Joshua Tree Petroglyphs and Wonderland Ranch

I woke up to a beautiful sunny morning and drove back to the Wall Street Mill trailhead. Wall Street Mill, considered the best-preserved gold mill in Joshua Tree National Park, once processed ore extracted from the nearby Desert Queen Mine.

Near the beginning of the trail lay the ruins of Wonderland Ranch. Not much is known about the history of the place, except that it was built by the Ohlson family, who came to the area in search of gold.

  

Vandalism of the old old structure

The trail to Wall Street Mill was not very clearly distinguishable from the many unofficial trails that intersected it. I lost track of it and wandered around for a while enjoying the beauty of my surroundings. Due to the mineral composition of the rocks in the area, erosion had caused some neat formations.

It was a very hot day, and fortunately I brought plenty of water. I climbed some steep rocky hills and looked out over the rough desert landscape.

On the way back to my car I stopped to see some ancient petroglyphs left by Native Americans. Apparently there had been vandalism and some of the glyphs had been traced over with paint.

I never ended up finding Wall Street Mill, but I didn't mind too much. Wonderland Ranch and the petroglyphs were unexpected treats and I had a good three hours of hiking.

It was time to hit the road again. With the windows down and a cool wind against my face, I said goodbye to Joshua Tree. As soon as my cell phone had reception, I pulled over to the side of the road and called my better half to tell him how much I missed him.

I made a quick stop in the military town of Twentynine Palms to refuel and grab lunch, and then headed down a long desolate road toward the ghost town of Amboy.

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