Justrite Prospect and Desert Bighorns - Mojave National Preserve
Cloudy, cold and gloomy weather ahead of an approaching series of storms caused us to think twice about this trip. Still, what's a bit of bad weather compared to the excitement of exploring a new site? So, here we are, crawling down the west side of the Old Dad mountains and headed toward what we'll call the Justrite Prospect. Actually, the initial names of the claim filed in 1917 by Charles Reat and Julius Meyers were the Big Horne and Little Horne. Later, in the 1940's-1950's, Reat, Myers and M. W. Redhead relocated these mines under the name of the Bighorn (Justrite) Prospects. These were silver claims that also produced a bit of gold and lead. They were never major producers, but our Eastern Mojave guru, Le Hayes, mentioned that there were still some remains left high up in the canyon. Of course, ever since then, our curiosity has been in overdrive! So, gloomy weather or not, we're finally going to get a look at the site today!
Since the Old Dad Mountains also happen to have a thriving herd of bighorn sheep, we've lugged along our Reconyx wildlife camera and are thinking about setting it up overnight near a spring or guzzler to see if we can capture any images of these reclusive animals. A couple of hikes to check out the spectacular scenery in this part of the Mojave National Preserve seem like a good idea as well. If you'd like to join us for this virtual adventure, then fix up a Thermos of hot coffee, lash a warm jacket to your mouse, and click on the photo links below!