Photo Essay: Abandoned Mine, Off 29 Palms Hwy

Out in the desert, while you're driving down a desolate highway or hiking amidst the boulders, it's hard to tell if what you see is really something.


You might see a rusty old can, and it could just be trash, or it could be a historic relic from an old mine.




Last week, I was driving east down Twentynine Palms Highway, out of Twentynine Palms towards Iron Age Road, eventually on my way to Wonder Valley - the epitome of confusion between "Is that an abandoned historic homestead?" and "Is that some shack somebody's actually living in?" - when I spotted something which was certainly something on the south side of the highway.

I pulled over and, afraid that my tires would get stuck in the sandy pass, hiked up to take a closer look.



This is in an area north of the Joshua Tree National Park boundary, so with no protection, of course the site shows some graffiti.



However, it's surprisingly in tact for how exposed it is.













This whole area was once full of mines - not just within what is known as the national park. This mine was probably part of Old Dale ghost town but I had a hard time researching to identify it exactly.

Anybody know?

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