Finally!
The heat broke and on Labor Day weekend no less! A Jeep trip to the Mojave National Preserve is definitely a great way to start the fall adventure season.
We (mostly hubby) pack enough provisions to last a few days, just in case...and head out for the first time in months for a day in the Mojave National Preserve. The part of the great Mojave, where Creosote meets Sage,Juniper and Pinyon Pine, and desert mountains reach towards the sky. Where the Mojave Desert shamelessly flirts with the Great Basin.
Our first stop is the Vistor's Center at Hole In The Wall. We like to collect the dated stamps so a stop is usually a must. We pick up a few odds and ends, including an NPS version of Yahtzee. Moose is the #5 and it's self-contained for easy traveling. Love a good Yahtzee game!
Still a little too early for lunch, we decide to head north on Black Rock Canyon Road to meet up with Cedar Canyon Road, a portion of the famous Mojave Road. Todays quest is to find some ancient petroglyphs off the Mojave Road. When we reach our intersection we take a break and air down the tires for a smoother ride.
While Mike takes care of business, I play around:-)
I am not a cactus expert by any stretch, but I think this is a Black-Spine Prickly Pear. Black-Spine Prickly Pear aren't native to the Mojave that I can find. It is on the side of the road...Very odd.
Back in the Jeep we are and down the road we go. I'm gazing longingly at the New York Mountains when all of a sudden we see 2 humans standing in the road. Asking us to stop. No...!!!!
Its a father and son who hiked out of the desert where their boat of a van is stuck in the sand. They were spending the long weekend hunting local Muleys with bow & arrow. They need help. We can't transport them far as we have no back seat and we are packed to the gills. Its decided the young boy will ride on the rack on the back and his father will stand on the bumper while we drive back to the stuck van and see what can be done. So much for our great adventure. At least we're in sage brush country now. All is not lost.
We only get a short distance before the father has to take a break. This isn't going to work. I talk Mike into dropping me off and letting the gentleman ride in the Jeep. Mike says no. I say yes. It's less than a mile to the stuck van. I win. Besides its just beautiful out here. The rabbit brush is ready to burst!
I would have walked the entire way, but it was easier to let Mike come back and get me. He isn't a fan of leaving his wife alone in the backcountry and out of sight. I enjoy a short walk and Mike returns to get me. My hero:-)
And the quest of extraction begins. Mike is always prepped for whatever we run across. It takes a while to access all necessary extraction implements as they're buried deep in the Jeep. I try to sit back and watch and stay quiet. This is man's work.
The gentleman had told us his van could go places our Jeep wouldn't think of going. Bold words...
The gentleman and his son dug a bit under the van to try and level out the sand. Mike ended up shoveling as well since the gentleman was spent from earlier efforts and hike, and the kid just wasn't interested in helping. Mike hooked up the van and started to back up the Jeep. Much to my surprise the van started to move. Ever so slowly the Jeep pulled it out of the sand.
As the van continued to back up, for some reason, the gentleman was staying up on the embankment and on track to run over all of the stuff Mike had set by the side of the road to empty the Jeep. Mike started yelling for the gentleman to stop, but to no avail. I jumped up SCREAMING and waving my hands. The gentleman finally heard me and came to a stop in the nick of time. Our stuff was spared.
As the van straightened out I let out a sigh of relief. The rescue mission would end quickly and we could be on our way. But then this happened:
For some reason, the gentleman thought he could back into the embankment and turn that boat around in the sandy road. If he wasn't stuck before he surely was now. Mike tried, but the angle was too much to overcome. The smell of burning Jeep clutch confirmed the end of the extraction. Not to waste any time, I quickly jumped up stating there was nothing left for us to do here. We let them know we would drive back to the Visitor's Center and inform the ranger of their plight. Mike made sure they had plenty of food and water before we left. They were VERY lucky it was an abnormally cool Labor Day weekend. The gentleman confirmed they were well stocked since they were camping. We would send help. It took a while for Mike to put the Jeep back together, but we finally made our escape.
Back at the Visitor's Center, Mike heads in to let the ranger know about the stranded father and son. I secure a shaded picnic table so we can enjoy lunch. By this time we were plenty hungry.
We bid goodbye to Hole In The Wall, wishing we were camping and staying the night. Not quite ready to go home, we head back up to Cedar Canyon Road (Mojave Road) and head west over to Kelso Cima Road. We meander across the preserve and back down to Kelbaker Road.
We go under I-40 and decide to stop at at the New Method Mine. We've passed it dozens of times and never took the time to check it out. Kind of a hairy ride up to the mine, but beautiful view from the top.
Marble Mountains - Home to trilobites!
What's a mine without broken glass? I think my favorite piece is the clear glass with 2 red ducks.
The sun is sinking further and further behind the mountains, so we make our way back home. Despite the hijacked day, we still made it up to the preserve. I made it up to sage brush country and felt that sense of peace and beauty that the preserve evokes.
Mike and I both agree it would have been a better day had we been able to rescue the father and son, but at least we were able to report their exact coordinates and send help.
It seems to be heating up again, but I know its only a short time now before the coolness of fall overtakes the heat of summer. We are off to a good start.
