Singing Songs of Sixpence (in the Rain)

We went camping in Joshua Tree last weekend, and I know what you're thinking: "The desert is so 70s, but not really in a cool way."

The last of the singing cowboy/burglars

I'm not really a desert-y kind of person myself, mostly because I don't like dryness and heat. I'm more of the cold 'n' damp sort, truth be told, but it's actually pretty cool in Joshua Tree this time of year. It was a really fun and "cowboy" locale in which to camp. There are all these crazy, giant, smooth rock formations that look vaguely man-made. The campgrounds are set up so that you camp right next to the giant rock formations, and it's like having your own personal little mountain thing.

One day, on a whim, we found ourselves on a four mile hike to an abandoned mine. It was nearing dark, and we kept doing math to try to figure out if we were going to be stuck out there after dark, and unavoidably, eaten by coyotes.

We kept passing people walking back from the direction of the mine, and we'd ask them if they'd made it. At first, everyone kept saying things like, "Oh, no, that trail's really rocky, and it's all uphill," and, "We felt like we were just walking forever." The trail was really rocky, and at times, it was difficult to know whether we were even on the trail or getting hopelessly lost.

Finally, after a certain point, every person we asked had made it to the mine, and they all were really encouraging and excited. They said things like, "You're almost there, it's just around that bend," and, "You'll see it once you get up over that ridge." In retrospect, I'm not even sure that the people were using the terms "Ridge" and "Bend" correctly.
We finally made it to the mine, which was a really fun and wholesome thing to have done. I figured on the way back, other mine-seekers would ask us if we'd made it to the mine, and I decided that I'd tell them, "Nah. We got about ten feet away and said, 'Screw it.'"