A Volcano in the Desert

"See that little "volcano" over there?" said our friend Cam.  "I've been to Ironwood Camp nine times, and I've never been there." 

Terry is happy for a challenge anytime, so we made plans to hike to it on one of our days off.
The camp is in the Mojave Desert, and apart from the tamarisk (salt cedar) trees and some mesquite bushes in the dry wash, or riverbed, there's not much green to be seen. It's real desert, a wonderful setting for a camp with a Wild West theme.
We had to walk around the little swimming lake, and work our way through the bushes to get to the other side of the wash. The terrain changed; sharp rocks littered the ground.

A sampling of the rocks

We carefully picked our way uphill , a gentle slope, and in half an hour stood at the base of the volcano.  Of course it wasn't really a volcano, but the rocks were volcanic. Climbing it meant grasping rocks for a firm handhold, and stepping onto little recesses and projections until we reached a place for a good view.

Terry stood and took pictures from the peak, I enjoyed sitting there, while Cam thought the lower shoulders were just fine for him, thank you very much.

As  I sat, I thought of Moses looking across at the Promised Land from the peak of Mount Nebo. He could see the city of Jericho, but he could not enter the Land because of his earlier disobedience. The Lord said Moses would die there on the mountain, while the second generation of Israelites would go in and conquer the Land and enjoy its blessings, the Land flowing with milk and honey.


On our way down I just had to lie down in this little overhang, wondering if Moses found a similar spot to take his final breath. 

Further down, as we came down a different way than our ascent, we spied dead branches littering the ground.  What could they be? Oh! A nest up there. 

Terry clambered up, but couldn't cross the chasm to see into it.  "It was probably a raven's nest," he said.  Small bones lay on the ground below.

Have you heard of springs in the desert? Here's one.

It had rained the day before, and by the time we were back at camp two hours later, I had shed the  jacket I thought I'd needed. The day turned out to be sunny, but not as hot as it had been the previous week.