TheCaliKid
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Joined: 6/8/2010
From: Calistan
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Over the New Years holiday weekend, the wife and I decided to head out to the desert for a little camping/exploring adventure.
The following narrative is in chronological order.
This is a portion of a very large map that is hanging on the wall of the BLM's Jawbone Station Visitors Center:
We drove up to Randsburg, but being that it was New Years Day, nothing was open. This is one of the homes there:
We then headed into the El Paso Mountains, and encountered this sign:
In 1987, the BLM began an aggressive campaign to evict all "desert squatters", mining claims notwithstanding.
One of them was Walt Bickel, who had been living and mining in these hills since 1934. In late 1987, hours before his camp was to be "inspected" by the BLM, poor old Walt suffered a stroke.
Here is an excerpt from an 1989 article written about Bickel:
"Over the past two years considerable controversy has surrounded the Bureau of Land Management's (BLM) new 'zero tolerance to occupancy' policy for small-scale miners. Many of these miners have lived on their claims for 30 to 50 years and more and feel occupancy is absolutely necessary in order to protect their mining operations and equipment from theft and vandalism. Walt was given notice by the BLM that he would probably have to vacate the cabin he built in 1934, used throughout the 1930's depression-era, and lived in exclusively from 1946 until 1987.
The date of 2 September, 1987 was set by the BLM for a 'surface use' inspection to determine if his mining operation was extensive enough to permit caretaker occupancy. A few hours before the time set for the inspection Walt suffered a mild stroke. The stroke in combination with advancing Parkinson's disease led to Walt's being confined to a nursing home. When the BLM inspection determined that Walt's claims did not show enough surface use to warrant his occupancy Walt's many friends were concerned about what the demolition of his camp and cabin would do to his failing health. There was also concern about the historical and cultural values that were about to be destroyed."
RIP Walt Bickel (1905 - 1996)
There were far too many loud and noisy OVH's in the area for our liking, so we decided to leave. The view as we began to descend back to the main road:
We drove about 2 hours northeast. Along the way, we drove past Owens Lake. I felt compelled to stop and take this picture:
Arriving in the general area we wanted to be, we found this old abandoned road several miles outside of [link=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darwin,_California]Darwin, Calif.[/link] and quickly decided that it would be a good place to look for old bottles. This location is at 5,450 feet elevation:
There are several Joshua Trees in the area. Here is the top section of a baby one:
After only about 20 mins of searching, I looked down and was astonished to see what looked like a complete ACL soda bottle. I took this picture right after I had spotted the bottle:
As it lay:
New Years Day, 2012.....this is my first complete soda find since early June of 2010. I was very happy:
The bottle is a 9 oz. 1945 NEHI, bottled in Los Angeles. Aside from a small chip on the very bottom edge of the bottle, it is in excellent condition. The condition of the label, both front and back, is absolutly immaculate....no fading whatsoever. I found it a few feet off to the side of the road. It is hard to fathom that after 67 years of being exposed to the elements, it could look so good:
NOTE: In California, finding a complete soda bottle out in the open like this is extremely rare! Any bottle that had colored glass (such as green, blue, or purple, etc.) was picked up or shot up long ago. The only other bottle I have ever found was also clear glass. I can say with about 100% certainty, that nobody had walked that section of road looking for old glass ACL soda bottles.
Another thing you have to keep in mind, is that people begun scouring the desert beginning in the 1930's really, looking for old bottles from the last century. Those old bottles were picked up long ago. The only salvation is to dig what dumps haven't been thoroughly picked over. Along with the harsh desert rocks.....good luck with that. I am firmly convinced that bottles from the 40's, 50's, and 60's were simply considered worthless trash by previous generations of bottle/artifact hunters. Thank goodness!
After the excitement of finding the NEHI died down, we continued searching. About 45 mins later, I happened to spot what looked like the bottom of a larger-sized bottle some 200 feet away. When I got close to it, I realized that it was an old glass insulator:
I felt that this insulator was special, because it still had the copper wire attached to it. You could see where they had cut it out of the line when they replaced the poles.....I'm guessing sometime in the 1960's or perhaps 70's. It was also still attached to its threaded wooden place holder:
I also found .84 cents in old pennies, dimes, and nickels. For what it is worth, I collect and save pre-'82 pennies, since they are made out of 95% copper:
Shortly after finding the insulator, we felt compelled to leave the area and find a suitable camping spot for the night. The Sun was going to set at 4:28 p.m. that evening, so the day was a short one.
This is one of the roads that leads into Saline Valley, we turned onto it:
The general area is filled with many smaller-sized volcanic rocks:
We are able to find a place to camp. As the sun is setting, I decide to walk around and take a few pictures - talking advantage of the striking lighting:
Joshua Trees are spectacular, especially up close:
Our campsite location is at 5,000 feet.
After spending about 45 mins setting up camp, I dig a fire pit, lay in a fire, and light it off, as the temperature begins to drop:
Dinner consisted of a pure vegetable stir fry. Everything had been cut up before we left on the trip - a huge time savings:
After a very long and cold night, the view out the tent window in the morning:
The view out our front door, majestic!
Wake up temperature is a tropically-warm 22 *F (-5.5 *C).....our gallon of drinking water outside the tent is frozen solid:
There is "wake-up temperature", and then there is "get-up temperature." At 8:30 in the morning, it is still a pleasant and warm 32 *F (0 *C) in the shade:
After a light breakfast, we pack up camp and head back to the same area as the previous day for more bottle searching:
A rock culvert section of the old road:
Interesting green rock outcroppings:
Don't step on this:
Old survey monument. There were three such monuments in very close proximity to each other. The earliest dated one was 1933:
After a few hours of walking and searching, we had reached the outskirts of Darwin:
We decided to call it a day on bottle searching, and drive into town to take some pictures. We had visited here briefly in April of 2011, and found the town to be somewhat creepy.
Darwin, which was founded in 1874, is pretty much a living ghost town. Here is what I wrote on a desert blog concerning part of my experiences there:
"During the April visit, I pulled the car over just off the side of the main street to take a few pictures. Next thing I know, I see an a large unfriendly-looking man standing about 200 yards off silently glaring at me. He had come out of some building that had appeared, from a casual glance, to be unoccupied .
During the January visit, I again pulled over on the side of the road to take a few pictures of the old miners quarters, and a man suddenly came out of one of the buildings near the very top section, and glared at me.
Then, about 5 mins later we were in another part of the town taking pictures from while inside the car, and a man with a large beard wearing dark blue overalls came out of a shack and stared at us. It was obvious what we were doing, but he walked all the way out into the middle of the street behind us as we left, and I watched him get slowly smaller in the rearview mirror as he continued to stare at us.
You had better get used to it, becuase if you visit Darwin - you will be watched!"
If you have really good eyes, you should be able to spot a man in this picture who was keeping an eye on me:
^ HINT: He's somewhere in right hand side of the picture.
I was taking the two pictures below, when the man appeared:
More pictures of the town:
First gen K/5 Blazer:
Bottle art in the desert, looks pretty sweet:
The local Fire Department:
The Post Office:
How to keep your trunk closed in Darwin:
I found the text on the side of this rusty van somewhat humorous, considering the circumstances:
1970's green Ford campers......must be a desert thing:
Having had our fill of Darwin, we turn for home.
Yes, you are looking at the highest point in the contiguous united states.....Mount Whitney at 14, 505 ft (4,421 m):
An interesting sign about the roads in the area over the years. Hmmmmm:
After nearly 5 hours of driving, we are home. I should also mention at this point that my wife found quite a few bottles herself. At any rate, this was the trip's haul:
And here are some shots of the loot cleaned up...
The 1945 NEHI:
My wife found this old Prince Albert tobacco tin:
The night we arrived home, I was cleaning it out. I opened the lid and starting tapping the tin to empty what I thought was some dirt trapped inside the tin. To my amazement, an old folded piece of paper fell out into the trashcan.
It is a note of some kind denoting what appears to be a mining claim:
We have no idea how old this note is, since it was found in a tobacco tin that was commonly made for over 80 years. It could be 40 years old, or it could be 100 years old. Any Prince Albert tobacco tin experts out there?
Regardless, the discovery of the note was quite special:
The insulator:
Here are some of the heart-breakers...
Yes, it is a very common Mission of California, but I'd gladly take a small desert town bottled one:
More small desert town California bottled Cokes...arrgh!
Well, I hope that you have enjoyed viewing and reading this post. I will close with a an old editorial from Desert Magazine, which I feel is appropriate for the occasion:
There Are Two Deserts
"ONE IS A GRIM desolate wasteland. It is the home of venomous reptiles and stinging insects, of vicious thorn-covered plants and trees, and of unbearable heat. This is the desert seen by the stranger speeding along the highway, impatient to be out of "this damnable country." It is the desert visualized by those children of luxury to whom any environment is unbearable which does not provide all of the comforts and services of a pampering civilization. It is a concept fostered by fiction writers who dramatize the tragedies of the desert for the profit it will bring them.
But the stranger and the uninitiated see only the mask.The other Desert--the real Desert-—is not for the eyes of the superficial observer, or the fearful soul or the cynic. It is a land, the character of which is hidden except to those who come with friendliness and understanding. To these the Desert offers rare gifts: health-giving sunshine--a sky that is studded with diamonds--a breeze that bears no--poison--a landscape of pastel colors such as no artist can duplicate--thorn-covered plants which during countless ages have clung tenaciously to life through heat and drought and wind and the depredations of thirsty animals,and yet each season send forth blossoms of exquisite coloring as a symbol of courage that has triumphed over terrifying obstacles.
To those who come to the Desert with friendliness, it gives friendship; to those who come with courage, it gives new strength of character. Those seeking relaxation find release from the world of man-made troubles. For those seeking beauty, the Desert offers nature's rarest artistry. This is the Desert that men and women learn to love."
- From the inaugural issue of Desert Magazine, November 1937
< Message edited by TheCaliKid -- 1/13/2012 5:11:22 AM >
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