Things to do / Travel Guide
Turn off the main highway and take the road less traveled to discover some rewarding and fun sites in the California Desert. Indeed, the many wide-open expanses of the region offer great off-the-beaten-path attractions. Many strange and interesting remnants of a time gone by, like ghost towns and Native American historical sites, are easily found and visited without having to fight your way through a parking lot full of tour buses. Natural wonders, quirky off-the-road attractions, and historic and pre-historic sights detailing the history of the region dot the road less traveled in the California Desert.
Calico Ghost Town
One of the most popular ghost towns of the American West, the Calico Ghost Town located 10 miles north of Barstow, at the side of King Mountain. This one-time silver-mining boomtown built in 1881 was once home to over 500 mines (and about 22 saloons for the 1,200 residents) in its heyday. Calico bills itself a “living museum,” with “living history” reenactments and is one of the better-restored ghost towns in the U.S. Calling itself “a walk you'll never forget,” the Calico Ghost Walk is a 90-minute after-dark tour of the ghost town streets held every Saturday from February-November highlighting the history of the town, both natural and supernatural.
Calico Early Man Archaeological Site
About 15 miles northeast of Barstow, off I-15, sits Calico Early Man Archaeological Site. The site became famous in 1942 when archaeologists discovered 200,000-year-old fragments of primitive stone tools embedded in stones. Nearly 12,000 stone tools have been excavated here since then, and the site became so famous that noted archaeologist Lewis Leakey became the site's curator in 1963. You can check the site out on your own from 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. or take the guided tours Thursday-Sunday during the same time period for a small donation.
The Amargosa Opera House
Back in 1967, Marta Becket set out restoring the Amargosa Opera House, an old Mexican Colonial-style building located in the “town” of Death Valley Junction, about 270 miles north of Palm Springs. In 1968, Becket began painting intricate murals on the walls of the theater, painting an entire “audience” for her theater. These painted spectators included everyone from kings and queens to prostitutes and gypsies. Over the years, the mural became more and more complex, as the theater grew to its current size of 120 fully-restored seats. Becket now owns the building and makes it her life's cause to expose the theater to visitors.
Manzanar
Pulling up to the national historic site of Manzanar, you come to a halt on the gravel road and step out of your car into this stark and impressive historical landmark. A walk around this site commemorating the first internment camp built by the U.S. government to house Japanese Americans during WWII will give you a memorable impression of one of the United States' darkest chapters. A moment experiencing the utter remoteness of the site will impress on you what it must have been like to be shipped off to the middle of nowhere.
Mitchell Caverns
Mitchell Caverns is a system of massive limestone caves and rock formations on the eastern edges of the Mojave National Preserve. Once thought to be no longer “living,” hard rains in recent years have brought the caves “back to life” as the stalactites and stalagmites began to show signs of new growth. Trips through the caves, including some of the most unique limestone formations found anywhere in the world, are available only as part of a guided tour which lasts about a half hour. The caverns, the only limestone caves in the California State Park system, are easily accessible, located in the Mojave Desert about 115 miles east of Barstow.
Badwater, Death Valley
Located in Death Valley National Park, Badwater is a low, salty pool resting at the lowest spot in the Western Hemisphere, 282 feet below sea level. The salt pools run throughout this part of the valley, never completely drying out, and, in some parts, a species of fish found nowhere else on Earth - the Death Valley pupfish - actually thrives. Badwater has great views of Dante's View and the Panamint Mountains, both of which tower over the surreal, salt pool-covered lowland.
Pioneertown, Yucca Valley
Fun to get away to for a day trip, Pioneertown in Yucca Valley was built in 1946 as a movie set for Westerns, with the likes of Gene Autry and Duncan Renaldo having filmed and stayed here at one point. Among the town's first investors was Roy Rogers, who built the famous Pioneer bowling alley, where, 50 years ago, the cowboy star rolled the first strike in the bowling alley's history. The Wild West-look of downtown has been splendidly preserved, from the bullet holes in the signs to the functional hitching posts for movie horses. You can take in a mock gunfight on the weekends on Main Street from April-October.
|
|
|