Chariot Fire - San Diego County

I mentioned in my last post that we were going to our favorite get away spot for a couple of weeks. I also mentioned that there was a large fire in the area and we might have trouble getting there (if at all). Thanks to a change in wind direction we had no problem.

Friday morning we took a chance to see if we could get on the road through the fire area. When we got there, the barricade had just been opened. The scenery was still beautiful for several miles. We decided to make our first stop (to get a view) at a place I did a post on about a year ago. 

Many of these photos were taken in the same spots for both posts. Pre and Post fire...

There was a fireman posted at this spot and he told us that we were the first civilians he had seen there in several days. They were still mopping up the fire and dealing with hot spots and we should be careful. My camera was sending me telepathic messages to get busy. We didn't see another civilian until we had driven all the way through the fire area. We stopped at the little store in Mt. Laguna and on our return trip we saw several civilians, but still not as many as we expected. This is the longest post I've ever done. I apologize in advance for that...

We had just driven through the little town of Julian and our path took us directly towards the fire. The fire was nine miles outside of town. Our campground is about half way there.

A bit closer! I'm surprised the dead bugs on our windshield didn't show up in these two photos.

We made it to our destination and although there was lots of smoke, the fire was now hidden from us.

Here is the just opened turn off through the fire area. We think the guy in the truck just opened the barricades. This took place three days after we arrived in the area.

Beautiful Sunrise Highway (Ca S-1) to Mt. Laguna. No fire damage yet.

One of the "Helispots" for the fire was on a ranch located in this beautiful valley. It was probably the closest place to safely conduct helicopter operations.

Several miles into the drive we saw this. It is almost the exact view from where our RV is parked, but from a different angle.

This is what is left of the old road which was re-routed to the other side of the hills to the right.  On the left side you can see the same monuments in the post from last year. There are plaques on and around it dedicated to hang gliders, some who died there. This path is now part of the Pacific Crest Trail (Mexico to Canada).

They think the fire originated at the bottom of this ravine. I stuck my foot out so you could see just how steep it is.

Just because I liked it

A major rock slide on the old road

The fight goes on in the distance

One of the many Hand Crews we saw in the area.

Another "just because I liked it"

A fireman told me that they believe the fire started where that burnt ground ends in the middle of the photo. It comes to a single point. The prevailing wind blows towards where i was standing, so that is the likely spot.

I took this photo from the Pacific Crest Trail. You can see where it cuts around the top of the burnt mountain top. I'm going to follow the trail for a while.

This is the spot where the trail disappears around the mountain in the previous photo

Around the corner it looks the same and there are more turns to make

Another turn coming up. My goal is to be able to see where we are camped. It's only a few miles and the Pacific Crest Trail goes very close to it.

Starting to see a lot of rock on the trail. I think the heat made some of the rocks crack and fall off.

The trail is now covered with ash and burnt material. I know that it isn't healthy to breath this stuff so, I called it a day. Besides, my wife and granddaughter are probably starting to wonder if I've fallen off of the mountain

Heading back down the trail

Just so you can see the scale of it all. It's a long long way down. I'm no daredevil and don't like heights, but this is becoming a tradition, right?

And again...

Back on the road

A very common sight on our drive

One of the main goals for the firefighters was to keep the fire from jumping the road. Most of the structure damage occurred when it did jump the road, from left to right. 

There were 149 structures destroyed in the fire. Many of them in this area.

I have the utmost respect for Firefighters. Especially those who work wildfires. It is brutal, exhausting and extremely dangerous.

This spot is is several miles down the road from where we first stopped. The Pacific Crest Trail is just on the other side of these trees. I don't know what to make of all these fire hoses. Maybe damaged?

Another little hot spot right off the road

The good news is that nobody was seriously injured in this fire!

Last May I did some hiking in this area looking for the remains of an old gold mine town. I didn't know that what was left of it disappeared in an previous fire. I found the place, but not much was left. I did manage to get myself lost though! These things will be the subject of a future post.

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What Price Progress?

I'm about a third of the way through my "Route 66 Ghost Towns" posts. It's time for me to start mixing in some written stuff and photos from other places we've been visiting.  My post today includes a few things relating to Route 66, but without photos.  Just about the time this post is up, we'll be on our way to our favorite mountain ridge for a couple of weeks. There is a fire in the area though and I hope we can get through. They gave it a name (The Chariot Fire), so it must be sizable.

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Route 66

The story was the same for many towns in the south west 

The railroads needed water stops across the desert and built them

Route 66 and the National Trails Highway breathed life into them

John Steinbeck's Joad family memorialized them

Interstate 40 ripped the hearts out of them

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What Price Progress?

It's one thing to see

An old mining town

Fall into decay

After giving up

Her treasure

It's quite another

To see a place die

For no other reason

Than progress

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Vapor Lock

I remember sitting in the back seat

of various old cars

the only air conditioning

was four windows down

at sixty mph

burlap desert bags

full of water

hanging in front of the radiator

hood slightly open for air

blistering heat 

threatening us

with vapor lock

and overheating

cactus, yucca, Joshua trees and rocks

mostly nothing though

except for the silence and solitude

of the desert

one arm out the window

flying my hand

like a plane in the hot wind

the only real relief

to be had

resided in the little towns 

and even smaller places

like Amboy

Cadiz

Chambless

Danby

Essex

Fenner

Goffs

and Needles

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Danby California - Route 66 Ghost Towns

Like many other towns in the Mojave desert, Danby was originally a water stop for steam locomotives owned by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Company.  Route 66 was built many years later and like many of the other towns you've seen here, it was soon followed by a gas station, cafe and garage.  Also, like many other towns along Route 66, it died when the new Interstate Highway (I-40) bypassed the area. 

Other than the building below, there is really nothing left of the original town of Danby. I've been told that the old town dump is close by, so maybe next time we'll look for it.

 The long and lonesome Route 66 cutting across the mighty Mojave Desert.

The remaining building looks like an auto repair garage. At some point in this building's history, some wise person decided that it was worth saving. At first glance, a passerby would wonder why. If you enlarge the photo, you can see a train crossing the desert in the  right background.

Here is the reason! This mural was supposedly painted on the building in about 1915. It is easy to see what it is, but I can't find a single clue as to who painted it and why.  I was also unable to find any vintage photos of Danby. 

 There was so little to look at, that my wife decided to stay in the jeep and enjoy the A/C. 

There aren't many structures for graffiti out here, so people have taken to leaving messages made of rocks along the roads.   During World War II, there was an Army training airfield very near Danby. It was called Camp Danby and was one of the nine airfields that made up the sprawling Desert Warfare Training Center under the command of General George Patton. To this day, it still holds the record of the largest military base ever. One of these days, I'll do a post on it. It is pretty interesting.

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I still have many posts to do on these ghost towns and other desert oddities.  I also have MANY other photo and written posts piling up and I really should start working them in again. 

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Chambless California - Route 66 Ghost Towns

Chambless, California is yet another small desert oasis along Route 66. It died after the new interstate highway (I-40) bypassed it and the flow of customers dried up.  Chambless, like most of the other Rt. 66 ghost towns I've posted here, mainly consisted of the obligatory (or so it seems) cafe, gas station, cabins and auto repair shop.  Chambless also had something that most of the others didn't. It had trees, porches and lots of shade. Through the years the original buildings went through many changes, but they still stand. 

 Chambless, circa 1928 (source Google, owner unknown)

Chambless, 2013

Please note the pattern of two windows on each side of the door and the original adobe blocks surrounding them.

 Chambless post card (owner unknown)

 In this photo and the next, you can see the same cabins shown in the post card.

Those gray posts with metal boxes on top of them are electrical hookups for RVs. I have no idea when they were used, but they don't look that old to me.

Chambless, circa 1933 (source Google, owner unknown) 

A better view of the original adobe building surrounded by later expansions. 

This is the view on the other side of Route 66. I love the colors in the mountain.

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I sincerely appreciate all of you who follow and comment on our travels, my stories, poems, photos, rants and the other general nonsense I post here.  Thanks!

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Goldroad Arizona - Route 66 Ghost Towns

Although Goldroad is a Route 66 ghost town, its demise had little to do with the establishment of the new Interstate Highway that bypassed it. Gold was discovered here in the late 1890's and the town of Goldroad was officially established in 1902. After the gold strike the population of Goldroad grew to between 400-500 people. The area thrived until more substantial silver and gold strikes occurred in other areas. These days, there is nothing in the area but building foundations and many abandoned mines.

The town sprouted up on Route 66 between Oatman and Kingman Arizona. The next photo picks up where the road disappears in this one.

I believe this photo was taken in the 1920's. You can clearly see how Route 66 hair pinned up the mountains with no guard rails and barely enough room for one lane in each direction.  Through the years, many cars have gone off the edge. In the near future I'll do a post on the high-point pass through these mountains. 

I took this photo a couple of months ago from almost the exact vantage point as the photo above.  The curve in the road is the curve on the right side of the previous photo. Of course, it is about 100 years later. There is one mining operation still at work here and until recently, they gave tours. I "heard" that the tours stopped because they didn't want anyone to know how much gold they were finding. You can see the huge pile of mine tailings that completely cross the photo.  Mine tailings are materials left over after the extraction of valuable minerals from the ore. 

There are many vertical and horizontal mine entrances in the area. 

Some foundations from the former town.

Here is a huge vertical entrance. All of the related structure is long gone and only a deep mine shaft remains..

Others mines are both horizontal and vertical.  This one was only off the road by about 10 feet. I couldn't hear the rocks I threw into it, hit bottom.

I took this photo without even getting out of the jeep. Mines are everywhere!

Back roads like this one are covered with mines, pits and tailings.

Here (and in the next few photos) are more old building foundations made from local stone.

Places like this had to endure a double whammy. The gold dried up and Route 66 was bypassed by the interstate. They didn't stand a chance.



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Golf Ball House or Arizona Death Star - Desert Oddity

Not too long ago I posted some photos and information about the ghost town of Yucca, Arizona. There is one other very unique thing about Yucca. We spotted it on the opposite side of the highway from the ghost town. After doing some research (I love the Internet) I found out that this desert oddity is called the Yucca Golf Ball House (among other things).  It was built in the mid-1970's and it doesn't really look that much like a golf ball to me.  I was told that it was originally known as The Dinesphere, Space Station Restaurant. 

Apparently, The Dinesphere was yet another rip-off scheme enticing people to buy worthless land in the middle of the desert. Remember my post about Santa Claus, Arizona?

After the unsuccessful real estate ripoff, the the Dinesphere sat unused for several years.. In the early 1980's somebody bought the structure as a present for his wife and remodeled it into "The Golf Ball House," containing over 3000 square feet of living space. He also built a few other "space age" structures to the property. Although some people called it the Golf Ball House, many others referred to it as The Arizona Death Star.

Currently, there is a new owner who calls it Area 66 and sells UFO related items. Judging by the banners, we could have stopped there for a cold beer. However, we had many miles of desert driving to do before dark. Maybe we'll stop next time, but only if the owner doesn't try to gouge us.

Dinesphere Space Station Restaurant, Golf Ball House, Arizona Death Star, or Area 66? I think I prefer the Arizona Death Star, but no matter which name you prefer, it is a desert oddity of the first order. 

 Maybe if it wasn't surrounded by all the other stuff, it would look like a golf ball.

Even if was an awesome house on the inside, I'd still be wondering, "why did they build it here?" There isn't anything else here...

One of several spacey looking things around the property.  As the crow flies, this place is really close the Semi-on-a-Stick from the Yucca Arizona post.


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Desert Oddity - Shaffer Fish Bowl - Route 66

I've run across a lot of odd things in the desert, right? Today's installment isn't just one of the oddest, it is one of my all time favorites as well.  It's called "The Shaffer Fish Bowl." I've spoken to many people who know a great deal about Route 66 and not a single one had actually seen it. I found the directions to it on the internet.  We went there in late March. I knew that photos wouldn't reflect just how isolated this place is. So, If you don't mind, please watch this very short video. I apologize in advance for my nasal sounding and spontaneous narration. 

I hope the feeling of pure solitude comes through in this video.

Route 66

Nothing as far as the eye can see. It's that way in the other direction as well.  Kingman Arizona is on the other side of the far mountain range. 

Shaffer Fish Bowl

The Shaffer Fish Bowl

Moss grows in the tank, the fish eat the moss and the spring keeps the tank full.  Add to that the fact that goldfish can live for up to and beyond 20 years under the right conditions. The can even survive under ice. I'm still thinking that somebody replaces the fish if they die.

The hike up to the spring is short, but kind of steep.  After checking out the fish bowl, I noticed that there was another trail leading around the rocks.

I'm no geologist, but I'm pretty sure that there aren't any square caves in nature.  I'm thinking that maybe this was going to be a mine shaft and was carved out by the same person who created the tank to catch water from the natural spring. It might have been Shaffer, or maybe he came along later. It's a mystery to me (for the time being anyway).

I always have to do this to show you how steep a drop off is.

The trail abruptly ends at that large rock. Another mystery.

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