The Car Wash

Trek Date: July 4th, 2014

Every once in a great while, during a hike out in J Tree, I'll run across something that makes me stop and say "ay carumba," and wonder if I'm hallucinating. Such was the case recently. It was July 4th, the blazing sun stood motionless above me as I wove my way through creosote bushes and plodded through scorching Pinto Wash sand. I think I had actually found nowhere. It was incredibly hot, and at one point, I swear I heard the ghost of Matt Riley urging me to return to old Blue before it was too late. "You'll never make it to Cottonwood," he whispered. I was far from my truck, there was no shade, but I continued on. I was playing a hunch and wasn't about to give up. Were those bones I just walked past? Probably not. I hiked on...

and then...

I stopped dead in my tracks and just stared, as time slowly crumbled and everything came into focus. It was true, the spot really does exist. I had found the fabled "Car Wash" of Joshua Tree. And I have the pictures to prove it.

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