“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.
Ruth Camp is an interesting ghosttown, located approximately 14 miles north of Trona in the Argus Mountain Range. There are a good number of fairly well-preserved buildings that I was able to poke around in, which date from the late 1930s. Most have been vandalized over the years and the contents pretty much trashed, but it was still fun checking them out.
Read More"PC" for Post Card. I've got a lot of old postcards from the deserts of California and thought I might share a few of them here.
Read MoreThe Tufa Towers at Mono Lake, another place I'd always wanted to visit after seeing them on an episode of Huell Howser's California Gold. Click HERE to see the episode that inspired me to visit Mono Lake. While I didn't have a Ranger-guided tour as Huell did, I enjoyed exploring the lake at a couple different spots on two different days.
Read MoreEstablished in the early 1860s, Benton was born with the discovery of silver in the nearby Blind Springs Hills and White Mountains. Also known as Benton Hot Springs, the town thrived for a few short years. As is the tale with many mining towns, when the precious ore gave out, so did the town. Folks moved away and buildings were left for nature to reclaim.
Read MoreThe best laid plans are often subject to the weather. I had planned on hiking the one-mile loop trail to Heart Lake in Mammoth, and also to wander around the remaining buildings of the Mammoth Consolidated Gold Mine which are right near by. It snowed the day prior to my arrival, but I was still able to make it to the Coldwater campground parking lot which also served as the trailhead to both of the places I wanted to visit. Fortunately, the old buildings from the mining camp are located quite close to the parking area, so I was able to visit those without too much difficulty. And while I did attempt the trail to the lake, the snow on the ground effectively hid the trail (and it was cold!); that hike will have to wait for another day.
Read MoreI had just left the neat little ghost town of Ruth's Camp and was heading north on the Trona Wildrose Road. My plan was to stop at Ballarat and then continue north, connecting with CSR 190 and thence to Lone Pine to spend the night. I made it as far as Ballarat, where I discovered that the road ahead was closed due to being washed out during the most recent flash floods. Ballarat now had my full attention.
Read MoreThe town of Bullfrog, Nevada got its start soon after “Shorty” Harris discovered gold nearby in 1904. A year later Bullfrog was hopping and some 1,000 residents called the place home. The town boasted a three-story hotel, general store, bank, jail, post office, lodging house, icehouse and a number of other businesses and homes. Empty lots on main street were priced at $1,500. Gunfights were not uncommon, sometimes fatally so. The west was still wild.
Read MoreFall colors in the Eastern Sierras. Beautiful country and lots of territory to explore. I'll be heading back again next year.
Read MoreAs I was driving up to Dante’s View, I pulled into the parking area for Zabriskie Point. A short hike later and I was looking at one of the most impressive and starkly beautiful views in Death Valley. Spread out before me was a maze of wildly eroded and multi-colored badlands. Off to the northwest, Manly Beacon reached for the sky. White salt flats shone on the valley floor in the distance. A few steps in the wrong direction and I would be swallowed up by Gower Gulch. I jumped over the wall anyway to get as close to the edge as possible, to see what I could find.
Read More
I’d seen pictures of the Wildrose Charcoal Kilns in Death Valley many years ago and had put them on my list of places to visit. Unfortunately, the time between adding them to my ever-growing list and then actually making the trek to see them was a good number of years. But when something turns out to be even more impressive that you thought it would, it more than makes up for the wait. And that was the case with these crazy dome things out in the wilderness of Death Valley.
Read More
A great "Greetings From" Linen postcard, circa late 1930s. Deco'd edge, bright colors "Greetings from Death Valley."
Read MoreDid you know that Owens Lake was once a 110-square-mile lake, estimated at being over 1,000,000 years old? Or that it used to have a vibrant ecosystem that supported expansive bird and plant habitats? I didn’t. I really didn’t even know for sure what that big hunk of dry lakebed was that I’d pass by while driving along Hwy 395. But this last time I was in the area, I stopped at an informative overlook and took some pictures. And the next day as I was driving to Death Valley from Lone Pine along 136, I turned off one of the roads that led down to the lake for to get a closer look.
Read MoreIt’s a little creepy exploring the abandoned buildings; there wasn’t much traffic on the highway and I pretty much had the place to myself (although there is a tale of a young man who was gunned down here in the 1950s, maybe his ghost is still looking for trouble). All of the buildings are badly damaged and filled with debris, and many have some interesting grafitti. Images of The Walking Dead may have flashed through my imagination as I explored and took pictures, but I won’t admit to it in public.
Read MoreSwansea, Cal. was founded in 1870 by James Brady, who had recently assumed operation of the Owens Lake Silver-Lead furnace and mill. Located on the eastern shore of Owens Lake, Swansea reportedly had a population of 2,200 at its peak. The main reason for its existence was to house workers from the nearby silver mining operations and those who were operating the smelting works.
Read MoreI imagine there are probably hundreds of unmarked graves in the Mojave Desert, the final resting places of prospectors and others who traveled across the sands in search of their golden dreams.
Read MoreThis old homestead is located on Hwy 247 just a short distance north of Lucerne Valley. I had just tracked down the King Clone Creosote and was on my way to Barstow when I spotted someone taking pictures of several abandoned buildings on the opposite side of the road. This place called to me and I had to stop to take some pictures. Something draws me to these places and I often wonder what stories the old places could tell.
Read MoreI was in Nevada, driving south on I-95, probably about an hour north of Las Vegas, when I passed one of those big Nevada State Historic Signs. I caught the words “test site” as I was speeding by and when I realized what it was referring to, I headed back to get a closer look.
Read MoreI was driving west on Route 58, out of Barstow, heading to I-395 and points north. My first stop of the day was going to be the abandoned Boron Air Force Station/Federal Prison Camp located a few miles north of Kramer Junction. As I'm speeding along, eating a cookie, I spot some old stone walls out in the middle of the desert. I passed by too quickly to be able to stop, so I continued up the road until I could turn around and go back to investigate.
Read MoreI’d seen the sign for Convict Lake numerous times while driving by on Hwy 395, but this trip was the time I would turn off the highway and check it out. I’m glad I did. It’s only two miles from the highway, but once you get there it’s like being in another world. You’ve got the Mojave Desert type of terrain along 395, but two miles later you’re next to a 170-acre lake nestled in the aspens of Convict Canyon, with the towering peak of Mount Morrison stretching skywards above you. What a dramatic change in view in just two miles.
Read MoreCrowley Lake is located about 15 miles south of Mammoth Lakes. There’s a nice viewpoint right alongside Hwy 395, I stopped to stretch my legs and take a couple photos.
Read MoreJoshua Tree National Park, the California Gold Country, forgotten places in the Mojave Desert. These are a few of my favorite things.
