Joshua Tree Back Roads, Part II
[The full text, with photos, can be found
on my travel site, Travels
to Distant
[Strick]Lands.]
After pigging out for breakfast Saturday
morning, it was time to hit the road. Or, more
accurately, it was time to leave it. Following our
fearless leader DanaMite, a group of us climbed
into three SUVs and began our offroad adventure on
Black Eagle Mine Road. The path first greeted us
with a staccato washboard vibration, but airing
down the tires to 20 psi smoothed out the ride
significantly (one of the benefits of having a
portable air compressor with which to fill the
tires back up afterward).
For me, this was a total escape. Admittedly one
of those annoying SUV drivers who never leaves the
pavement, I found myself alternately thrilled and
tense as the road got progressively rougher. But
shotgun rider Lory expertly guided me through the
toughest spots, imparting tidbits of technique. It
got hairy in a couple of spots, but my gray beast
stayed with the others till DanaMite herself dared
go no further.
Retracing our tracks through the rocks, washes
and trails, we gained asphalt again and drove
deeper into the park. At this point, we had still
caught no sight of a Joshua Tree. That would soon
change, however, as we made for Jumbo Rocks to do
some bouldering.
...to be continued......
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jury-rigging it to look right in a
soon-to-be-obsolete browser, I'll just add the
cliché "This site best viewed with Internet
Explorer."
©2003 Michael
Strickland ALL RIGHTS
RESERVED
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