Barker Dam/Wall Street Mill/Split Rock Hikes

Tonight is dancing night at 29 Palms Desert Resort, so today we wanted to do some desert walking, but stick to easy trails so we could dance.  What we decided to do were three of the tourist hikes in the area (short, flat walks to places with names).

Our first walk was to Barker Dam.  We thought it would be neat to see a body of water.

Well, you Global Warming Deniers, there is no water.  Talked to a Ranger who said it had been drying up for a few years. 

On this walk we went by some Petroglyphs.  Here is the sign at them:

We found out later that until a few months ago the sign said that the defacing was done by Disney in the 1950s for a movie it filmed.  Disney apparently denied doing this, so eventually the sign was changed.

The Wall Street Mill hike was interesting.   On the way we found the remains of the Wonderland Ranch.  Pink?  

 

 

And the stone tablet that Bill Keys erected to celebrate killing someone.  He went to prison for a few years for it, but in the 1950s version of the Innocent Project, Earl Stanley Gardner (of Perry Mason fame) apparently helped get him exonerated.  Goes to show you once again that it’s who you know.    

 

But what kind of person would erect something like this if indeed he killed the guy in self defense? 

Our final hike was the Split Rock Loop.  It is a nice 2-mile, easy trail though a lot of the rocks that Joshua Tree National Forest is famous for.  If you want a nice walk, this is it.  The trail is well marked and never too steep. 

So, for our rest day we hiked 7.7 miles. 

Later:  The dance was fun.  Lots of people remembered us from last year.  The band said they enjoyed watching us.  If you need a place to stay around Joshua Tree, we can recommend the 29 Palms resort.  We have found them to be a friendly group.