Old Woman Mountains, Mojave, CA 2/20-21
Posted: Tue Feb 23, 2010 12:03 am
Joe De Kehoe, the author of "The Silence and The Sun", has an extraordinary passion for the history of the Eastern Mojave and the culture that has run through it. Joe graciously offered to give me a tour of the Old Woman Mountains area of the Mojave, with it's generous supply of ghost towns, mining claims, and beautiful scenery. So, along with some of our OAUSA members, and a few new recruits, I headed out for Ludlow, CA Friday night to camp out and meet up in town on Saturday to begin our drive through the desert.
Nikos (sunnygrill), his friends Chad and Mark, Ben, Chazz (chazzlayne) and his wife Dani, Jon (BruisedFJ), his paramour Pam, friends Adam and John, Jon W and his fiance Ercilia, Joe De Kehoe, and I toured the "towns" of Ludlow, Klondike, Siberia, Amboy, Danby, Old Danby, Chambless, Chubbock, Siam, and Cadiz. Joe's detailed knowledge of the history and the remaining artifacts of these settlements made for a fascinating drive through time.
Our campsite on Saturday night was nothing short of spectacular, with the rainy weather on Friday night leaving a clear sky and bright contrasts in the colors of the desert.
As is usually the case, there was no shortage of fine grub - from tri-tip, to racks of ribs, pork chops, baked potatoes, salads and more, no one was left wanting for food.
On a personal note, I used this trip to try out the ARB Simpson III roof top tent I've had waiting for me for about 3 months. Well, it was the best sleep I've ever had camping - from it's ability to block the wind and cold, to the amazing amount of space for a long-limbed explorer like myself, to it's ease of set-up and take-down,it'll be hard to use a ground tent after this trip.
Waking up Sunday to the clear sunny sky and hot coffee doesn't get any better then in the desert - and we were off again to continue our sightseeing - finally wandering our way through Skeleton Pass and back to Cadiz were we parted to head back to civilization...a fantastic weekend for all.
Joe has kindly offered to take us back for more detailed explorations of some of his favorite mine sites and hiking areas....so I'm looking forward to learning more about about this amazing area.
Here are a few pictures from the trip:
Nikos (sunnygrill), his friends Chad and Mark, Ben, Chazz (chazzlayne) and his wife Dani, Jon (BruisedFJ), his paramour Pam, friends Adam and John, Jon W and his fiance Ercilia, Joe De Kehoe, and I toured the "towns" of Ludlow, Klondike, Siberia, Amboy, Danby, Old Danby, Chambless, Chubbock, Siam, and Cadiz. Joe's detailed knowledge of the history and the remaining artifacts of these settlements made for a fascinating drive through time.
Our campsite on Saturday night was nothing short of spectacular, with the rainy weather on Friday night leaving a clear sky and bright contrasts in the colors of the desert.
As is usually the case, there was no shortage of fine grub - from tri-tip, to racks of ribs, pork chops, baked potatoes, salads and more, no one was left wanting for food.
On a personal note, I used this trip to try out the ARB Simpson III roof top tent I've had waiting for me for about 3 months. Well, it was the best sleep I've ever had camping - from it's ability to block the wind and cold, to the amazing amount of space for a long-limbed explorer like myself, to it's ease of set-up and take-down,it'll be hard to use a ground tent after this trip.
Waking up Sunday to the clear sunny sky and hot coffee doesn't get any better then in the desert - and we were off again to continue our sightseeing - finally wandering our way through Skeleton Pass and back to Cadiz were we parted to head back to civilization...a fantastic weekend for all.
Joe has kindly offered to take us back for more detailed explorations of some of his favorite mine sites and hiking areas....so I'm looking forward to learning more about about this amazing area.
Here are a few pictures from the trip: