In truth, Mojave isn't much of a town. In fact, it's here only because of the railroad. When the 20 mule teams were hauling loads of borax from Death Valley, they brought it to the nearest railroad here in Mojave. I don't know where borax is being hauled these days, but I don't think it comes here. Starting in 1876, rail lines both north-south and east-west crossed here and still do today. In the early days, the trains carried lots of passengers who were able to rest in accommodations here, including a "Harvey House". Gold mines spurred much of the rail traffic for a time, and I still see signs of mining activity. Aviation has also long been a part of Mojave's industry. Burt Rutan chose this location for development and launch of his non-stop around the world flight of Voyager, as well as SpaceShipOne that went into space twice within a two-week period. I intend to visit the Mojave Spaceport before leaving town.
One world famous wildflower site is the Antelope Valley Poppy Reserve. It has been on my list for some years, so I didn't mind the 40 mile drive to see it. Unfortunately, I wasn't prepared for their self-pay admission ($9 for seniors) and I wasn't ready to leave a $50 bill. I took an envelop thinking I would mail it in. Then I learned the trail into the valley was long (for me) and steep (for me). I went part way and saw very few poppies. (Later, folks told me it is a bad year, there isn't the normal display due to poor rain fall.) I found some back roads that went past some poppy fields, not great but better than nothing.
I also took time to visit a local strip mine still in operation and found a few patches of small yellow wildflowers.
That evening, I drove into the desert for sunset, which also proved to be disappointing, but it does show a few of the hundreds of wind turbines located here. Early light the next day also highlighted the wind farm. I dislike wind farms even more than solar farms. Of the hundreds of turbines in this farm, possibly more than a thousand, I've yet to see more than a few turning.
A visit to California City was interesting, but I took only one photograph, and it was really unrelated to the town. Cal City was the dream of a sociology professor/real estate developer. In the 1950s, he bought some 82,000 acres of desert and developed roads and other infrastructure to support a huge number of 1/4 acres lots. He expected it to eventually rival Los Angeles, but it failed to attract many buyers. By 1969, with the population around 1300, he sold out, no doub tat a great loss. The town has slowly grown to some 14,000 residents, many of whom work at nearby Edwards Air Force base. It is still the 3rd largest city in California in terms of land size.
This photo of urban art looks a little out of place in the desert.
Randsburg is one of three towns along US 395 that started as mining camps. Since 1896, Randsburg has been a gold mining community. You'd never guess that from the run-down look of the place. Today, the town tries to capture the tourist trade, but it appears to be failing. They call themselves a "living ghost town". The population in 2010 was 69, down from 77 in 2000, making it more of a dying ghost town.
I was intrigued by the sign on this "museum" run by Bart Parker, the town historian.
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