Overnighting in Nipton

Nipton, California, near the Nevada state line, is another of those Mojave Desert towns that sprang up when there were minerals, cattle and a railroad. While so many of those towns now exist as only names on a map, Nipton is still hanging on. Just barely.

Nipton Trading Post sells, well, not much, though it's filled with travelers' needs, souvenirs and lottery tickets.

There's a cafe with a sign proclaiming it's under new management, but it was closed when I was there.

The historic 5-room Hotel Nipton is still open, and had at least one couple staying there. And the cactus garden was nicely maintained.

Out back there are RV sites with electricity and water, and a half dozen "eco-cabins" with air conditioning and wood stoves. I dry camped next to one that needed a visit from Omar the Tent Maker.

There's a large Help Wanted sign by the highway. The labor pool is almost non-existent in this corner of the desert. There seemed to be no more than five Niptonians to run the place, so the sign is aimed at passers through. Anyone with restaurant experience? Wanna turn this place into, oh, a gourmet taco mecca or something?

A dubious building across the highway has a sign advertising it as a potential artist studio. Come on you artistic desert lovers. Creative solitude... cheap rent... Bring your art world friends, too. People. They need people. And money. People with money. So I didn't feel too bad paying $25 to park in the dirt.

A man's gotta eat, even in the desert

Ow

It was one of those slow motion, oh crap, losing my balance, nothing to grab, nothing I can do about it tumbles. Scraped and bruised. My camera survived the fall unscathed because I instinctively held it up.

Snow

There was fresh snow on Charleston Peak when I was in Pahrump last fall. I'm back and there's still snow up there. It's 81° in the valley, so no problem.

Catching some Z's on Zzyzx Road

Besides leading to the notorious hot spring, Zzyzx Road is also an access point to the Mojave National Preserve. That means dispersed camping. I found a nice, roomy, private spot overlooking usually-dry Soda Lake. It was a good place to watch the mountains light up with the setting sun.

The desert is the last refuge of the con man

For most people making the trip between Southern California and Las Vegas, the sign for Zzyzx Road is just a landmark, a funny name indicating progress through the Mojave Desert. Only a few actually take the exit because only a few know there’s something out there by the usually-dry lake bed. I was one of the clueless until recently. When I learned the story I had to go see.

Curtis Howe Springer, a fake minister and fake doctor from Alabama, filed a mining claim at what had been Soda Springs. Instead of mining he established a fake hot spring (the water was heated by a boiler), gave it a fake name and sold fake miracle cures. The misuse of the mining claim got him and his suckers followers evicted and the quack cures got him thrown in jail for 49 days. Zzyzx fell into disrepair until it was converted to the CSU Desert Studies Center. Researchers made use of the offices, housing and other infrastructure but had no need for the spa facilities, which continue to crumble. I like to imagine the ghost of the Reverend Doctor Springer wandering around Zzyzx, ranting about how an enterprising fellow can’t run a good con anymore without authorities getting in the way.

So that's where I was

What happened to all the ambitious roofs?

Route 66, Daggat CA

Hear that lonesome whistle blow

Well, more like a horn blaring, but it was still somewhat evocative. A country musician has probably written a song about that sound.

This is one of the views from the overflow parking lot at Amboy Crater Trailhead. It's a BLM facility, so it's free and legal to stay overnight. And it's paved, which means no tracking dirt into the Rolling Steel Tent. Best of all, I was totally alone. Ah, peace and quiet. Except for the trains.

Quiet on the set

Once a motel and cafe on Route 66 in the Mojave Desert, Roy's in Amboy, California, is now mostly a pee stop, photo op and occasional film location.

I spoke too soon

Thursday I posted there were only light winds here at Sawtooth Canyon. A couple of hours later, though, it started blowing like a son of a bitch. Thirty miles and hour with gusts up to fifty. It was old news to me when the alert came on my phone. Hey, I wasn't going anywhere.

Wind like this is an inconvenient fact of life this time of year in the desert. The trick is to get your traveling done in the morning when the wind is less intense, then hunker down somewhere and ride it out. Yippie-ki-ay!

The desert can be weird

Another of what I hope will be several videos from the desert. At an abandoned gas station by a rail junction, thousands of people have abandoned shoes and other things. Because why not.

Way nicer than expected

My impression of the Mojave Desert had been formed by numerous dreadful trips along Interstates 15 and 40, which, for some reason, always occurred in summer.

A drive from Needles to Barstow, at the end of a transcontinental slog, seemed like it... would... never... end. It was over a hundred degrees and the sun had been up less than an hour. I worried my engine would blow up, leaving me in the middle of hell. Why would anyone want to be out here? They must be insane.

Well, I'm out here and, as near as I can tell, I'm not insane. Mental health professionals might disagree.

I've spent the past four winters discovering I like the desert. So I'm off discovering more desert to like. I had read a couple of articles about the near-ghost towns of the Mojave, places built on dreams that died shortly after being realized. Amboy, Kelso, Nipton, Zzyzx...

When you're going out in the Mojave, it's a good idea to know places to spend the night. So I did some research, read some reviews. That's why I'm currently at Sawtooth Canyon Campground, off Highway 247 between Lucern Valley and Barstow. It's a neat, clean, quiet place tucked up against some dramatic rock formations. There are shelters, tables, fire pits, toilets. And it's free. Perfect. The weather is perfect, too. Mid-70s and a light wind during the day, low 50s at night. I had planned on spending just one night then moving on. But I'll stay at least one more day. It says a lot about a place when Mr. Itchy Feet (me) doesn't take off at first light.

Showers near Joshua Tree National Park

"Gift shop" and "showers" don't usually end up in the same thought unless you're talking bridal or baby showers. But I'm talking good old hot water spraying at you.

There's a gift shop at the intersection of Highway 62 and Park Boulevard in the town of Joshua Tree, California. At the counter, tell the clerk you want a shower and give her four dollars. She will give you a token and a key attached to a big wooden cutout of a duck or a moon.

Go around back to the door that matches your key. (The key is for the handle, not the dead bolt. It took me a while to figure that out.) Inside is a sink, toilet, and a big wheelchair-friendly shower. There's no counter but a bunch of hooks. Bring your own towel. The token will get you seven minutes of water, which was more than enough for me, and word has it it's plenty even for those washing and rinsing long hair. When you're done, take the key back to the clerk, thank her for the excellent shower, and maybe buy a souvenir in remembrance of the experience. Mmmmm, showers.

The Rolling Steel Tent is being bugged

Ah, yes, it's that time of year when annoying insects come out of wherever they spent the winter. No biting bugs where I am. Just the kind that insist on buzzing around my face, or tickling my arm hairs, or landing on the laptop screen. Tiny ones, huge ones. Go away. There's nothing to eat here. And if you want to mate, do it elsewhere, please.