The case of the re-appearing lake

It's baaaack!

March 19, 2010 | Faithful readers will recall that when we went to Joshua Tree last August to visit the lake that Réal had seen, we found nothing but a dry lakebed. Considering that there was quite a bit of rainfall this winter, we went back on Sunday to see if the lake was there.

The park was full of people and, in fact, we were lucky to spot a car leaving the Barker Dam parking lot on our second circuit of the lot. It was a beautiful day — crisp, clear blue skies, nice warm temperatures. A perfect day for a walk.

Réal is vindicated. Not only is the lake full of water, the no-swimming sign from last year's visit is under water!

Somewhat surprisingly, to us, there were no wildflowers to be seen, although a few of the Joshua trees were blooming. It may have something to do with the rains having all been clustered together rather than spread out over a longer period of time — or not. You never know with Mother Nature. She has a mind of her own.

Alas, the bighorn sheep we saw last August were nowhere to be seen as well. That's not surprising since sighting them is such a rare thing anyway, and with so many people tramping through the area, they were doubtless off in seclusion somewhere.

But, there was plenty of other life to be observed.

Last updated on Apr 13, 2018