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no feed and were threatening to leave us cold. I suspect that after they saw
that we could carry our packs, they said to one another, "Let's beat it and let
these gringos carry their own stuff back. What do they think we are,
anyway!" Our route back was by way of La Grulla, a lovely dark green, boulder-strewn meadow. This part of the plateau gets more moisture as evidenced by several streams that really flowed. |
We saw
deer and a coyote. Bill Barré, the packer, complained that to go all the
way to the Oak pasture that day was too hard on the mules! But the mules got no
sympathy and an hour or so after dark we were unscrambling our rations at the
Oak pasture in an effort to get a meal by flashlight We had left the forest behind, that wonderful oasis in a desert land. An American lumber company has secured the rights to log out this forest. |
They estimate it will take 50 years to get it all out. This forest
grew here during a past when there was much more water than there now is.
Natural reproduction is at a low ebb, especially at the southern limit.
According to present indications, the forest may never grow back. On our way back to the ranch on Saturday we encountered our only rattlesnake, a fat, light brown beauty. He kept the sound effects going while a dozen people photographed him. He never attempted to strike. I think we were so steeped in the friendly atmosphere of his own domain, that he didn't fear us. Nobody had the urge to bash his head in. We merely scratched the surface of this fine potential vacation land. Ours was a scouting of the possibilities and we learned enough to know that we want to go back some day soon, and in a leisurely fashion enjoy the superb scenery, explore the Canyon Diablo and climb El Picacho del Diablo . . . . Vandals Apprehended... Two residents of Palm Springs. California, were recently apprehended in the act of removing plants from the Joshua Tree National Monument. They were taken before the United States commissioner in Riverside and fined $100 each. Superintendent Frank R. Givens warns visitors against damaging any natural features in the Park. Soil, dead wood, rocks and Indian artifacts are among the things on the taboo list.-Desert Trail. |
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