The Desert Way with Jaylyn and John

Cushenbury Springs: Cemented in History

Jaylyn and John10 years ago3 years ago68 mins

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…

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Apple Valley’s Hilltop House: The Longest Goodbye

Jaylyn and John10 months ago7 months ago310 mins

Built in 1957 by oil baron and town founder Newton T. Bass and his business partner and brother-in-law Bud Westlund, the Hilltop House wasn’t just a home — it was a modern desert mansion perched on Miner’s Hill like Apple Valley’s crown jewel. From its spot 300 feet above the Apple Valley Inn, it commanded…

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Lake Havasu Museum of History: A Bridge to the Past

Jaylyn and John8 years ago2 years ago05 mins

Take a drive through Lake Havasu City today and it is hard to imagine a time when Jet Skis and speed boats weren’t racing through the wide expanse of blue water, or when Spring breakers and snow birds weren’t making it a prime destination in the desert. The London Bridge was purchased by Robert McCulloch…

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Bagdad Cemetery: Upon A Desert Driest

Jaylyn and John9 years ago9 months ago179 mins

There are at least ten Bagdad’s in America. They survive in federal geological surveys and maps of California, Florida, Arizona, Pennsylvania, Texas, Louisiana, Kentucky, Virginia, New York and Tennessee. Only three have post offices.

But only one Bagdad holds the distinction of having once thrived in the often inhospitable environs of the Mojave Desert…

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My Achy Breaky Hart

Jaylyn and John1 year ago11 months ago05 mins

During the Panic of 1907, a financial crash that began with a severe drop on the New York Stock Exchange, James Hart and the brothers Bert and Clark Hitt, discovered pockets of rich gold ore in rhyolite on a steep slope in the Castle Mountains, approximately 4 miles south of the 23-miles long Barnwell &…

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Earle C. Strebe Theatres: Palm Trees to Pines

Jaylyn and John2 years ago1 year ago09 mins

The honor of receiving the very first star on Palm Springs Walk of Stars in 1992 didn’t go to a blockbuster entertainer like Bob Hope, Ginger Rogers or Frank Sinatra. The coveted star was instead bestowed upon a modest and well-liked man from Indiana, Earle Clifford Strebe, in front of the historic Plaza Theatre he…

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Twentynine Palms: Marines and Murals

Jaylyn and John6 years ago3 years ago07 mins

Although Twentynine Palms Marine Corps Base is the largest Marine training base in the world, this distinctly military town has a softer side. In 1996, former Marine, 29 Palms resident and television host, Huell Howser, featured the unveiling ceremonies for the initial eight of Twentynine Palms murals commissioned by the Action Council in his “Visiting”…

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Daggett, California: The Tiny Town That Changed Perceptions of the Mojave Desert

Jaylyn and John10 years ago3 years ago2424 mins

“There ain’t no sin and there ain’t no virtue. There’s just stuff people do.”

—John Steinbeck, The Grapes of Wrath

Perhaps no dusty desert town from the 19th Century exemplified Steinbeck’s quote better than Daggett, California. Shootouts, saloons, hangings and frontier justice, the old town had it all, and so much more…

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Warbirds and a Wascally Wabbit Over Palm Springs

Jaylyn and John6 years ago3 years ago26 mins

President Eisenhower credited the C-47 Skytrain as one of the seven weapons that won World War II. It was a very effective way to move cargo. It is presently the largest airplane that Palm Springs Air Museum flies. We decided to get up close and personal. The teardrop object under the pilot’s window is a…

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Rainbow Basin: A Coat of Many Colors

Jaylyn and John9 years ago3 years ago14 mins

The Mojave Desert wears a coat of many colors. Both majestic and mysterious, Rainbow Basin is notable for miles of fantastical and beautiful shapes of rock formations, its fossil beds and geologic wonders.

Don’t expect a Skittles rainbow though. You will enjoy its varied palette of natural hues but it’s subtle and changes throughout the day with shadows.

Surprises await just off the beaten path. Park your vehicle to the side of the road and go for a walkabout. Hiking Owl Canyon offers many discoveries, such as lava tubes, dry water falls and…

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The Desert Way with Jaylyn and John

Project Carryall: Almost a Blast From the Past

Road Runner’s Retreat on Route 66: A Light to Remember

Mission Creek Preserve: The Life and Death of the T Cross K Ranch

Murray’s Ranch: The Only Black Dude Ranch in the World?

Amboy Cemetery: Dust in the Wind

Sedona, AZ: Tombs With a View

African Lion Spotted in Amboy Was a Cool Cat on Route 66

Leo Carrillo State Park: Popular Film Location

The 20th Century Cave Dwellers of Dublin Gulch

Goffs General Store: Once a Route 66 Social Hub

Cushenbury Springs: Cemented in History

Apple Valley’s Hilltop House: The Longest Goodbye

Lake Havasu Museum of History: A Bridge to the Past

Bagdad Cemetery: Upon A Desert Driest

My Achy Breaky Hart

Earle C. Strebe Theatres: Palm Trees to Pines

Twentynine Palms: Marines and Murals

Daggett, California: The Tiny Town That Changed Perceptions of the Mojave Desert

Warbirds and a Wascally Wabbit Over Palm Springs

Rainbow Basin: A Coat of Many Colors