Day 2: Sunrise Over Joshua Tree
Wow.  That was definitely worth losing a couple of hours sleep for.   I'd set the alarm for just after 6am, and so rose before the dawn, so that I could enjoy the incredible sunrise and the Disney-esque volume of wildlife that had been promised by Cary, the owner, to emerge.

Watership Down redux

As it was early, there was still a bit of a chill in the air so I sat outside and cradled my mug of tea and wrapped myself in a thick, wool blanket to keep warm.  Gazing out across the incredible landscape, it was absolutely perfect - so still and hushed, with the only sound to disturb my early morning reverie that of nature beginning to stir.

As i sat quietly in the backyard, the animals and birds started to emerge.  First, the rabbits.  Lots of them.  No need to wonder what they get up to during those long cold, desert evenings.  They were then joined by a chirruping chorus of quail who looked very cute but sounded even more adorable.  Their little chirps and gurgles and peeps were both endearing and relaxing to listen too - enough to make me feel a slight twinge of guilt the next time I chow down on one in a restaurant.   Then the squirrels and chipmunks descended and they were ridiculously cute as well - certainly a lot more personable than the bruiser urban squirrels we used to get in Manhattan!

Bunnies!!  Everywhere!

By this time, I'd been joined by Lori and Karen and we spent a very amiable and relaxed couple of hours, just sitting out the back, watching the sun come up over the hills and enjoying feeling its warmth, rather than roasting in its mid-day heat!!   Following the quails, there were a myriad of other feathered friends who came to chow down on the bird seed we'd laid out for them, including some stunning blue mountain jays.

There's nothing quite

like that first cuppa joe...

We all got some great pictures of the light playing across the landscape and dousing the various cactus bushes and Joshua tree bristles with a fabulous luminous golden glow.   Beautiful.  And - for a very exciting couple of moments, Karen spotted some movement about 50 m out, into the scrub - and, lo and behold, there was a coyote, padding past our bungalow!  Unfortunately I didn't manage to get any pictures as it was too far away and partially hidden in the undergrowth, but it was great to see one - and also explained why all the rabbits had scarpered a few minutes earlier!

Good friends, good coffee and a perfect sunrise = contentment

Early morning sunshine bathing everything
 in a golden, warm glow

Channeling The Pioneer Spirit at Keys Ranch
Anyway, after our Bunny, Squirrel and Quail LoveFest, it was time to get ready for a full day of taking in the sights and exploring the park.  As I mentioned in my previous post, we were in a perfect location for access to the park, as we were only a 10 min drive from the West Entrance to the park.  Very convenient!  When I'd spoken to Cary, the owner, earlier on in the week to confirm the final details etc, he gave me some recommendations for things to do and see in the park and - one of the activities he strongly recommended - was a tour of Keys Ranch, an old ranch founded by some of the earliest settlers and pioneers of the West.   You had to book the tour with the NPS, with a ranger as your guide, so I took his advice and booked us all in for the 9am - 11.30am tour, bright and early on Saturday morning.  As it happened, it was a very good call to go that early because, despite having to get on the road by 8am, by the time the tour finished just before midday, the temperatures were already starting to climb, so having to do that tour in the full heat of the day would have been somewhat unpleasant.

Anyway, it was an easy drive into the park and to find where we were due to meet the ranger.  I'd allowed plenty of time, so we didnt have to rush and that was another good call because, almost as soon as we'd driven through the Park entrance, the scenery was out. of. control.  Goodness knows how I didn't manage to drive us all off the side of road, as i was trying to concentrate on driving whilst simultaneously being awestruck by how insanely beautiful and weird the view was.  We kept stopping every few minutes to take pictures and, in places, it felt a bit like when I visited the Grand Canyon - the scale of it and the immense beauty was sometimes just too much for your little brain to process so you ended up just staring, in mute wonderment.

First glimpse of the park, proper.  Wow.  Those are some crazy assed piles of rocks.

So - as a quick side note before we progress on to Keys Ranch, you might be wondering how the Joshua Trees got their name.  Here's the skinny from Wikipedia:

The name Joshua tree was given by a group of Mormon settlers who crossed the Mojave Desert in the mid-19th century. The tree's unique shape reminded them of a Biblical story in which Joshua reaches his hands up to the sky in prayer. Ranchers and miners who were contemporary with the Mormon immigrants also took advantage of the Joshua tree, using the trunks and branches as fencing and for fuel for ore-processing steam engines. It is also called izote de desierto.^[9] It was first formally described in the botanical literature asYucca brevifolia by George Engelmann in 1871 as part of the Geological Exploration of the Fortieth Parallel.^[10]

Hmmm.... sounds a bit fishy if you ask me.  Now, as to why U2 named one of their albums after it, god (or should that be Jeremiah Wright?) only knows, but I think drugs and pretension may definitely have been involved....

Anyway, back to Keys Ranch.  The story here describes the inventiveness and tenacity of a single pioneer family, that of the legendary Bill Keys.  He arrived in the park in 1910 and spent pretty much the rest of his life there, living there with his wife and eventual family (they had 5 children, but 2 of them died only 5 days after birth).  The tour took us round the old farmstead and outbuildings and really focused on how creative this guy had been in terms of re-using and re-purposing old bits of machinery and spare parts to fashion whatever he and his family needed to survive.  There was no plumbing, no electricity and the nearest town was a two-day wagon ride away.  They were physically separated from much of the outside world and survived almost entirely on local resources.  Here's what Wikipedia says about him and his ranch:

The Keys Ranch is the prime example of early settlement in the Joshua Tree National Park area. Bill Keys was the area's leading character, and his ranch is a symbol of the resourcefulness of early settlers. The ranch is an extensive complex of small frame buildings built between 1910 and Keys' death in 1969. Keys pursued both ranching and mining to make a living in the desert.^[2]

William F. Keys was born at Palisade, Nebraska in 1879. After working as a ranch hand and smelter worker, he was a deputy sheriff in Mohave County, Arizona. During a time in Death Valley, he befriended Death Valley Scotty, becoming involved in a swindle that resulted in the so-called "Battle of Wingate Pass". He arrived in the Twentynine Palms, California area in 1910. In the area that became Joshua Tree National Park, he became acquainted with local outlaw and cattle rustler Jim McHaney, taking care of him in declining health. Keys eventually took over McHaney's properties after McHaney's death, gradually expanding what became the Desert Queen, its name borrowed from the nearby Desert Queen Mine.^[3]

Keys married Francis M. Lawton in 1918, and they had seven children together, three of whom died and were buried at the ranch. During a dispute over the Wall Street Mill, Keys shot and killed Worth Bagley. Keys was convicted of murder and went to San Quentin Prison, where Keys educated himself in the library. Keys was paroled in 1950 and was pardoned in 1956 through the efforts of Erle Stanley Gardner, author of the Perry Mason novels.^[3]

Mining equipment at the ranch includes an arrastra and a stamp mill for ore processing. Other buildings include an adobe barn, a schoolhouse, a tack shed, machine shed, cemetery and a variety of houses and cabins.^[3]

Keys Ranch

The height of automotive sophistication back in the 20's

Yep.  Shortly afterwards, shortened to simply "Ford"

Hitch up yer wagons!

It was really fascinating, especially being able to look inside the ranch house and see everything just as it had been left back in the 60's, when Bill had died.  We weren't actually allowed into the house for fear of Hantavirus (HA!  Hantavirus SURVIVOR right here!!) but also because they obviously wanted to preserve its history and character without thousands of tourist boots tramping through it.  But we had a good poke round all the outbuildings, the schoolhouses he built, plus the dam, the well and all the various odds and sods strewn about that formed Bill Key's version of the Home Depot.  The tour took just over two hours and it was fascinating but, by the end of it, i was done and ready for a restorative cup of tea and a sit-down.  So with that, and after thanking our ranger guide, it was time to climb back into the car and head off for our next adventure....

To be continued....