In 1915, Stephen “Desert Steve” Albert Ragsdale, originally from Coffeyville, Kansas, rattled his way west, coaxing an early‑model automobile across the Mojave as if stubbornness alone could substitute for horsepower. He was bound for a business conference in Los Angeles, because apparently the best route to professional success was straight through a sun‑scorched nowhere, but…
Cronese vs. Coronise Figuring out the origin of the Cronese Cat’s name has just about as many theories as a storybook feline has lives. It was believed the natural wonder is either named for early explorer and author Titus Fey Cronise or William H.V. Cronise. In 1870, both were officers of the Piute Mining Company….
We’re not saying Apple Valley, California, is in the middle of nowhere, although Los Angelinos may argue differently. This 62 foot labyrinth is great place to go to clear your head and get back in touch with nature. To listen to the wind and not much else. Despite its popularity, of all the times we’ve visited here we’ve never come across anyone else at this spot. We hope you enjoy the same pleasure…
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…
The Mojave Road. It still stirs the imagination like few other places in this amazing desert. Before the railroad came along in the years after the Civil War, the Mojave Road was the preferred, and often dangerous, route from all points east, to the Southern California coast. Rock Spring was an important stop along the trail. So much so that the U.S. Army designated it an official military post…
Have you ever wondered if the vastly different cities of Big Bear City and La Quinta, California, could possibly have anything in common? One is high in the San Bernardino mountains , a few minutes from Big Bear Lake, and the other is near the Santa Rosa mountains in the low desert, approximately an hour’s…
You may be familiar with the large marble Chinese Guardian Lion statues between Route 66 and Kelbaker Road but did you know Amboy may have once had its very own living African lion? “Old Man Miller,” as he was known in the Amboy area, was the first person to spot a large African lion near…
Your knight called and said you really ought to be here. Shields Dates, located at 80-225 Highway 111 in Indio, just over the border of La Quinta, is a favorite stop for world-class travelers and locals alike. The company was founded in 1924 by Floyd Shields and his wife, Bess Lugton. Floyd Shields was one…
Along a solitary dirt road, five miles north of Interstate 15 in Newberry Springs, if you know where to look, you can find Saint Antony’s Coptic Orthodox Monastery. You’ll know right away you’ve ventured into somewhere really amazing…
Update, December 20, 2024: Congrats to Pappy and Harriet’s! “Knitting Factory Entertainment CEO Morgan Margolis and his partners have prevailed in a long-running dispute with the defendants, securing control of Pappy + Harriet’s in Pioneertown near Joshua Tree, and winning millions in damages. After a multi-week jury trial, the jury unanimously found in favor of…
