The Car Wash

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The Car Wash

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 seemed to stand 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. 

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Mission, Sunrise & Gold Rose Wells

/ Old Dale Road/
Mission, Sunrise & Gold Rose Wells

I was heading north on the Old Dale Road, into the hotter, drier Colorado desert portion of J Tree. There are no Joshua Trees here, nor Pinyon Pines but the Old Dale Road leads to an abundance of mining history in both the Dale and the Monte Negras mining districts. My goal for the afternoon was to try to find three wells - once important water sources for the mines and the people who traveled the area.

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Black Butte Mine

/ Black Butte Mine/
Black Butte Mine

Who discovered the Black Butte Mine? How much gold did it produce? When was it in operation? Was it once known as the Gold Tiger Mine? Where was the mining camp? Unfortunately, no one really knows for sure as no early records have been found that would answer these questions.

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Golden Bee Mine

/ Golden Bee Mine/
Golden Bee Mine

Half a mile west of the Cholla Cactus Garden, there are two small hills on the south side of Pinto Basin Road. That fact, in and of itself, is not really a big deal as there are small hills all over J Tree. These two hills deserve mention however, because they serve as a great landmark for the trail/mine road that leads up into the Hexie Mountains and the Golden Bee Mine.

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Mission Mill

/ Mission Mill/
Mission Mill

It seems amazing to me that an operation as large as the Mission Mill evidently was, can have so little information concerning its owners and operation to be found. But I'll bet the information is out there somewhere, I just haven't looked in all the right places yet.

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