California City and the Mojave

[LERCA]

i first went there as a very small child in 1967 or so and have been obsessed with Cal City and the Mojave ever since. I don’t mind dry heat. Spent many summers in Palm Springs as a teen. 
True, the Mojave is hardcore desert. And not pretty like Arizona but I wonder why more people don’t boondock there. Cal City is the third largest city in California by size bit was never settled by the large numbers of people hoped for. It has roads sewers etc It’s totally flat so you can’t hide. But there’s so much space I doubt you’d be bothered. But I wonder if anyone else has ever been there. No one seems to have heard of it and it’s only a few hours from Los Angeles. That whole region has lots of small towns and is empty. And no it’s not near Slab City. Slab City is Imperial County and Cal City is Kern.

 

[MrNoodly]

Yeah, it's north of Edwards AFB. And if you're into cars, Willow Springs racetrack, and proving grounds for Honda and Hyundai-Kia are nearby. I pass through the area on my way to/from the eastern Sierras, or when cutting between the Coast and Barstow.

<a href="https://ibb.co/dtDXq4Z"><img src="https://i.ibb.co/5kLCyhZ/CalCity.jpg" alt="CalCity" border="0" /></a>

 

[jacqueg]

I spent a couple years living near Tehachapi. Lots of empty space out there. Really pretty about March or so when the wildflowers bloom.

The occasional huge sonic booms from suborbital aircraft are also noteworthy.

 

[drysailor]

Not far north of Cal City, there are BLM areas around Red Rock Canyon State Park off hwy 14 where you should be able to boondock. It's nicest from late winter to just before summer, as winter rains have made all the colors very pretty. But beware of "dry" riverbeds. Not sure where you'd get your water from. Jawbone Canyon OHV area used to have some kind of visitor center along hwy 14, not sure if it's still there. If you do go here, be sure to have the latest maps, as some wilderness areas have been expanded in recent years. The visitor center at Red Rock S.P. should have current maps. And as this area is smack in the middle of the Garlock Fault, and within 20(?) miles of the Ridgecrest area faults that gave us a 7.1 a few months ago, camp away from cliffs & overhangs.

 

[Qxxx]

Not far north of Cal City, there are BLM areas around Red Rock Canyon State Park off hwy 14 where you should be able to boondock. 

@sailor, what can you say about the area around Garlock ghost town, a bit east of RRCSP, for boondocking? Looks nicely out of the way of both 14 and 395.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garlock,_California

And I'm sure HDR has been there prospecting.

 

[wayne49]

California City was the brainchild of a Sociology professor/Real estate developer. Interesting combo.
He wanted to create a model city to rival LA, except without access to the Pacific Coast.

 

[highdesertranger]

well since Q mention it. yes I have prospected the whole area around Garlock. Garlock was a mill town, they would mill the gold from the surrounding area mainly the EL Paso Mountains. good gold in the El Paso's, Ransburg area, also on the east side of 395, and Atolia. although the latter is more known for Tungsten. I used to go to Last Chance Canyon(in the El Paso's) and prospect a lot. I would not try to go there with a 2wd.

there is also some pay to dig Opal mines just south of Red Rock Canyon.

Cal City sorry I just don't see it. of the thousand of places in the Mojave I would rank that pretty much dead last on my list of places that are must see. I would rank it close to the top of places to skip. that's just me.

highdesertranger

 

[bullfrog]

Sort of interesting that they are having water problems because of all the mainline brakes due to all the unmaintained/used water lines they use to pump out the underground lake it sits on! Only in California!

 

[Qxxx]

HDR, now we know all about prospecting near Garlock, what about boondocking there? Too uninteresting?

 

[Qxxx]

California City was the brainchild of a Sociology professor/Real estate developer. Interesting combo.
He wanted to create a model city to rival LA, except without access to the Pacific Coast.

Something like this is also true of the land around the Salton Sea. At one time it was supposed to be the next Palm Springs, but flopped. I stayed at Salton Sea SP on the east side, and asked the host where the fresh water was coming from. He said it was city water piped down from Indio and explained the resort idea fiasco. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salton_City,_California
"Although planned and developed as a large resort community with an extensive road, water, sewer and power grid capable of supporting 40,000 residents on 12,000 residential lots,[3] demand for property in Salton City fell drastically short of the planners' expectations".

 

[highdesertranger]

well it's basically 90% BLM land. so you can boondock anywhere on the BLM land. watch out for the sandy washes which are plentiful. no 4x4 no go. stay out of the military bases and off private property and you will be fine. My Land Matters shows all this. highdesertranger

 

[LERCA]

Wasn’t trying to talk about Cal City specifically but rather in the context of the Mojave. My beautiful Joshua Tree got discovered for a while ( nobody ever used to be there) but even that has quieted down. As far as Twenty Nine Palms et al in my lifetime while I’ve seen the coastal counties be overbuilt to within an inch of their lives (yeah I remember when Orange County was orange groves) the Mojave has never really caught on. You have to truly love the desert to love most of the California desert and for a lot of people it’s either they can’t afford anything else or it’s the in thing and it fades with time.

I love all the old ghost towns. I have a friend who works in Borax and we’ve explored the area and I’ve gone rock hounding with my Rock and Mineral Society.
As far as Cal City I taught several years in the prison there and lived in Rosamond and the crime was nothing compared to Los Angeles where I’m from. My mother lives in one of the wealthiest communities in the state ( Palos Verdes) and her tiny tract had 50, yes 50 burglaries in one month in the summer and one home invasion plus constant mail theft. Last week four cars were broken into.

In three years neither I nor any of my neighbors, coworkers or friends had anything bad happen in Kern County. See, the area is filled with military ( Edwards AFB) and prison personnel all of whom are armed so crime is much lower than statistics on Wikipedia. It’s like South Central where I taught 20 years, the crime stats are through the roof but it’s gang members assaulting each other. People live there. It’s a community. And it’s normal. I walked the streets, went to peoples homes, birthday parties, checked on students etc.
But according to the media it’s a war zone. LOL. I’ve seen several drive bys but they were gang members against gang members.

But that’s ok. My beloved desert will stay empty and I will still have my escape.

 

[user 22017]

I love all the old ghost towns. I have a friend who works in Borax and we’ve explored the area and I’ve gone rock hounding with my Rock and Mineral Society.

Have you heard of Wonderhussy? She has a youtube channel of mostly visits to ghost towns in Nevada, California and Arizona.

 

[LERCA]

No I haven’t heard of her but now I’m excited to see her channel. I love desert tiny town and ghost towns. There are some fascinating places.

 

[drysailor]

@sailor, what can you say about the area around Garlock ghost town, a bit east of RRCSP, for boondocking? Looks nicely out of the way of both 14 and 395.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garlock,_California

@Qxxx - Haven't been to the ghost towns, but I know there are books/directories on them. Think HDR is likely one of the best sources on those.