Well, a friend of ours we haven't seen in a couple years wanted to celebrate his birthday out camping. He recently picked up a Toyota truck and has shared interest in getting into overlanding. So I figured what better time to head out and explore some desert country close to home. Lucerne Valley is located in the Mojave Desert only about 2 hours from LA and is 20 miles north of Big Bear on the backside of the mountains. Lucerne was settled in the early 1900s by James Goulding and his family who used the area to raise alfalfa. Lucerne is another name for Alfalfa. I've lived in SoCal my whole life and have visited Lucerne and surrounding areas many times, but i never knew that. I guess what they say is true, you do learn something new every day.
Our first day arrival to the desert would be a warm one. We planned to camp in Calico (Yermo Ca) and then head over across the valley to explore Lucerne via dirt roads. The temps were close to 100 degrees while crossing through the Mojave desert and the I-15. We arrived to setup basecamp around 5pm. Thank goodness the temps dropped down to about 65 at night.
The view from camp was breath taking as always. The hills of Calico are rich with different minerals and make for amazing colors.
Dixie didn't care too much for the heat. Her favorite spot was under the truck and away from the sun.
The lizard was the opposite and soaked up all he could get on the nearby rocks.
After getting camp setup, we all met at the campfire to relax and enjoy the company.
We toasted Will's birthday with an ice cold beer.
After a bit it was time to fire up the grill and get to cooking. This trip i wanted to do something totally different. I wanted to grill pizza. Yes, grill pizza. You read that right. I guess i just wanted to see if i could do it.
You have to keep the heat pretty low with the coals and make sure you cover the pizza to let the toppings melt, but in the end it was really good. It took about an hour, but it was well worth it. After all , pizza is my favorite.
Bryan grilled some cream cheese stuffed peppers that were amazing.
The heat seemed to have little effect on James.
After the good eats we sat around the campfire. The moon was full and it was very bright. There was no need for a flashlight or a head lamp.
The next morning we all made a quick breakfast and headed out for a day of exploring.
Dropping down into Mule canyon from camp near Kraemer Arch.
Yosh waiting for the group to catch up in whatever shade she can find in Mule canyon. It's a beautiful area.
On our way out near the highway we found a sports car that had high centered on its front bumper. We tried to figure out why the guy was even driving off road, but he kind of beat around the bush about it.
Who takes a car like this out on a dirt trail?
Needless to say he was happy to see us pull up and lend assistance. Thank goodness he had a tow hook in the rear of the chassis that we could pull him backwards with. Otherwise if we pulled him forward the front end would have been ripped to shreds and none of us wanted to see that happen.
The girls watched safely from across the highway.
Justin looking way to happy to winch the motorist out.
After safely recovering the sports car, we headed on our way. Our first stop would be about 40+ miles out on dirt road. Later on i'd find out that the GPS waypoint was harder to get to than expected. Sometimes trails can disappear and no longer be found. We had to Tread Lightly so we had to take an alternative route to get to our first destination near the Fry Mountains.
We finally arrived at our destination
UPPER JOHNSON VALLEY YUCCA RINGS
The Yucca Rings are said to be created by a single bush thousands of years ago. The group is considered one plant unlike the group of plants they appear to be. The rings are composed of as many as 130 stalks and can grow upwards of 20 feet in diameter. These groups of Yuccas are thought to be at least 2,100 years old.
They are extremely rare and need to be protected and respected. There's a fence around them to protect them.
Dry lake in the distance.
With the blistering heat nearly reaching 100 early in the day we hopped back in the trucks and headed on our way to our next stop. It would be a quick jaunt over the valley via dirt but we all appreciated the air conditioning seat time.
After a short while we came up on the GPS waypoint and i had to scout for our next point of interest. We were close.
TEXAS ROCK QUARRY
Back in the 1930's was the last time this quarry was mostly worked. They brought large slabs of granite out to Los Angeles and La Jolla for construction of building faces and monuments. Even the University of California used some of the granite from this location. The quarry was somewhat used off and on till the 1950's.
The blocks are huge. They're 20 feet long and had to be trucked out to the finishing location in LA. What you see today is the same as the way they left it. There's still blocks sitting awaiting to be shipped.
The mountain of rubble is all bad pieces. It's incredible the size.
It's an amazing thing to see in person. You really understand how much work they had to go through to get the blocks out.
Once again it was time to go. Justin took the quick way down.
We continued East through the Lucerne Valley.
Our next stop was a special one. Something you'd not even notice if you drove right past it. For some reason this one spot was the one i was excited to see.
WORLD WAR II BOMBING TARGETS
To the untrained eye or someone that hasn't done their research it looks to be an old side walk or paved road. In reality this is a huge bullseye on the ground to drop practice bombs from the sky. During WWII, the Mojave desert was used for training and this location served that purpose. At the time Lucerne was chosen because of it's remoteness, today there's homes nearby and a road that travels right through the middle of the bullseye. The rings are made from black asphalt and had a pile of white rock in the center.
If you look at google earth you can see the rings from the sky.
There's still bomb fragments laying around the area. We did not remove anything.
At this point the heat was getting to the group so we decided to head back to camp for some shade. But not before we made a quick stop to air up and grab an ice cold soda at Slash X cafe.
It was nice to sit and take a break in the shade.
Slash X has been around forever. 1954 to be exact. I used to come to this place with my dad on our dirtbikes when we were kids. It's almost like an Oasis in the desert for off roaders.
We chose to air up at SlashX since we'd be back on the highway again for a while. It was worth suffering back up to camp with high pressure to be able to drive 65mph on the highway.
Once back at camp we deployed the awnings and took cover. It was hotter than heck and really windy. The conditions never eased up over night and made for a rough night sleep.
Shot of camp from up above. Beautiful area.
Dixie was feeling the heat. Her favorite place on this trip was under the trucks for sure.
The final night before heading home we did a Potluck. It was amazing like always. Pork tenderloin, Chicken with veggies, mushrooms and jack cheese, Garlic bread, Cesar Salad and even Smores for desert. Bryan even fired up some more peppers. It was too much food.
Doesn't get much better than this. Good times, good friends and good food.
It was a great trip and im glad my friend Will was able to spend his birthday exploring the Southwest. It was hotter than heck, but it was worth it. Thanks to all who joined us on this trip and too many more to come.
Photo Credits: Dave Druck/James Chatary