is the correct one, and aftersome 500 years a little discrepancy canbe overlooked, the ceremony of the songand the replenishing of the ocoti l lobranches continues. There is no set day,just when the time seems r ight, and thepiles of discarded branches grow. Offer-ings for the children themselves may beleft at any time on the cairn of rocks, anorange, a plastic flower, any small tokento tel l the children they are not for-gotten.

Over the years, the w hite m an has en-couraged the Papago to build dams tocatch the runoff of the summer rains.One such large dam is placed just w est ofthe grave, across a wide arroyo. Engin-eers and hydrologists are sti l l trying tofigure out why this particular dam is al-most always dry. Perhaps the Papagoshave the answer. The prayers of theirforefathers as they sacrificed the belovedchildren asked the water god to make thewater recede and never more cover theirland. As long as the Papagos of SantaRosa remember the four children andwhy they died, so too, will the water godremember.

Calendarof *EventsThis column is a public service and there is nocharge for listing your event or meetingso takeadvantage ol the space by sending in your an-nouncement. We must receive the informationat least three months p rior to the event.AUGUST 27 & 28, Simi Valley Gem and Min-eral Society's Annual Show, Larwin Commun-ity Center, 1692 Sycamore, Simi Valley, Calif.Dealers. Chairman: Irene Josephson, 1247Carmel Dr., Simi Valley, Calif. 93065.AUGUST 27 & 28, "Jou rney t o t he S u n " -Continuous Indian Festival of tradit ionalsongs and dances by Hopi and Navajo In-dians; demonstrations of Indian si lvercraft,Hopi Piki bread, displays of pottery, texti lesand painting by Southwest Indians. Museumof Man, 1350 El Prado, Balboa Park, SanDiego, Calif. Contact Laura Walcher, (714)274-0313.SEPTEM BER 10 & 11 , Santa Maria Gem andMineral Society's 7th annual "Gemboree."Convention Center, Santa Barbara CountyFairgrounds, Santa Maria, Calif. Dealerspace f i l led . Parking and admission free.Chairman: Bil ly Joyal, 1617 N. Lynne Dr.,Santa Maria, California 93435.SEPTEMBER 10 & 11 , Ant ique Barbed Wir eand Collectable Show, sponsored by the Cali-fornia BVVCA, Home Economics Building,Stanislaus County Fairgrounds, Turlock, CA.Free admission. Wri te to: Delbert Haarberg,15562 El Capitan W ay, De lhi, Calif. 95315.SEPTEMBER 17 & 18, Gem and MineralShow, "The Show That Shows How," pre-sented by the Mother Lode Mineral i tes ofAuburn, Cal i f . Free admission. Fairgrounds,Auburn, Cal i fornia.SEPTEMBER 17 & 18, Annual Bottle Showand Sale presented by San Bernardino CountyHistorical Bottle and Collectible Club, SanBernardino Convention Center, 303 North" E " Street, San Bernardino, Calif. Adults 50cents donation. Call: 714-889-4264.SEPTEMBER 17 & 18, Sequoia Gem & Min-eral Society's 11th Annual "Harvest of Gems& M ine ral s" Show, Redwood Ci ty RecreationCenter, 1328 Roosevelt Ave., Redwood City,Ca l i f . Dea l e rs , dem ons t ra t i ons , d i sp l ays .Dealer space f i l led .SEPTEMBE R 24 & 25, 11th annual "Ma gic inRocks" show hosted by El Monte Gem andMineral Club, Inc. , El Monte Masonic Tem-ple, 4017 N. Tyler Ave. , El M onte, Cal i fornia.Free admission and parking.

13


14/48

Rugged self-reliancestill prevails here wheremost construction isstill hand-cut ornative materials.

by HARTT WIXO M

P EW PEOPLE vis i tCal lao on purpose.Not the first t ime. But, those who dostumble in to her p ioneer sp ir i t -where horse-drawn plows and hay der-r icks sti l l outnumber al l good-intention-ed innova t ions conce ived by man 'smodern m ind find many reasons to re-turn soon.

There is probably no place in the con-tinental United States where the nativesmove at a less hurried pace. Yet, fewpeople have to do more for survival.Nature is both raw and harsh. Wood andwater are hauled. Taking a deer from the

nearby Deep Creek Mountains is thewinter 's cache of meat. And coyotesmust be kept away from the chickensyear around. It is a glimpse into the pastcentury. Lifetime residents here neednot talk about the "good old days."They're st i l l exper iencing them.

When I f i rst "d isc ove red" Cal lao i twas on a hike in Deep Creeks' loftycrags. Rising straight from the GreatBasin floor of western Utah, sprawlingover into Nevada on the southern toe,these mountains r ival Wyoming's Tetonsfo r sheer ve r t i ca l ascen t . HaystackPeak's 12,101-feet-elevation is granderthan any point in the more highly pub-licized Utah Wasatch Range, and is thehighest peak between the Uintas andSierra Nevadas, a distance of some 600

miles east and west. But, it was notthese snow and conifer-studded slopeswhich lured me back so much as it wasCallao itself. This is a town unlike otherisolated western towns. It did not die. Itwas not resurrected. It simply hasn'tchanged.

I know of no better place to see howthings were in grandmother, or greatgrandmother 's t ime. There are no mod-ern-type frame or br ick homes. All are"hand-made" of local stone and wood.Stacks of firewood, hand-cut in many in-stances, are piled high in each yard.Cellars are fi l led with bottled fruits andvegetables. On one occasion we were in-vited to have supper with long-time localfarmer, David Bagley. There was morewheat bread and fresh milk than we

14 Desert/ Auaust 1977


15/48

could eat. In the meantime, Bagley toldus about Pony Express days. The stopwas in back of his house, near severalsmall trees. A giant weeping wil low,along with a Utah histor ical marker, nowgrace the spot.

"Things haven't changed much sincet h e n , " Bagley told us. "Dad used to tel lme how the riders liked to stay here aslong as they could before heading outinto the flat sage beyond the DeepCreeks. It was easier to make time, butthere wasn't as much water or shade outt h e r e . "

Several communities take advantageof the l i fe-giving streams which flowfrom the Deep Creek Range. There arePartoun, Trout Creek, Cold Hi l l . On thewestern side is Ibapah, tr ibal home ofthe Coshute Indians. However, a visitorin these parts should not count on many,if any, services. For example, there is lit-tle gasoline or food for sale. It is approxi-mately 100 miles of dir t road from W end-over to Delta; tourists should preparesufficiently so that they are not a burden

i on the local people. However, on one oc-casion, a Callao farmer let us have gaso-l ine from a 10-gallon "float level" con-tainer where you actually watch thel i q u i d f l o w f r o m g r a v i t a t i o n a l p u l lthrough a glass window into your tank.

Another fr iendly resident lent perfectstrangers a tire and wheel from an oldcar. "I ' l l never use it anyway," he reit-erated. But, grateful for the spare tohelp with one of two flats, w e made surehe was amply rewarded for his gener-osity.

Perhaps a place where there are notraffic noises, air or water pollution,pavement, or city-paced life is good forth e soul. At least it appears to be there.The spirit is contagious, for once visitingthis area, one is seldom the same again.

Callao's one-room schoolhouse was formany years the only one between Wen d-voer and Deltaa distance of some 100miles. There is now a more modern,larger school at Ibapah. But grades onethrough twelve sti l l attend Callao. Totalenrollment seldom surpasses a fewdozen, however, as the population of allwestern Tooele and J uab Counties is butseveral hundred.

My own family has roots in Callao. Idid not discover until after visitingCallao several times that my wife'sgrandmother, Jul ia Tripp, was requiredto display indomitable courage here.Tragedy is found frequently in her diary,yet she would not give up. At one time,her daughter, Ada, three, became i l l ,and without any doctors around, soon

died. Julia and husband George drovewith horse and wagon to Delta with theyoung body, then proceeded by train toSalt Lake City and burial in the tradition-al fam ily burial plot. "L ife was morelonely in a lonely place," was the gist ofher comments after that. Callao isindeed a place to be overwhelmed byyour thoughts, intensified by the isola-t ion, whatever they may be. If there isone guiding force here, it is self-reliance.

Callao's name, like its spirit, stuck. Anearly settler said it reminded him of hisnative Callao in Peru, South America.Perhaps one reason for the town's per-manence is that i t is a farming, not amining town. Other boom towns nearby,such as Cold Hi l l , were once prouder. Innearly any direction one can find semi-precious rock such as topaz, and ofcourse, tr i lobites are not uncommon.Wate r fowl abound nearby a t F ishSprings Migratory Bird Refuge. But resi-dents spend little time with such luxuriesas hunting old glass bottles in abandon-ed mining shacks. They are engrossed inwres ting a l iving from the desert. It isn'talways easy to face such a rugged chal-lenge. But, like our pioneer fathers,these people seem able to meet it. Hereare not only pioneers, but a living historylesson.

Machinery such asthis are typical

on Callaofarmlands.

Deep CreekMountains inbackground.

Desert/August 1977 15


16/48

JUM BLED BUTTES AND CANYONSAND WASHES LIKE THESE,OFFER GOOD REASONS WHYPICACHO LOST MINES STAY LOST.

by HAROLD O. WE IGH T

HE WILD Picacho region of south-eastern Cal i forniaa beaut i fu l , jum-ble of mountains, canyons, mesas,

hil ls an d washes is ancient gold-hu nt-ing and gold-f inding country. I t alsonourishes, I believe, more lost gold le-gends than any other equal area in theSouthwest. Most of these I have fromtime to t ime recounted in the past quar-ter-century of Desert. Others sketchy,short on details, or dif f icult to pindow n have been held in a hop eful openf i le.

But t ime has a way of closing f i les.The men who told me these stories, andwho " fo l lowed the g leam, " no longertrace out old Picacho trails. The trailsthemselves fade with disuse, are cut bystorm and erosion, erased by laterwheels. There is l i t t le chance, now, thatmore wil l be added to these mavericktales. But they possess their own charmand enticement, and are part of Pica-cho's legacy.

16 Desert/August 1977


17/48Desert/ August 1977 17


18/48

We wil l start with Bil l Wilds. Bil l wasan oldt ime Colorado River steamboatman, never a prospector or miner. Buthe married a Moha ve Indian up atNeedles, and acquired a lot of Mohavein-laws. That 's how he became involvedin a lost mine story that may belong tothe legend of the hidden Yuma Indiangold (Desert, August 1973). Ed Roches-ter, the expert on such matters, thoughthe did, and it certainly does add weightto the probable existence of a rich goldledge or placer somewhere between Fer-guson Lake and Picacho Peak.

The trouble is, no one knows or evercan show the direct ion Bil l 's Mohave in-law took on that long-gone day when heleft the river steamer.

"B il l put in a great many years on theColorado, in the steamboats," Ed said."He wasn't a captain. More l ike an en-gineer or mate. In charge of the crew,unloading cargo, taking on wood. Thatsort of thing. There wasn't an Indianalong the Colorado anywhere but knewBill Wilds. A legendary character amongthe Indians. Part icularly up aroundParker and Needles, more so thanamong these Yumas. He could talkM o h a r v e . "

Those old river steamers almost inces-santly developed one kind of trouble oranother enroute, as they worked theirway up and down the Colorado. And,through necessity, there were few break-18

downs that the crew couldn't f ixatleast temporari lyon the spot. One tr ipupriver from Yuma, Bil l 's steamboat(probably the Mohave #2) had a break-down close to the lower end of FergusonFlats, just across the river from some ofthe litt le river garden rancherias of theApache-Mohave Indians. The boat t iedup to the California bank and repairs gotunder way.One of Bil l 's brothers-in-law was onboard, and when he learned they wouldbe there the rest of the day, he wentashore and disappeared. He was gone allafternoon, slipping back aboard just atdark. He hunted up Bill and in the dark,without a word, handed him a heavysack. When Bill examined it next day, itproved to be f i l led with rock which look-ed l ike high-grade ore.

Repaired, the steamer continued upthe Colorado. But before Parker wasreached, Bill 's Indian brother-in-law hadbroken out with what appeared to bemeasles. He was put ashore at Parker,headquarters for the Colorado River In-

When Bill Wilds was a steamboat man,before the first dam was built, the Colo-rado was one of the great thoroughfaresof the West. This appears to be theCocopah No. 2, which operated 1867-1881, t ied on the Arizona side withinsight of Picacho Peak. W eight collection.

Desert /August 1977

dian Agency. Within a few days he wasdead.

When the steamboat had arrived atNeedles and its cargo was discharged,Bill took the sack of ore to Monaghan &Murphy, the town's leading merchants.They paid him $300 for it. Bill pocketedthe money and went back to his job on


19/48

Left: Looking across to Picacho Peakfrom lower end of Ferguson Lake. This isthe area where Wilds' Mohave in-lawleft the steamboat, to return with highgrade ore.

the steamer. So far as is known, he madeno effort to trace the source of the ore theIndian had given him.Finally he left the river to live atNeedles where, for a few years, he was aspecial deputy constable. He is listed assuch in an 1889 directory of San Bernar-dino County. This helps place the inci-dent of the golden ore as probably in theearly 1880s.

"After a while at Needles, Bill gotsick," Ed Rochester said. "Got awfulfat. At that time the Colorado was quite away over from Needles, and there was abig jungle between the town and theriver. Bill moved out there into that jun-gle and became a recluse. Wouldn't al-low any visitors. Still later he moved far-ther away, down and across the river tothe Arizona side at the mouth of Sacra-mento Wash.

"He had a cabin down there where helived the last years of his lifehe and adozen or two cats. He would hike into To-pock every week or so and get a handfulof groceries, and go back home. He was

wil ling to see me, and I used to visit himevery time I was close to his place. Hewould let me in, and we would talkawhile. That's when he told me aboutthe Moharve and the gold. He describedthe ore to me, and it sounded very simil-ar to the ore the old Dutchman gave mefor ferrying him across the river."

Ed had described the Dutchman's oreto me as a yellowish quartz so rich thatbright free gold showed in every chunk(Desert, December 1958).

Ed believed that Bill's Indian in-lawhad tapped the same golden ledge of theYuma Indians for which he, himself, hadsearched so diligently. At any rate, hesaid, it must be a ledge with a mightypowerful taboo. The Mohave Indian wasdead within days after he had gatheredgold there and given it to a white.

You can't say poor Bill Wilds escaped,either. Bill neither broke a taboo noreven attempted to. But he did profit fromthe gold, and he did tell at least Ed Ro-chester about it, and the last years of hislife were miserable. As for his death:

"He died alone at his cabin thereabout 1916," Ed said. "The cats ate himup before anyone knew anything aboutit."

Next monththe Lost Arch Mne ofPicacho Peak.

//Now...Good thingsare happening at...D e a t h V a l l e yJ u n c t i o nStay at the historicAMARGOSAHOTELThis lovely 50-year-old hotel isbeing restored. 20 rooms openyear 'round. All carpeted. Allbeautifully furnished. Electricheat and air conditioning. Makethe Amargosa Hotel your head-quarters while in the DeathValley area.Telephone Death Valley Junc-tion #1 for information or reser-vations.

Visit Marta Becket's famousAMARGOSA OPERA HOUSE.You've read about this beautifuland unique attraction in Desertand National Geographic. SeeMarta Becket's program ofdance -mimes . See her fabulousmurals inside the Opera House.Performances Friday, Saturdayand Monday Through April.Saturdays only in May, Septem-ber. 8:15; doors open at 7:45.IITelephone Death Valley Junc-t i o n #8 for reservations. Tours

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The General Store, Filling Sta-tion and Pottery Shop are open.RV Park coming. Space avail-able for development.

For further information aboutDEATH VALLEY JUNCTIONplease write:

Death Valley Junction, Inc.P . O . Box 675Death Valley Junction,California 92328

Desert / August 1977 19


20/48

H I G H M O J A V E SL O N E S O M E T R I A N G L EHISTORIC MID HILLS OFFERS COOLM IDSU M M ER CA MP ING, ROAD SITESS

OME CALL it the Lonesome Tri-angle; others, more off icially, refer tothe Providence-New York Mountains

midrif f as the East Mojave Unit . Nomatter wh ich name you choose, romanticor prosaic, the huge region east of Bar-stow, California holds its own lures fortravelers and history buffs.

Depending on where you draw theboundaries, or which mountain range is

your base point, the vast slab of arid pieformed by the diversing routes of Inter-state 15 and Interstate 40 along theMojave River contains some of the mosthistory-rich and scenicly diverse desertin Southern California and much of it issurprisingly accessible.

In order to make a weekend out ofwhat could be a month-long trek, we'l lcut the east and west ends out of the tri-

The mostvisible andtangibleevidence ofCamp RockSpring's briefmilitarytenure is thiseroded"graffiti,"attributed to asoldier in theCaliforniaVolunteerswho campedhere briefly atthe time ofthe Civil War.20


21/48

by BILL JENN INGS

East of Lanfair junction, this visible remnant of the Governm entRoad parallels a modern telephone cable service road. Old route,on the right, is still usable for about two m iles eastward towardPiute Spring. Left: Governm ent H oles is one of the remaininglandmarks along the Mojave R oad in the Mid H ills region. A wind-mill-pumped well continued in use until recent years and dated tothe late 1850s, drilled by a civilian freight and stage contractor,Phinneas Banning. Below: The use of concrete and corrugatedsteel siding in the construction of this Spanish-Mexican style ar-rastre for the grinding of ore are tipoffs that it is not as old as itlooks, nor as the 1859-vintage Government Holes nearby. It is oneof many in the Providence and New Yo rk Moun tains, presumab lydating to the 1890s.

- %

J


22/48

angle and concentrate on the MidHil ls a pinyo n-dotted highlands thatlinks the Providence and New Yorkranges, within three-hour driving radiusof most of the Southern California metro-politan area.

The lonely Kelbaker Road, most of itpaved by San Bernardino County in re-cent years, is the main north-south linkbetween the freeways. I t runs fromBaker on 1-15 south 70 miles to Amboy,on old Highway 66. The new I-40 free-way bypasses Amboy 12 miles to thenor th.

Midway between Baker and Amboy isthe famous old railroad town of Kelso,once a helper point and crew layoverstop on the old Salt Lake Line, as thepresent Union Pacific was known a gen-erat ion ago. Hence the name "Kel-baker" for the only through paved roadconnecting the two freeways betweenBarstow and Needles.Kelso used to be a rendezvous for off-road and rockhound denizens who st i l labound in the Lonesome Triangle. But,alas, the old railroad cafe is no longeropen to the public and the Trails Endbeer bar just up the Cima Road is alsoclosed.

So M id Hills offers the best av ailablemeeting place. The U.S. Bureau of LandM anagem en t has c rea t ed a 30 -un i tcampground in a pinyon and junipergrove at the 5,600-foot level, 16 milesnorth of the Providence Mountain StateRecreation Area, about the same dis-tance northeast of Kelso and 10 miles

northwest of another good BLM camp-ground at Hole- ln-The-Wal l ./ / B o th camps have a supply of good well'water, pedestal-style stoves and solidtables, but no available ground wood.You should bring your own or gleanalong the roadside. Pit toilets and, atM id Hil ls a fr iendly ranger, complete theaccommodations. Rates are $1 a nightper space, no reservations.

Mid Hil ls is the preferred overnightsite because of its location only aboutthree miles from the route of the mosthistoric " r o a d " in this part of SouthernCalifornia, the Government or Mojaveroute that once connected the ColoradoRiver outpost of Ft. Mojave with the LosAngeles area, well before the Civil Wa r.

Dennis Casebier, a federal govern-ment physicist and mathematician, butmore accurately for our purposes theranking historian of the central Mojave,has chron ic led the Government orMojave Road in a series of monographsor litt le volumes. The key unit of theselabors of love is "The Mojave Road,"and it, as we ll as the others are a vailabledirectly from Casebier in Norco.

Next to the 15-minute series U.S. Geo-logical Survey topographical maps, mymost favorite guide to this area is theCasebier set. If you are a map freak, asthe writer, you'l l depend on the follow-ing 15-minute charts for this out ing:(from west to east) Soda Lake, Old DadMountains, Kelso, Mid Hil ls, LanfairValley and Homer Mountain. You canskip the first and last if t ime prevents

more than a three-day weekend.P rov idence M ou n t a ins Rec rea ti on

Area offers an optional campsite but thestate's lack of funds has prevented ade-quate development there on thenortheast slopes. The caverns are wortha visit , part icularly if you've not touredold Jack Mitchell 's handiwork before.Even in sum mer th e caverns offer a con-stant temperature in the mid-60s under-ground. There are a few campsites adja-cent to the park interpretive center andranger's quarters, about 13 miles northof I-40 at the Essex off-ramp. It 's onlyeight miles more to Hole-ln-The-Walland 17 to Mid Hil ls from the junct ion atthe power line road just four miles fromMitchell so take your choice.

M id Hil ls can be brisk in winte r, with alit t le snow on the ground when the w riterpre-ran this tr ip in March, but by mid-summer it will be hot in the daytime andsurprisingly cool at night. Hole-ln-The-Wa l l , about 700 feet lower, is warmer.The Mitch ell camp is sort of in-between.

From Mid Hil ls, the nearest point onthe old Government Road is the junctionwith the Cedar Canyon county road, fourmiles to the northeast. Cedar CanyonRoad connects with the paved Kelso-Cima road near the Chase siding on theUnion Pacific, five miles south of Cima.

The old trail is still used in this area,from Lanfair Valley west to Marl Spring,although most modern maps wo n't showit clearly. The topo shows the routeclearly, all the way from Lanfair west toSoda Lake, via Rock Springs, Govern-

if" . ' .

Remnants of thehorse corral usedby both Army andcivilian stageoperators atRock Spring aregraduallydisappearing.Due to scarcity oftimber, much of thewalls and fencingwere fashiioned outof native stone.Hay was hauledfrom the ColoradoRiver, 40 milesto the east.22 Desert/ August 1977


23/48

A modern camp inthe Rock Spring area is

maintained by theBLM at Mid Hills,

about 10 milessouthwest of the old

military site.Located at 5,600-footelevation the camp is

one of the coolestin the Mojave Desert

at mid-summer.ment Holes, Marl Spring and two alter-nate routes to Soda Lake, the northerlyvia Seventeen Mile Point, the southerlyaround the tip of Old Dad Moun tains andthe sandy wastes of the Devil's Play-ground area./ T w o w arn ings r ight here. The souther-ly route enters a "special design" areaprescribed by the BLM Desert Plan andalso is a trackless maze much of the yeardue to the blowing sand and lack of land-marks. If you take the Old Dad route,head northerly away from the power l ineroad near the old well site at the south-ern tip of Old D ad along a wash road tha thits the Kelbaker midway between Litt leCowhole Mountain and Seventeen MilePoint, about 10 miles to the north. Noneof these side roads are reliable for otherthan four-wheel-dr ive or high-centertwo-wheel. Care and Caution are thewatchwords.

The modern Kelbaker Road tracespart of the old Government Road nearSeventeen Mile Point, which also is ad-jacent to the most interesting lava areain the Lonesome Triangle. More than 20cones and fissures dot the region northof the road from 10 miles northwest ofKelso into the fringes of Soda Lake nearLitt le Cowhole.

Another Warning! Many sideroads inthis region lead toward interesting oldmines, but many are still active claimsand the "no trespassing" signs are wel l -intentioned and should be observed.

Actually, our route from Mid Hil ls, forthe first day at least, leads east, pastGovernment Ho les (on ly f i ve mi lesnortheast) to Rock Spring and eventually,to the glory of Piute Spring and old Ft.Piute, in the Piute Mountains at the eastend of Lanfair Valley

Casebier did his research well here,both in the National Archives in Wash-ington, D.C. and on a 130-mile hike be-tween the Colorado River and old CampCady, southeast of Yermo, in eight daysin the fall of 1975. He found the old roadstill discernible at several points, par-ticular ly in the Lanfair Valley area.

Casebier, the San Bernardino CountyMuseum Association, as well as severalother regional historical and officialbodies, have recommended the inclusionof the old road into the system of Nation-al Histor ical Landmarks. That would bethe best way to keep the route safe forthe succeeding generations.

The first known traveler, other thanthe Indian aboriginal residents, to usethe route was Father Francisco Garces,the chaplain for the Anza expeditions,who t raversed the reg ion in 1776 .Garces' route, still open to debate, hasbeen commemorated with a handsomebronze plaque at Marl Spring, 10 milesnorth of Kelso, but historians, notablyCasebier, feel the marker was mis-placed.

Garces' journal has been cited byma n y a u th o r i t i e s , i n c l u d in g E l l i o t t

Coues, Dix Van Dyke and more recentvisitors as evidenced by the bronzemarker at Marl Spring. This ever-flow-ing sidehill stream draws its name fromthe clay deposits that surface there. Itwas an overn igh t s top a long theGovernment Road and is still in usetoday for cattle and the occasional travel-er. It is located 10 miles north of Kelsoon a well- traveled uti l i ty service roadthat runs into the old Government Roadthree miles north of Marl Spring.

Caseb ie r 's research ind ica tes tha tGarces did travel the route, followed in1819 by Spanish Lt. G abriel Mora ga, butno road as such existed until EdwardBeale, former Naval officer and civi l iancontractor, laid out the trail as part of the35th Parallel rai lroad survey in the mid-18505.

As a mil i tary supply route used bothby wagons and pack trains at one tim econsisting of camel!the road washeavily used until well after the CivilWar. During the same period and latermuch of the mil i tary and mining trans-port in the eastern Mojave was providedby Colorado River paddlewheel steam-ers, the last water link in a lengthy routefrom San Francisco via the Gulf of Cali-forn ia .

Beale's famous camel caravans usedthe Government Road from Ft. Mojaveon the east bank of the Colorado just

Continued on Page 39Desert /August 1977 23


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Ta kin g a float tripon a oar-po were d raft downthe Colorado River is beingup a creek with a big p addle!Photo-journalist Dave Howardbrings us his impression o f . . .12 DAYS O N T

TT EM PT INC TO condense 12 daysft and 281 miles on the Colorado Riverf j j through Grand Canyon down to a fewpages of writ ing is l ike trying to copyHoward Johnson's menu onto the backof a postage stamp with a crayon; of ne-cessity, you have to omit a few goodies.An d goodies aplenty there were. I t was avirtual 12-day visual orgy of scenic de-l ights, interspersed with enough white-water thri l ls to sat isfy the most jadedadventurer . From beginning to end, thet r ip is a geologist 's Nirvana. That 's ply-24

ing the art of understatement to per-fect ion.

However, before I get ahead of my-self , let 's start from the beginning.There are several companies offeringraft tours of the Ca nyon, but this tr ip wasthrough the ef for ts of ARTA (AmericanRiver Touring Associat ion), of Oakland,California. They conduct r iver tours fromCanada to South America, so if the Can-yon tr ip leaves you yearning for more(and it wil l) , they can keep your white-water urge occupied for quite a while.

Tours of 5, 8,12 and 16 days durat ion areoffered. You might think that 12 dayscould be a l i t t le longer than you'd carefor, but, speaking from experience, atjourney's end you' l l be wishing you'dopted for the 16-day tr ip.

Af ter the 45-minute company-provid-ed bus shutt le from the meeting place atPage, Arizo na, you arrive at Lee's F errythe start ing point. Following an intro-duction to your boatmen and stowingyour gear into waterproof dunnage bags,you don l ife jackets, clamber aboard your

Desert /August 1977


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The boatman strains on the oarswhile running Unkar Creek Rapids.Mo st passengers express a variety ofexpressions as they anticipatetheir immediate future with firmhandholds. Note, however, just leftof cente r, a cam era buff calmlyadjusting his telephoto lens!COLORADO!

raft , and are soon watching the last ves-t iges of civi l izat ion fade away in the dis-tance. There were four rafts on this tr ip,with six passengers and a boatman perraf t . We had four boatmen, A l , Don, Boband Jeff, and one boatgir l (boatperson?),Mar i lyn, who throughout the 12 dayswould prove to be very competent, con-cerned and knowledgeable guides, anddarn good cooks. The entourage wascomposed of all ages, from the Pepsigenerat ion to folks whom I doubt havemissed a Lawrence Welk show in years.Desert/August 1977

The senior member, at 70, David Inglisf rom New E ngland , f requent ly hiked c ir -cles around many of the younger mem-bers.

A short distance out of Lee's Ferry,you pass the mouth of the Paria River,which muddies the relat ively clear waterupstream. Several days later, you'l lcome to the bend in the Canyon wherethe Lit t le Colorado empties its cargo ofsilt into the Colorado proper, impart ingto the water the color that earned theriver its name. This is also the point

by DAVE HOWARDwhere you actually enter the Grand Can-yon. The canyon you've traversed up tothis point being Marble Canyon.

A few l i t t le r i ff les provide a f lee t ing jn-troduction to the white-water that l iesahead. At seven miles, Navajo Bridgeglides silent ly overhead, 467 feet abovethe water. Before long, a distant roar in-trudes upon the silence, increasing withevery stroke of the oars, unt i l yo u're con-f ronted w i th the f i r s t "b ig-name" rap idof the tr ip, Badger Creek Rapids. Thereare a few w istfu l glances at the name

25


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painted on Don Briggs raft, "SpeedK i l l s, " some unconvincing laughs, and alot of t ightened grips.

Then the rol ler coaster r ide begins.Waves that looked rather insignificantfrom a distance suddenly loom q uite im -

The beachatRedwallCavern.

pressive as the ra ft crests one wave, thennose-dives down the wave's back side,into the hole in front of the next oncom-ing wave. The current spins the raftaround, and we back-slide into anotherwall of water. You soon discover how

your beer will be kept cold; the water is48 degrees F. Several ups, downs andarounds later, the rapids taper off intocalm water again. W ith an assortment ofexclamations, and more than a few sighsof rel ief, a damp but happy group turnsto watch the other rafts make their runs.

This scene will be repeated manytimes at rapids with names such as SoapCreek, House Rock, Granite, Hermit,Specter, Upset and Deubendorff, withcountless others, large and small, inbetween.

By now, several people are over anyqua lms they may have had abou trunning the rapids, and are r idin g out onthe snou ts o f the pon toons, l i kebull-riders in a rodeo. As you can see inthe photos, these rafts are formed of two22-foot-long pontoons, pointed on oneend, with a framework between them.Due to the pointed snouts, they are nick-named "roc ke ts, " as opposed to thel a r g er o v a l -s h a p e d " b a l o n e y b o a t s "used for the motor-powered tours. Youget more action in the rapids with theoar-powered "rockets," and there 's nobailing necessary. Oar power proved tobe the r ight choice. Several times duringthe tr ip, we were passed by motor-pow-ered rafts. The whine of the motor, am-pli f ied by the h igh , narrow canyon walls,sounds li ke a ma mm oth O ste r ize rbearing down on you from upstream.

As the first day draws to a close, youmake camp beside the river. If you en-visioned endless rounds of beans andSpam, your fears are quickly laid to restas your boatmen-turned-chefs quicklyproduce a dinner of pork chops, soup,salad, vegetables and al l the tr immings.All fre sh, thanks to dry ice. Later, mealswould consist of such spartan fare assteak (gr i l l your own ), shrimp cu rry, beefstroganoff, fresh-baked gingerbread,strawberry shortcake and even an al l-Mexican menu night. On the fi fth andsixth evenings, many people were sus-pect of their hearings when the call rangout, " l ine up for ice cream." It was forreal, and hard as the canyon walls! Ah,the pleasures of roughing it!

After retir ing to your sleeping bag,many supremely relaxing hours can bespent marveling at the myriads of stars,

Making last minute checksat Lees's Ferry, startingpoint of the trip.26 Desert /August 1977


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undimmed by city l ights, with the occa-sional flash of a meteor, until tha moonclimbs over the r im of the canyon, andthe sound of the river lulls you to sleep.

Rising at daw n, you attack a breakfastthat includes f lapjacks, French toast,scrambled eggs, f ru i t , Engl ish muf f ins,juices, coffee, hot chocolate, etc. Therafts are then pushed into the water (thewater level drops during the night,beaching them), reloaded , and you're offfor another day of wonders.

All the boatmen are quite eager toshare their knowledge of the history,geology and ecology of the canyon, andthey encourage you to make use of thesmall library on the subject that each rafthas in a watert ight box. By tr ip's end,historic names like Powell, Bass andHance, geologic mouthfuls l ike tapeatssandstone, toroweap l imestone, coco-nino, redwall, muav and supai wil l befascinat ing and fami l iar f r iends. You' l llearn that the "great unconformity" andthe "hotauta conglomerate" are not thelatest singing rage, but readable evolu-tionary signposts as you descend deeperand deeper into the geologic past on yourjourney through the canyon. The prob-lems arising from over-damming the na-t ion's wild r ivers wil l also be explained.Your presence on the river removesthese problems from the realm of the ab-stract, to the glaring l ight of reality.

A few days into the tr ip , a small raft isunpacked and inf lated. Called the AvonAdventurer, i t 's just the t icket for thosefor whom rapid-running in the big raftshas now become old-hat. It will be hostto a full comp lement of volunteers for a llof the rapids except a few big cruncherslike Crystal Falls and Lava Falls, wherediscretion is definitely the better part ofvalor.

Drif t ing silent ly with the current, thestillness is a heady sensation. On suchoccasions, Ted Cochran, a cinematogra-pher from Palo Alto, California, wouldread to us from a copy of "W in d In TheWillows." I t seemed quite apropos. I t isthe proper atmosphere in which to gazeupon such handiworks of the Colorado asRoyal Arches and Redwall Cavern. As asculptor, the Colorado has few rivals.

History buffs are rewarded at several

ApproachingRoyal

Arches.spots along the route. Indian ruins atUnkar can be explored on shore, whileother evidences of their past can be seenup on the canyon walls, such as gran-aries, salt mines and the Anasazi bridge.You can also hike to the century-old

Hance Mine. Here is where Hancemined asbestos for a while under ratherarduous conditions. He finally gave it upand started guiding tourists into thecanyon in the 1880s.

A short cl imb into Nauti loid Canyon

EnteringSoap Creek R apids.Desert /August 1977 27


28/48

lets you inspect the fossilized remains ofNauti loids, tentacled marine animalswith spiral cone-shaped shells about twofeet long. Water running over thecanyon floor has polished the rock andexposed the fossils to view.

Left: Vasey'sParadise.Below: Cam p atdaybreak onthe 10th day.

Other side-hike highlights include:Elves Chasm, a narrow litt le canyonwith a lovely feathery falls and clearpool, after a short cl imb.

Deer Creek. Don't miss this one. Thefirst part of the trail is steep, and poison

ivy is present in places, but easily avoid-ed . The scenic awards are worth any ef-fort to attain. From the river, you can seeta l l , slender, lower Deer Creek Falls as itcascades from the sheer wall of thecanyon into a pool below. Above the fallscan be seen the deep narrow cut thewater has made over the eons. When youget to the top of the t ra i l , the serpentinenature of the cut unfolds before you inlabyrinthine splendor. Further along thetrail is another falls, then opening into averdant valley-l ike canyon. The view ofthe Colorado from the top of the trail isalso spellbinding.

',/' Kanab Canyon, the longest and moststrenuous hike of the trip. It 's not steep,as it follows along Kanab Creek, but it 'sseveral miles of climbing over piles ofboulders, through mud and wadingacross the creek many times. In short,long walk on wet feet. The payoff, otherthan the walk up the canyon itself, is ashort way up the first side-canyon to theright; some quiet pools and a wispy falls.A group of bigh orn sheep were also seenhere.

Havasu Ca nyon , the scenic apex of theentire tr ip . Webster w ould have to coin awhole new set of adjectives to do justiceto it. Only superlatives will do. The clearturquoise waters of Havasu Creek formone sublime pool and falls after another,each one beckoning you to explorefurther, every bend revealing anotherset in this crown jewel of canyons. Littlemore can be said; this one must be ex-perienced in person.

In addition to the bighorn sheep justmentioned, deer, wild burros (descen-dants of mining days in the canyon),ducks and great blue herons put in ap-pearances du ring the tr i p. The comic callof the canyon wren is constantly withyou. The notes start loud and quicklytaper off into nothing, as if someone hadtied his wings behind his back and thenbooted him off the rim of the canyon.Binoculars will be useful for observingthe wil dlife , but be sure to protect them,as well as any camera equipment, ade-quately from water damage. Big wavesfrom the rapids can shove water rightthrough things that would be quite suffi-cient against ra in . Surplus ammo boxesare good. They're available at Lee'sFerry if you can't f ind any locally.

The ult imate rapid comes during dayten; the legendary Lava Falls. There is ahole on the righ t side tha t has to be seen28 Desert/ August 1977


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to be appreciated. The deafening roarthat permeates your very marrow woulddo justice to a sound track for a Hawai-ian surf ing f i lm . The sense of power thatsight and sound convey is nothing shortof awe-inspir ing. We were aware thattwo rafts running that hole on the pre-vious tr ip were f l ipped by it . No casual-t ies, but something to think about. As atprevious rapids that command a highorder of respect, such as Crystal Fallsand Granite, the boatmen pull the raftsinto shore above the rapids and walkaround to reconnoiter. This is necessarydue to the fact that the nature of therap id, and therefore the safest waythrough it , changes with the water level.

We arrived in t ime to watch two raftsof the eight-day tr ip make their runs,both safely. The last raft even wentthrough the middle of the big hole withsnout r iders. Wrestl ing all igators in aphone booth must seem tame after that!Having picked their routes, our oarsmenheaded their rafts out into the current tobegin their runs. Marilyn picked thecautious path down the left side and hada relat ively uneventful passage.

Don, Bob and Al chose the thri l l-seek-er's express down the r ight, through thehole. As each would dive into the hole,there would be a terr i f ic WHUMP! asthe raft made contact with the wave,water exploding around the sides andthrough the frame. The nose would thenshoot up at a steep angle ("rocket" isr ight!), fol lowed by another resoundingroar as torrents of water from the crest-ing wave cascade down onto the raft,buffet ing people about in a convincingdisplay of raw power. Then it was overthe top to safety; the brown monstersof Lava Fall's hole (legendary riverdemons, concocted by the boatmen)would have to wait another turn at theirmischief.

We pick up a motor at Diam ond Creek(mile 225.6), because as we near LakeMe a d , the current becomes too sluggishto make any t ime. After dinner of thefinal evening, the four rafts are lashedtogether and the "f lo at -o ut " is under-way. We sleep on the rafts, drif t ing withthe current. In the morning, breakfast isalso served in mid-stre am, and the m otoris cut in for the last miles to P ierce Fe rry.

Here the canyon and river widen andflatten out, gradually becoming thedesert country surrounding Lake Mead.The eight-day tr ippers, who have been

Right: Exploringfossil remains in

Nautiloid Canyon.Below: Rafts from

trail to Hanceasbestos mine.

running close to us since breakfast,develop engine troub le, so we take themin tow.Before long, the shores of Pierce Ferry

come into view, with the ARTA truckswaiting to disassemble the rafts, and an

unforgettable adventure draws to aclose. The shuttle bus to Las Vegas car-ried a cargo of t i red, but happy "r iverr a t s , " all of whom will have quite ananswer nex t t ime someone asks ,"W her e 'd you goon vacat ion?"

Deser t /August 1977 29


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T FIRST glance the Southeasterndesert may seem to be only a vast

^expanse of desolation, all hot sand,jagged rocks and hostile plants. Thesand, flung by capricious gusts of desertw i nd , stings l ike so many tiny whips; therocks are unattractive; the desert plantsbristle with thorns and claws. But, inspite of all its drawbacks, the desert hasi t s o wn d i s t i n c t i ve ch a r m , a n d i t sblessings. One of the latter is the yucca.

The beauty of the yucca's bell-shapedand waxy-white, or cream-colored flow-ers, topping a tal l stem that r ises from arosette of vividly green spears, has

by VA DA CARLSONearned it the poetic title of "Candle ofth e L o r d . " Seen against a background ofblack lava rock, a stately yucca shakingout its pristine shower of loveliness is adramatic sight. The white flowers arefollowed by bright green seedpods thatsplit open in the fall to reveal tight rowsof flat black seeds for the wind to nudgeout into fl ight. The empty seed pods,pale brown with touches of black, areornamental in their natural state orsprayed silver or gold.

However, the yucca's greatest asset isits varied usefulness to man. Hundredsof years ago, when wandering bands ofIndians arrived in the desert countryseeking homes in this area which waslater to be included in the United Statesof America, they were dr iven by sternnecessity to search out advantages notreadily apparent. Perhaps they came inthe springtim e and the beauty and lavishflowering of the yuccas aroused theircuriosity. A veritable wealth of uses re-warded them. The root, they found,could be swished in cold water to pro-vide a r ich suds. In this emoll ient theycould wash their hair , their bodies, theirclothing and their utensils. The needle-30

sharp leaves of the plant's basal rosettewere edged with a tough fiber that couldbe pulled loose and used as thread. Theyellowish heart leaves could be sun-cured and transformed into baskets andp laques, use fu l in mov ing to newlocations.

In some localities the yucca plant iscalled "soa pw ee d" because of i ts root. Ithas many close relatives. About 30 spe-cies grow in an area from the sandhills ofNebraska to southern California, alwaysin arid regions. Included is the Spanishbayonet with its rapier sharp leaves. Itthrusts up a thick, pinkish stem two orthree feet high and develops a pyrami-dal cluster of lovely blooms. The agave,another relative, grows six or seven feetta l l and has outthrust "arms" wi th a"handfu l" o f ye l low to red f lowerets atthe tip of each. The sotol has a tall roughstem and a panicle of small f lowers.

Other more spectacular relatives arethe century plant and the maguey, aswell as the shaggy Joshua tree whichlimits most of its growth to an area of theMohave Desert reaching from Californiato Nevada. The Joshua tree has beennamed "Monarch of the Mohave," and

Desert/August 1977


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oLW,.,

Left: Pencilsketch byJoe Rodriquez.Sifter [belowleft] and plaque[below] both wovenfrom yuccamaterial.

" w o n d e r p l a n t o f t h e w o r l d . " A naverage-sized Joshua may, so someauthorities claim, be from 100 to 1,000years old. Its flowers appear in clustersat the tips of the branches. They aremuch like the less pretentious yucca, butlike the yucca can only be fertilized bythe yucca moth, which insures the fu-ture of the plants it fertilizes while se-curing an incubator for its own progeny.

\Y On ly the Pronuba, of all the in finitevariety of insects, is able to penetrate tothe heart of a yucca bloom. This frailf l u t t e r o f s i l ve r y wh i t e , w i t h t hesparkling black eyes in its tiny whiteface, f l i ts from f lower to f lower gatheringpollen in its tiny jaws. When it can carryno more it slithers into a yucca bloom,depos i t s the go lden gra ins on thebloom's sensitive ovary, then lays itseggs in the pollen. The pollen will serveas food for the grubs that will hatch fromthe moth's eggs.

The petals then fall f rom the fert i l izedflower and a green seedpod develops inits place. The grubs eat their fill of pollenthen eat their way through the thickgreen pulp of the growing seedpod andfall to the ground. There they burrow inDesert/August 1977

and rest while changing into a cater-pil lar and later emerging as a moth,which wil l be prepared to complete thecycle of fertilization of yucca blooms. Asmall round hole in the seedpod is thesole reminder of their former residence.

The maguey, seen often in Mexicothriving on old lava flows, is like thesandhill soapweed and the hardy Ari-zona yucca in its ability to strike downroots in most unlikely places. Its rosetteof gray green leaves is comparable to thecentury plant 's more colorful rosette,and both thrust up a powerful tall stem.The maguey serves the more primit iveMexican farmers by furnishing driedleaves for thatching roofs and makingfences, and the fiber in the big leavescan be extracted by pounding, scrapingwith a blunt in strumen t, or steaming.These strong fibers are used to makemats, sandals, ropes and other necessi-t ies. A readymade needle and thread canbe secured by making a cut near one ofthe sharp brown thorns that adorn thethick, wide leaves, and pulling it back sothat it takes with it a length of fiber fromthe leaf's exterior.

In addition to its other uses the ma-31

guey's tender white heart can be cookedand eaten as a vegetable. The basin re-maining after its removal f i l ls with aliquid that drains from the standingplant. It is called pulque and can be usedas a d r i nk , wh ich , f e rm en t e d , i sintoxicat ing.

To realize that the growth and flower-ing of these magnificent plants dependson the kind offices of the wispy yuccamoth is to acknowledge how amazinglythe Creator works to perpetuate Hiscreations.


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NO. 9 IN A SERIES ONCALIFORNIA PALM OASES

F ORTYNINE PALMS, protected wi th -in Joshua Tree National Monumentand reached only by t ra i l , has retain-ed its air of remoteness. From the townof Twentynine Palms drive west onHighway 62 to Canyon Road. Turn lefthere, following the road to its end at aNational Park Service parking area.From this point the trailone and one-half miles in len gth climbs a steepridge before dropping down to the knotof Washingtonias in Fortynine Palms.Canyon. Expansive views of the Bullionand Sheephole ranges, of FortyninePalms Canyon, and of the palms them-selves unfold as the pathway winds up

byDICKBLOOMQUIST

and over the rocky spur. Closer at hand,natural gardens of desert plants growamong the boulders. Hedgehog and bar-rel cacti, burrobush, creosote, jojoba,desert or squaw tea, yucca and brittle-bush all enliven the slopes here.

Once the oasis is reached, however,the scene changes abruptly, and dry,sunburned ridges give way to drippingspring s, deep pools and the dense shadeof palms and cottonwoods. Unlike Push-awalla, Andreas, Murray and other can-yons in which the trees are strung ou t forlong distances, this is a compact colonycentered on a rich supply of surfacewater. The trail passes 10 Washington-

Fortynine Palms Oasis. Photo from R andall Henderson collection.

ias on the grove's arid fr inge, then en-ters the heart of the oasis, where some45 palms rise above the springs andpools. The tallest trees are 30 to 35 feetin height.

Just beyond, 30 fire-scarred veteransaccompanied by over a dozen yo ungsterscrowd the lower slope of a steep hillforming part of the canyon wal l . Seenfrom afar, this cluster is especially color-ful and attract ive.

I counted 99 palms at the oasis, justover twice the number recorded in itsname. Like Twentynine Palms a fewmiles to the northeast, this stand ofWashingtonias is on the increase. At aneleva tion of 2800 feet, it is also one of theloftier groves in the desert.

Abundant water plays an importantpart in the appeal of Fortynine Palms.Springs and seeps feed various rivulets,which in turn fill calm, shady pools setamong the rocks on different levels. Iwatched water striders ply one palm-

Mileage Log0.0 Intersection of Twe ntynine PalmsHighway (Route 62) and AdobeRoad in town of Twentynine Palms.Drive west toward Los Angeles on62.3.9 Tur n left (south) on Canyon Road.5.1 Enter Joshua Tree National Mon u-ment.5.5 Road ends at parking lo t. From hereit is one and one-half miles by trailto the oasis. Elevation at palms 2800feet.and granite-bordered pool 15 feet long, 8feet wide and over 2 feet deep; now andthen a gentle breeze drifted cottonwoodleaves across its smooth surface. An-other basin was supplied drop by tink-ling drop from an upper level, and athird received a portion of its moisturefrom directly overhead. A cottonwoodtree had fallen over it, and water thathad seeped into the dead wood was drip -ping from the log's underside.

Mesquite, wi l low, arrow-weed, blad-der pod and catsclaw have also establish-ed themselves at Fortynine Palms. Ifound one pinyon pine cone washeddown by storms from a higher elevation.Hummingbirds hovered, house f inchessang, phainopeplas called, a frog croak-ed . The oasis overlooks part of the townof Twentynine Palms, but in its tranq uil-ity and undisturbed loveliness it seemsmany more miles removed from thebustle of modern life.32 Desert / August 1977


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Th equietoasis

in JoshuaTree

NationalMonument.

Photo byCraig

Fucile,Downey,

California.

A fraction of a mile southwest of thegrove is Single Palm Spring, elevation3550 feet. Although only one Washing-tonia grows here, it probably has the dis-t inction of being the highest native palmDesert/August 1977

in the California deserts. Dos Palmas inthe Santa Rosas is generally consideredthe loftiest outpost, but in reality itstands over 30 feet lower at an elevationof slightly under 3520 feet.

From Fortynine Palms we' ll be jour-neying northeastward into the deep des-ert. Our goal will be lit t le-known MopahSpr ing, remote oasis of the southernMojave.

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Supersaurus jenseni.[Human figureshown to scale.]Drawing by Al Look.

34 Deser t /Auaus t 1977


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by AL LOOK

S INOSAURS COME big in WesternColorado! During 75 years of search,three monsters have been dug fromantediluvian graves in the area betweenGrand Junction and Delta.

On July 4th, 1900, Dr. Elmer Riggs, ofthe Field Museum in Chicago, uneartheda petr i f ied dinosaur bone six feet, eightinches long, and some 150 million yearsold. A half-century later, two rock-hounds, Vivian and Eddie Jones, ofDelta, Utah, discovered a leg bone sevenfeet long. Then, in 1972, James Jensen,paleontologist of Brigham Young Uni-versity, led by the Jones', found evi-dence of a monster bigger than the pre-vious two.

"Dinosaur" J im Jensen's f ind is theleviathan of the animal world. He doesnot have a complete skeleton yet, but heis

197708 Desert Magazine 1977 August

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