Big Bear, CA
I quiet mountain community full of back country adventure.
Lower Antelope Canyon
Lower Antelope Canyon one of two slot canyons located off the highway 98 just outside of Page, Arizona near the Utah border.
Slot Canyons are formed in usually arid regions, where a little bit of rain falls, and fulls the dry rivers of the desert southwest. The water can flash flood, which picks up speed and debris and scours the landscape. Overtime, the water forces itself into cracks in the rock and widens the deepens the crack into a deep narrow canyon. Lower Antelope is a commonly overlooked when compared the Upper Antelope Canyon, although does seem to be gaining in popularity.
Hasdestwazi, or “spiral rock arches ” as it is known to the LeChee Chapter of the Navajo Nation, Lower Antelope slowly exposes itself to you as a small crack in the rock which grows slightly in width, and dramatically in depth as you climb down into the slot canyon.
Unlike Upper Antelope Canyon which is an easy walk, Lower Antelope Canyon is a steep and deep trail as the passage plunges deeper into the rock. The Navajo Nation is kind enough to maintain metal stairs to aid the trek, however on my last visit the stars where covered in mud, silt and debris from a recent storm which further sculpts the rock. Upper Antelope pulls you eyes up into the colorful light above, however there is no real sense of depth. Lower Antelope Canyon constantly reminds you how deep you really are beneath the surface.
Just like Upper Antelope Canyon, a narrow opening at the top of the canyon only allows a little light the enter the canyon. This light bounces off the canyon walls, and throughout the day, a light show of glowing rock, shadows and textured water sculpted rock offer a wonderful visuals to the visitors.
The sculpted rock and light offer beauty, texture and scenic photographic opportunities, however this beauty hides a danger. An August 12, 1997 a group of eleven tourists where killed inside the canyon when a flash flood filled the canyon in seconds. A sole tour guide survived the tragedy.
As I follow the canyon down towards Lake Powell in the distance, I would constantly find my self touching the smooth canyon rock walls, all the while knowing that a summer monsoon miles aware could end my time on this planet. However, although always a bit uneasy, it is an amazing place and well worth the trip and the remote risk.
The Green Gopher
Growing up in the 70’s I learned and spent a lot of time camping, hiking, being outdoors and active. Every spring summer and fall, my parents and I would load up the truck, and later the trailer and head out. Typically preparations would start the week before departure, and the loading process would start on Thursday afternoon with my brother and I hauling all the gear into the yard, while my mom packed the vehicles. Friday could not come soon enough and when it did, my dad would come home from work, change is clothes, wrangle up two kids, maybe a dog, adjust the mirrors, and exclaim “We’re off” as we drove out of the driveway in The Green Gopher. For the most part, for my family nothing much has changed much from my dad. It is however the details that matter.
In 1972, I was one year old and to celebrate my dad bought a new truck. Details of the vehicle back then are scarce. From my point of view, my dad previously owned a 1964 International Scout. He drive this car for years all over the desert south west in the late 1960s. When my dad married my mom, my mom made him sell the Scout because the breaks were horrible, and at least three times they failed completely. It was a wise decision considering the stakes for the family at the time, but the loss of his beloved Scout was difficult and for decades despite its faults the Scout cast a long shadow in our family.
Returning to 1972, my dad decided to purchase his truck. He chose a Sea Foam Green 1972 Ford F-100 pickup sporting a 302 inch V-8 sporting with a 3.2:1 gear ratio, two fuel tanks, and a four speed manual transmission which included a “Granny Gear”. The extra costs of a four wheel drive were not an option for my dad at that time. So, the truck became the “ultimate compromise”. He opted for 2 wheel drive, but to offer improved traction he chose a four speed with granny gear. The differential was geared up to offer improve gas mileage, but the little 200 HP V-8 could not pull a grade at any sort of highway speeds. A camper shell, home built bed, pass-through rear window and the “green gopher” was complete for the initial incarnation.
Continue Reading →Zzyzx Road – Soda springs
Located south of Baker, CA on the edge of a large soda dry lake bed in the Mojave, Zzyzx Road is a short road which leads from the I-15 highway to a soda spring with an eclectic history. The springs were the site of a prehistoric quarry and early human activity undoubtedly taking shelter from the heat in the Oasis which is the spring site.
During the 1860s, the springs and surrounding areas host a U.S. Army camp which serviced the Mojave Road as Fort Soda Springs and a local train depot for the Tomopah and Tidewater Railroad.
Curtis Howe Springer
In 1944, a radio evangelist, self proclaimed medical doctor and methodist minister Curtis Howe Springer filed a mining claim for 12,800 acres of land south of Baker, CA and along the coast of the large dry soda lake. The 8 miles by 3 miles track of land included the old army fort and the train depot. Mr. Springers goal was to establish a “Health Spa” for anyone who felt the need to improve their Health. The cost of a visit was free of charge, but undoubtedly he pressured his visitors to make “donations” to his organization.
The area was developed over time, and Springer named the site after his own invented word Zzyzx, as to be the last word in the dictionary, and the phrase the “last word in” was used as part of his marketing campaigns for all his endeavors. The location was built up over a period of 30 years (1944 – 1974) starting with a 20 tent camp which soon turned into a primitive concrete settlement built using laborers recruited from Los Angeles “Skid Row”. The warm soda springs were of his own manufacture which used boilers and man made pools for this natural healing site.
Years of development Zzyzx Mineral springs featured 60 room lodging, a radio station, mineral spa, a private airport dubbed the “Zyport” and or coarse a church. In addition, Curtis Springer would peddle his cures using his national and international radio broadcasts which promised cures for almost every disease. In the late 1960’s, Mr Springer gained the attention of the Federal Government for building homes for large doners to his “Ministry”. Since the original Mine claim never transfer ownership of the land to him, but rather gives him mineral rights, and he had not produce any profit from mining he was not entitled to development the land, because he did not own the land.
After loosing in court, he was evicted from the site in 1974, and in 1976 the California State University system incorporate the site into their field studies and research programs which, I am sure, has provided a far better use of the property. The property continues to operative within the Mojave National Preserve as the Desert Studies Center by the California State University. Visitors are welcome to tour the area, there are picnic tables and a self guided tour around Lake Tuendae.
Resources
My Grandfathers Gold pan
When you travel the back country roads, you can not help but the search your own history for the thread of fact to help bind you to the location. Since I can remember, my dad would take me out into the sierra, desert, mountains, etc… looking for history, looking for mines, ghost towns, or just a place of nature. Being a son of western settler’s who reached California in the 1880s, I was well aware that my family was part of a vast wave of people who settled the country. Later, I discovered that my dad kept my grandfathers gold pan, he, like many others spent his time searching for opportunity in the ground.
However, this does have its draw backs. Many of the places I visit were simply not there when my family started to arrive, unless you count Ontario, CA which is now part of the urban sprawl which is Southern California.
During my earlier explorations of the Lucy Grey goldmine, my great grandfather was an investor in the mine, and like many other people did not fare well on his investment. However, on the other side of my family there was another interested in gold mines.
Like many who are fortunate enough to known their grandparents, I didn’t know my grandfather until late in his life, by then his course in life was settled. He had graduated from Berkeley, retired as a chemical engineer, raced sail boats, raised a family and retired and even had time to teach me to fish. I knew that he did some gold prospecting but I assumed his attempts were similar to my dads attempt.
In the 1980’s my family was driving in the back country of Arizona, neat Prescott. At some time during the trip, we were hiking up a stream bed and discovered some black sand. My father related the fact that gold is supposed to be found. We then loaded up about fifty pounds of the precious black sand and took our prize home. I hasten to add that we panned all the material and didn’t get a single flake of gold and were the proud owners of two bad backs.
In contrast, my grandfathers attempt was considerably more successful. During the depression, while studying chemistry, he decided that during the summer months he would mine for gold. So, while on break he headed off to the American River in California and spent the summer gold mining. In his descriptions of this time, his success was limited but “It kept me in beans”.
I look at his gold pan now, and like the ghost towns and mine sites all across the desert, it reminds me of tough men, struggling to full fill their version of the American Dream. One of those men was my grandfather, and I wish I knew this man.
Mojave Goldfish
Over Presidents day weekend, my wife and I were travelling back from Big Bear, CA to our house after a visit with family towards our home in Las Vegas. Frequently, my wife will point out an old road or mine and comment that we need to take that trail someday. During out drive home, we were talking about the mining district in Mountain Pass and the Evening Star mine. On this journey, we chanced upon the ultra rare Mojave Goldfish.
This is one of the great reasons for owning a 4×4 and the Mojave Desert is a prime location to explore.
So, we exited the I-15 travelling north on Baily road near the Kokoweef mine. Typically, I have a route mapped out ahead of time, but a spur of the moment decision left our route to happenstance. We drove straight off the off ramp and headed up the hill. Immediately I sensed the I took the wrong route, but since we were exploring I just drove on, you never know what you will find. Soon, we found a private property sign, and opt towards a road to the left. I found 4×4 low in the transfer case and we climbed a short hill. Upon cresting the hill, I noticed something metal down the the left. I road the gears down in low until we reached the small canyon where I made a tight left towards the metallic object I saw from the top of the hill.
Within a quarter of a mile, I found an juniper tree with a metal water trough. These are not uncommon in the mojave and can be found throughout the dessert. I parked the jeep to investigate and was shocked…
We stumbled upon Goldfish, in the Mojave Desert and these things were pretty big. I mean, I have eaten trout smaller than some of these. Goldfish are used to keep the algae in check inside the water trough. An elegant solution to a problem I didn’t think existed, but that makes sense. The water trough was plumbed with a PVC pipe to bring the spring water to the trough. The overflow, did just that and the rocks on either wide of the trough edge allow for animals to escape the tank. An endless supply of fresh water would keep the urea concentrations down, so the fish grow into their environment.
My biggest question is that in a remote area with a lot of preditors, why are these fish alive? I thought that an oportunistic coyote, fox or raven would make quick work of this exposed tank, but these large fish prove they have been here for time. Regardless a very fun find and a true 4×4 destination.