A California Desert Scene

[Wyatt Burp]

Joshua Tree, California. Raw dry land with remnants of life. Who lived here? What were they like? Where were they from and where did they go? Who would choose this exact spot, this harsh wonderful place to live?
Taken by my nephew on our visit there a couple weeks ago. He sold his Glock and bought this camera. nice trade.

 

[shouldazagged]

That's a really fine photo. Tremendously evocative and beautifully composed. He has some serious talent!

 

[diamonback68]

Shoulda brought your metal detector along, imagine what the ground around could have told you or what you might find.

 

[boykinlp]

Joshua Tree, California. Raw dry land with remnants of life. Who lived here? What were they like? Where were they from and where did they go? Who would choose this exact spot, this harsh wonderful place to live?
Taken by my nephew on our visit there a couple weeks ago. He sold his Glock and bought this camera. nice trade.

So you are saying that there is NOT a convience/gas store next door or a shopping mall down the street?

 

[snowman]

Well, I need you to educate me, Wyatt. I looked up Joshua Tree on Bing and what came up was a community of 7414 as of the 2010 Census, located in San Bernadino County. You seem to be speaking of a place that was populated a long time ago but is now deserted, as is evident by the photograph(great shot, BTW). Can you help me out here?

Regards,
Andy

 

[Wyatt Burp]

Well, I need you to educate me, Wyatt. I looked up Joshua Tree on Bing and what came up was a community of 7414 as of the 2010 Census, located in San Bernadino County. You seem to be speaking of a place that was populated a long time ago but is now deserted, as is evident by the photograph(great shot, BTW). Can you help me out here?

Regards,
Andy

Right. Let me rephrase that. This is out in the desert where the closest town would be Joshua Tree.
And Diamondback68, Why in the bleepity beep did I NOT bring a metal detector with me! Now I have another excuse to go back. My nephew did give me this desert rat Rem. Model 10 12 gauge that he found in a shack on property he bought. We didn't need a metal detector for this hand engraved relic that shot great.

 

[BearBio]

Joshua Tree is more of an area. There's a National Monument or two. A small community. Many old homesteads. Patton used the area for tank maneuvers during WWII==the areas he destroyed are still visible. Kaiser had a big iron mine nearby.

Groundwater was bad. Lots of people homesteaded but couldn't get anything going. We used to 4x4 down from Big Bear on the dirt roads.

 

[diamonback68]

Right. Let me rephrase that. This is out in the desert where the closest town would be Joshua Tree.
And Diamondback68, Why in the bleepity beep did I NOT bring a metal detector with me! Now I have another excuse to go back. My nephew did give me this desert rat Rem. Model 10 12 gauge that he found in a shack on property he bought. We didn't need a metal detector for this hand engraved relic that shot great.

You should be proud. I would be honored to own a shotgun with that much character.

 

[feralmerril]

I know the area. I have a 98 year old uncle that lives on the very north edge of joshua tree. That stretch of desert from there to lucern valley was open to homestead many years ago. Part of qualifing it was building a structure in a given time. There is many old shacks between lake los angeles and joshua tree. I with my uncle own 2 1/2 acres right on the los angeles/san bernadino county line east of lake LA. A deputy was killed walking distance from our property about a dozzen years ago when he stumbeled on a meth lab. The realitors there wanted some serious money up front to list our property as they could hardly make any comission as things aint selling there. The rotten taxs on the 2 1/2 acres is over $200s a year and we are landlocked with other propertys and dont even have a road bordering it. I am too stuborn and cheap to give it away. My aunt traded a old cheap travel trailer sight unseen in the 1950s for it! For a short while around the late 1980s it would have sold pretty well. There were plans to make a freeway from victorville to bakersfield almost right over it but they shelved the idea. I hear part of the stymilus is for a speed railroad to go from victorville to vegas. Just about everyone in southern california was hollering that it would be a stupid idea as the people from around los angeles would still have to drive to victorville to board and victorville to vegas is about a little over two hour drive. Your already almost half way to vegas if you drive to victorville!
That desert has had a lot of mistreys through the years. It is known as los angeles`s dumping grounds for bodys.

 

[BearBio]

Lake Los Angeles was a pyramid scam. I was working real estate and saw a few people get taken. The scammers would buy a section (1 sq mi) and divide it into 1/4 sections and sell it (on paper) to a relative or dummy corp for the same as they bought the original plot for. Then divide each quarter into quarters (1/16) and resell it, again for the same price). Eventually arms-length buyers would get duped into paying the inflated prices for desert.

 

[DR505]

I'm very familiar with the area...I think I've explored every square inch of Inyo, Mono, Kern, San Bernadino, Riverside, and Imperial county BLM/desert land. I've seen all of the ghost towns from Bodie to Tumco and everything in between. I also practically lived in Joshua Tree National Park (Monument back then) when I was a rock climbing addict in the 80's. Here are some photos from my desert wanderings...thanks for the memories:

American Hotel, circa 1870, Cerro Gordo above Owens Dry Lake

Mono Lake

Climbing "Illusion Dweller" at Joshua Tree National Park. I was climbing route next to ID and photographed one of my frequent climbing partners.

 

[Wyatt Burp]

Those are great pictures, DR505. I love that old hotel. In the town of Joshua Tree I kept meaning to go into the Joshua Tree Inn to see thae little shrine to Gram Parsons who died there. He's the guy who's friend followed his wishes and burned his body in the park. I wonder if that exact location is known.

 

[feralmerril]

There has been no water in lake los angeles for many years. Its nothing but a very shallow couple acre hole. All the houses were cheap. Sun village the closest village was the getto of the desert. One hundred years ago a socalist or communist commune was about the first in the nearby ilano area.
I lived in nearby palmdale/lancaster area for 36 years. Its all known as antelope valley but I never knew any old timer that ever saw one. El mirage dry lake is nearby. It was a play ground for record attempts, sand sailing, gyrocopters, motorcycles etc. Somehow the entire area has seen far more than its share of murders for being so bare of a desert. Part of my job was spending many lonely nights guarding stuff we had in a few scattered locations. It wasnt unusual to meet strange people in the dark out there once in awhile. I liked those assignments.

 

[DR505]

Here's another one from Cerro Gordo looking across at Mt. Whitney. California is beautiful...but I sure don't care for a majority of the population.

 

[Wyatt Burp]

Here's another one from Cerro Gordo looking across at Mt. Whitney. California is beautiful...but I sure don't care for a majority of the population.

I must go to Cerro Gordo! The farther away you get from the overpopulated towns and head to the mountains, forests, or desert, it's completely different and no different than, say, Montana. Dumb laws are ignored and people live under the radar.

 

[DR505]

At one time Cerro Gordo and Bodie were keeping Los Angeles afloat with the shipments of gold and silver mined on their mountains. Los Angeles killed Owens Valley when they diverted all of the water for themselves. Ruined many a farmer and rancher, and caused Owen's Lake to dry up...killing a couple of towns.

 

[mafuta54]

I lived in Yucca Valley for almost 20 years! I know the area well. It is a beautiful place.

 

[feralmerril]

I also have been to cerro gordo many years ago. They have/had? a tramway down to keeler/ownes now dry lake. At one time the lake wasnt dry and had a paddlewheeler to cross it. There is charchol kilns there too. I belive much of that desert had more population and things going on a 100 years ago than now. Its that way here in SW utah too. A good show years ago was death valley days hosted by ronald reagan. It told a new story of the general area every week. Off of highway 395 is the old twin mineing ghost towns of rexburg and johannasburg. They are worth the slight detour. The 20 mule team road was from boron to death valley.

 

[DR505]

I also have been to cerro gordo many years ago. They have/had? a tramway down to keeler/ownes now dry lake. At one time the lake wasnt dry and had a paddlewheeler to cross it. There is charchol kilns there too. I belive much of that desert had more population and things going on a 100 years ago than now. Its that way here in SW utah too. A good show years ago was death valley days hosted by ronald reagan. It told a new story of the general area every week.

The paddlewheeler was called the "Bessie Brady". The tram stopped a LONG time ago. The beehive kilns are still there today and make for a good stop.

Owens Valley History

 

[BearBio]

At one time Cerro Gordo and Bodie were keeping Los Angeles afloat with the shipments of gold and silver mined on their mountains. Los Angeles killed Owens Valley when they diverted all of the water for themselves. Ruined many a farmer and rancher, and caused Owen's Lake to dry up...killing a couple of towns.

Ah==The water wars. Wasn't all that long ago, 2 LADWP employees disappeared and two were shot at=within my lifetime!