Let’s face it. Most of us would rather be exploring somewhere in the desert in the middle of nowhere. As often happens, one discovery leads to others then suddenly, you must know more. Here’s when good books comes in handy. We’ve pulled a few favorites out of our crowded bookshelf to share. Whenever possible, we’ve…
Originally, this path was an ancient Native American trade route that eventually led to the Pacific Ocean. In 1776, a Spanish Franciscan Friar, Francisco Garcés, traveled the same trail as he explored the desert on behalf of the Pope and the Spanish crown. By the time of the Civil War, the trail had evolved into what we now know as the Mojave Road…
An unassuming yet historically significant midcentury-modern building can be found on a small patch of land in a desert city known all over the world. Without further ado, we present the Owen Coffman American Legion in Palm Springs. The original American Legion in the great town actually goes back to the late 1930s, when a…
Note: We gave a presentation about this subject on September 14, 2023, to the Big Bear Historical Society. This article is the culmination of a month’s long research project. We also debuted a video, which we plan to upload to our YouTube channel. Our warmest thanks goes to historians Anne Roark, Jonni Vindiola, Mark Durban,…
Just what keeps the memory of this old town alive more than a century after it was born in the midst of the mining boom of the 19th Century?
Walk down Butte Avenue and, in the middle of the block, you will surely find the answer at the Rand Desert Museum.
Founded in 1943 and given over to Kern County in 1948, the museum is the heart and soul of the old town…
It wasn’t Camel cigarettes that paved the way for Route 66, although that would come later with its billboards and imagery appearing along the iconic Mother Road. It was living, breathing dromedaries (one humped Arabian camels) and Bactrian camels (two humped) acquired from Turkey, Egypt, and Tunisia. A persistent legend of the Southwest is the…
Laughlin, Nevada is 90 miles south of Las Vegas, but if you’re looking for something milder while still waltzing with Lady Luck, then Laughlin just might be the winning ticket. The Avi Casino Journey KOA is conveniently across the road from Avi Casino and just eleven miles from downtown Laughlin’s riverfront casinos. Avi Casino sits…
The shifting sands of the Imperial Valley were not just an obstacle; they were a force of nature that swallowed early automobiles whole. By 1913, the challenge had grown so dire that the Auto Club of Southern California summoned all interested parties to El Centro, demanding a solution for a road that could carry travelers…
John Cushenbury aimed to hit it big, and looking back, he did. A prospector and miner in 1860, Cushenbury discovered silver in the limestone deposit where Mitsubishi Cement Plant is now situated. Hopefully the next silver baron in California, Cushenbury set up a mining camp at the springs below his deposit. When word got out about the discovery the local desert came alive with dreams of grandeur that prospecting brings. Little did he imagine that someday his strike would result in a mega-million dollar kingdom of cement…
Where does one go when the heart suddenly decides it craves foreign adventure and uncharted lands? In our minds, we’ve always been seasoned globetrotters — the kind of people who sip tiny coffees in distant plazas and nod knowingly at train schedules we can’t read. In reality, we have never stepped foot outside the United…