I’m a dedicated trip planner/researcher.  So, I was a little surprised when I saw I would be going close to the Rainbow Basin Natural Area and knew nothing about.  I had to stop and explore, and I was happy I did.

And then I drove off to another pleasant site.  Nineteen million years old silt stone easily seen in the Calico Ghost Town parking lot as explained in the Roadside Geology of Southern California book.

But not all explorations end with a happy surprises.  Reading the Roadside Geology book I decided to go see Afton Canyon.  Immediately after driving past the BLM Afton Canyon campground I saw that I would have to ford the Mojave River.  At this time of year, it was a river not a small creek.  Hum.  I sat there awhile hoping that someone would come and drive across so I could see if it was safe for me to cross.  No luck.  So, being cautious, I turned around and headed to the campground.  Not a disaster, but there was nowhere to walk that afternoon, having the river on one side of the campground and the canyon cliff on the other side. I sat and read a book. 

Moving on I saw I would be close to the Mojave National Preserve.  I was undecided about exploring the Mojave.  When researching the place, I wasn’t finding much to see that I was interested in.  Then I decided – just go.  So I started the two hour drive to Hole In The Wall campground.  This turned out to be less than a good decision.  I knew the weather forecast was for cold and windy weather, but I’m tough (?) and with heat and shelter.  After arriving, I started exploring.  I ended up wearing a sweater, fleece vest, coat, wool hat, and mittens.  It was in the low forties and the wind made it biting cold.  There was some interesting rocks, but I had a hard time enjoying them.  In the morning I just wanted to leave.  It was still windy and cold.   I shouldn’t have spent the time driving in, I should have just found a place to hunker down for a day and read a book.

Enjoying history, I love exploring places that people use to inhabit.  Eastward, I had spied an abandoned mill on Google.  What a surprise.  It wasn’t anything I expected.