From Tehachapi to Searles Valley and beyond it's high desert country. Tune into a local country music radio station, lay back and enjoy the view. There is really nobody for miles. You might encounter some truck and few sporadic cars, but for the most part you own the road. You can lay on the asphalt and take as many photos you want before you will have to move out of the way.
It's hard to render in a picture the expanse of desert valleys and surrounding mountains. I am not a good photographer and I am using my android phone, but I still hope to give you a sense of what the Red Rock Canyon state park looks like.
We finally arrive to the town of Trona, by the Searles valley in the Mohave desert.
There are a lot of abandoned homes with broken windows and boarded up doors.
Driving into town shows more life, a high school, a museum, a nice rest stop with restrooms and a big parking lot to park our RV. This is in front of the historical company of Searles Valley Minerals Inc. This operation has taken over the entire valley and probably gives work to a lot of people in town.
We wish we could be here for the ANNUAL GEM-O-RAMA in October, sponsored by the Searles Lake Gem & Mineral Society. That's when they dig up a bunch of soil and add water to it to soften it up. Afterwards they let people in to get in the mud to pick up gems and crystals that they may find.
As we keep on driving North, we reach the ghost town of Ballarat and Panamint City. The town of Ballarat is visible in the distance from the highway and it's located down in the valley. Panamint city instead is high in the mountains. We stay on the road by the plaques that describe the boom and bust of these silver mining towns. From a pipe on top of a plaque, you can see where Panamint City was located. In 1876 a major flash flood destroyed most of the town wiping away homes and roads. They say it used to have a mile long drag with cabins, saloon, school etc. All is gone.
No comments:
Post a Comment