A great person recently said to me, "Get off the Road to find the real Mojave". Truer words have never been spoken to me. I knew exactly what he meant after this latest trip. It seems that so many people are wrapped up in the Mojave Road that they don't take time to see or even realize what the rest of the preserve has to offer. The vast 1.6 million-acre park is a special place and it deserves it's fair share of wandering.
On this trip, we avoided the ever popular and busy Mojave Road and took the time to explore remote two tracks and sections of wilderness that hadn't been driven on in 40+ years. It was and always will be what sparked my fascination with back country exploration - Roads less traveled.
Yosh and I headed out on our own on this one. No trailer, simplistic and with a ground tent. Sometimes it's nice not hauling all your gear, a trailer and all the fixings. It's times like this that we realize what we need and what you are just packing along for the ride. It's almost like the overlanders revolutionary cycle. You start out wanting awnings, fridges, cool bumpers, winches and then start carrying way too much gear. I'm guilty just like any of us, but as of late I've really felt that a breath of fresh air is carrying the basics again. A stove, the fridge, some sleeping bags and a tent. Ok, I had to bring one luxury item other than the fridge. The charcoal grill. A nice steak or chicken breast cooked low and slow at the end of a long day is just something I'll hardly ever go without - sorry.
On Good Friday we hit the pavement and headed east on I-40 towards the Preserve. As the wheels spun at 70mph and the RPM's parked at 3,000 firm the whole way it was then I realized that we were in no hurry. In fact, we didn't really care where we ended up or what time. After all, random exploration type trips have always ended up the best. The only thing I had when we left the shop was a few interesting waypoints I picked up along the way and had some destinations in mind, but this trip was all about the journey.
(Above) Exploring some over grown and low traffic tracks near the Granite Mountains National Preserve boundary, Kelso Dunes in the back ground.
As we approached the beautiful 700 foot tall 25,000 year old Kelso Dunes and the historic Kelso Depot visitors center we continued onward towards CIMA dome. It was near this point I wanted to get off pavement again and start exploring more of the northern section of the Preserve. Places that most people don't pay attention to. This part of the preserve is known for it's concentration of Joshua Trees. In fact it's the largest concentration on the planet. The elevation and gradual incline is what these trees love, it just so happens to be the perfect formula. The forest itself is breath-taking all on its own and it was by far one of the favorite areas of the trip.
(Above) A common view in the area near CIMA dome. We could have relaxed and enjoyed the view for days on end. Spectacular views and shadows were thrown throughout the day.
There's a ton of mining history in the area to explore and view. We chose to meander from one mine to another and believe me when I tell you, we barely scratched the surface. One of the larger mining sites we visited was the Evening Star Mine that began its life in 1935 and is located on the west side of the Ivanpah Mountain Range.
The mine was the only one to produce tin in the Eastern Mojave Desert and changed hands multiple times over it's lifetime like many do. The last prospector employed 8 men to work here and removed over 400 tons of ore. It was then processed and sold to the government to stockpile in Jean, NV which contained only 35% tin. Today there are pieces of history of the old mining days laying everywhere. It's a fascinating site and features the largest standing head frame in the East Mojave. Plenty of it is still intact and that's probably due to it being in the park boundaries. There's a few shafts that head down very far that are blocked off where you need to be careful when tip toeing around the site.
(Above) Today the vertical and horizontal shafts are covered by the park service and for good reason, but you can still manage to peak inside if you're brave enough to look in. (Below) Looking towards the horizontal shaft below the large head frame of the main mill.
There was another vertical shaft nearby that may have been part of the original mine, I did some searching but couldn't find any information on it. It also appeared that the park service had put up some new cabling to keep the towers upright and in place. Definitely not original hardware that's for sure.
(Below) In this area, we found a large amount of greenish rock laying about. I've been told by a experienced rock hound that it's more than likely some type of quartz.
In the area, there were remnants of old structures everywhere you looked. Some faring much better than others. Below are two such structures. One made out of metal and eventually giving up to the elements, and the other made out of stone and appearing to hold up much better.
The stone cabin was surrounded by beautiful cholla cactus that almost appeared to be glowing where they stood. We were fortunate to be out in the area just before spring hit.
Speaking of spring, the entire desert was coming to life with beautiful wild flowers everywhere you looked. It was hard not spend all day enjoying them and taking in their colorful assortments.
One of the more interesting plant life sites we found while exploring was this huge Joshua Tree that had been ripped out of the ground. It boggled our minds as to how this happened as it was the first i've ever seen in such shape. The root system and base of the tree was as tall as us and we tried to imagine the force that it would take to uproot something this massive. We don't know if it simply fell over or if it was struck by something. It appeared that the limbs were cut as to not block the road as well.
After a full day of driving it was time to make camp for the night. We checked out a ranch nearby that we were told about in canyon, but it seemed to have a bit of a slope so we opted for a flat area within the Joshua Trees to pitch our tent. The sun just started to set as we arrived and made dinner.
The night's menu consisted of a mixed tomato pesto pasta with a side of a pesto pepper marinated chicken breast. It was amazing and as many know that travel with us, we always know how to eat well in the field.
After dinner we relaxed, Dixie went to bed in the tent and we enjoyed our favorite adult-beverages near the campfire. As our favorite old music gently rolled out of the tiny solar charged speaker we talked and reminisced about past adventures and how much we loved what we do together. I just couldn't resists shooting Yosh sitting next to the fire. The terrain was just spectacular and made for an amazing backdrop.
(Below) Yoshi enjoying the serenity of the desert while a full moon rises over the Ivanpah Mountain range and Kessler Peak.
The next morning we woke to dark skies and a small chance of precipitation in the air. For us, It just made for more stunning photos and an enjoyable cool day to explore in a typically warm and dry climate.
Dixie was up and ready to roll early as always, but not before she had her fair share of treats, breakfast and the morning walk. We of course needed our tea and coffee before any keys ever found their place in the ignition.
Our first stop of the morning was Mojave Cross memorial not far from camp. I had heard it was stolen sometime in the recent years, hauled all the way to San Diego California, only to be recovered and brought back to it's original home. It was first erected in 1934 by members of Veterans of Foreign Wars, Death Valley Post 2884. It serves as a memory of the "The Dead of All Wars"
(Above) The cross sits firmly im pace on top of Sunrise Rock (near Teutonia Peak).
The Mojave Cross was built by a man named John Riley Bembry. He was a prospector in the area for over 50 years with a vast amount of claims in the area. I've read accounts on the web that he filed hundreds of claims over his lifetime and even when he passed he still owned 60 of them. We only felt it right to visit his camp next. Riley built a cabin in the Ivanpah west foothills that was known to be his primary residence.
Last we saw this cabin online on various sites, it had been falling apart badly, abandoned and left for dead. As we arrived, to our surprise someone had appeared to be working on it. We were elated and excited to see the interior. On this particular trip we were extremely lucky, because the care taker was on site when we visited. We spoke with the gentleman for a good while as he explained what he had worked on, how it looked before and what his plans for the future were. He also explained how hard it was to accomplish this given that the cabin was within the Preserve boundaries. He had to prove that he had a primary residence, a job and even had to go through a background check. In the end though, it's a worthwhile cause and we wish him all the best. If you're ever in the area say hello him and sign the guest book, as he frequents from Baker for multiple days at a time repairing and restoring.
(Above) Old relics he's found on the property all stored in one place for safe keeping. Not one piece is removed from the site and everything is documented.
(Above) The caretaker explaining how he's working on the ceiling in the bedroom area. He was telling us about the rat droppings in the roof that will be removed by a large vacuum operation. You could hear the passion in his voice and he was happy to show us around.
(Above) An old closet area where he has built shelving and attached a hinged lock section so that when you arrive you can lock up for your items if you go on a hike. Also serves as a storage area for supplies.
(Above) The front living area. Complete with sink, faucet and furnace. He even installed a dart board for when weather gets bad and you want to hucker down inside.
(Above) Date showing when the rehabilitation of the cabin started.
(Above) Drum fireplace in the corner, fully functional along with coffee percolator for your morning wake up call. Continental breakfast not provided at this time.
After chatting with the gentlemen for a bit and picking his brain about local hotspots, we headed on our way. Surrounding the property were a plethora of old trucks, junk piles and generally interesting old neighboring sites.
(Above) Old mining equipment around every corner you look. We later found out that there's a spring up the canyon from this machine, so most likely this was a pump to get the water back down to the cabin area.
One of Riley's neighbors in the area was the Geer family. Mr. Geer was a foreman at one of the Standard Mines nearby and hauled plenty of junk back with him to stockpile near his property. It made for quite the interesting place to explore. We left all as we found it.
(Above) The Geer property.
(Below) An old leather boot i found shriveled up from living in the dry climate and unforgiving terrain of the desert.
(Below) An Old Smuckers cap or lid to an old jar of jam. Beginning in 1946, Smucker's paid the U.S. Department of Agriculture inspectors to oversee every aspect of its production, earning the company the designation "U.S. Grade A Fancy." This evidence of quality assurance allowed Smucker's a higher markup and better shelf placement.
(Below) Safeway Brand Edwards Coffee Can from the 1960's.
(Below) Out house structure nearby leaning towards it's destiny.
(Below) A 1950-1960's Holiday Rambler travel trailer. Since 1953, their ideas led to the first built-in refrigerators, holding tanks and slide-out kitchens.
After spending a good amount of time at the Geer residence, the girls were ready to head on the way and see the next location. Before leaving we briefly hiked around the back of the property in the rocks to see if we could find some pictographs we had heard about from a trusting local. Searching revealed no such luck, or what we saw didn't appear to be what they were referring too.
On this particular trip we view so much interesting history that we wanted to break it into two parts. Join us in the next report as we explore more mining sites, visit an old railroad town, get into some higher elevation, and bring you more interesting sites in the Eastern Mojave. Part 2 coming soon!