“It’s alive and waiting for you. Ready to kill you if you go too far. The sun will get you, or the cold at night. A thousand ways the desert can kill”
The Mojave is a desert of wind, temperature extremes, Joshua Trees and solitude. When most people hear the word ‘desert,’ images of tumbleweeds, rattlesnakes and bleak desolation typically come to mind. In reality, the Mojave is anything but a wasteland. Amongst the sand and sagebrush lie many places of beauty and wonder, and of historic importance. Some are the result of time and the elements, some are the result of man and his efforts to live in the Mojave, both in recent and prehistoric times. Let’s go see what we can find.
Let me just say, if you happen to like fireworks that you can't buy in some states, Moriarty, New Mexico is a great place to visit. Not that I am encouraging the transportation of fireworks over state lines. Those who know me, know I would <ahem> never suggest that.
Read MoreI spun off I-40 at exit 96 to see if I could find the old Whiting Bros. Gas Station. I’d seen some pictures of it and knew it wasn’t too far out of the way. Exit 96 is also the exit to use to get to McCartys, a small town that originated from a farming and trading community on the Acoma Indian reservation. It was later named McCarty after a railroad contractor who had his camp in the area during the 1880s.
Read MoreOne of the coolest things about my epic "Adios, I’m going to Texas” roadtrip was that I never knew what I was going to find when I turned off the interstate and explored the small towns along old Route 66. Holbrook was no exception. Born during the early 1880s as a railroad town and named after the first engineer of the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad, Holbrook was a true wild west town for many years (Pleasant Valley War). It was also a busy place during the heyday of Route 66 and I saw a lot of history from that time period when I visited: Teepees/Wigwams, vintage cars, dinosaurs, petrified wood, old and quirky with new and modern, abandoned buildings/restored buildings and always interesting people. Had time permitted, I could have probably spent an entire day, rather than only an hour or two, in most of the places I visited along the way.
Read MoreRoute 66 is still Main Street in Seligman, Arizona. Reminders of the glory days of the old road are scattered on each side of the highway. Vintage motels, souvenir shops, restaurants and gas stations give a glimpse to the past and many of them are still in use today.
Read MoreAfter surviving some great hairpin turns and the descent from Sitgreaves pass and through the Black Mountains, the valley opened up and the driving was easy. It was still early morning on Day Two of my “Goodbye God, I’m going to Texas” roadtrip. I had left Oatman and the burros behind and driven through Goldroad, which is once again an active mining area. There were some spectacular views from Sitgreaves Pass but the view before me was pretty cool as well, with one of those Arizona-type of pokey mountains up ahead. My next stop would be Cool Springs, AZ.
Read MoreThe Summit Inn dates back to 1928. It was originally located at the summit of the Cajon Pass, between the eastbound and westbound lanes of U.S. Route 66. When that route was realigned along a lower elevation in the early 1950s, the Summit Inn relocated to its current location.
Read MoreJoshua Tree National Park, the California Gold Country, forgotten places in the Mojave Desert. These are a few of my favorite things.
