A Little Discovery Hike at Live Oak

Margie and I took a fun hike down the wash at Live Oak Picnic Area the other day. We started at the famous and rare Live Oak at the head of the wash and headed South. The first thing we ran in to was one of the stone walls built by the early cattleman to capture water in the wash. A little further on we found another cement 'tank' wall. When we turned around to look, we realized that would have captured a large body of water at one time. We went around to the front and saw where the original rock wall had several feet of cement added to improve water capture. Nearby, looking down from the rocks, we saw the rock tailings of an old mine shaft. You can just imagine the weather in those days was quite different, more rain and snow than at present. In this series, I tried to visualize the area as an early photographer working with 'wet glass' plates (complete with streaks, and dust spots) might have seen it. This is an easy and informative hike not to be missed.