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Success Mine

Posted on February 19, 2018 by Destination4x4

The Success Mine is an gold mine site located just off Masonic Road, the between McMillan Springs and the Chemung Mine in Mono County, CA.

There is little data on this small claim. The mine shafts eventually reached a depth of 50 feet to a mineral vein which traveled North East and dips South East and was valued at $11 / ton. Eventually water was stuck and filled the shaft to the 25ft level.

Bridgeport. – The Success Mining Co. has exposed a 3 1/2-ft. vein of high-grade ore in its property in the Masonic district. The find was made in a drift north from the 50-ft level. The mining operations were purchased by Elmer S. Green and associates from John H. and C. C. Hayes of Bridgeport, in July.
Mining and Scientific Press- October 29, 1921

Although I try to always stop at such locations, sadly that was not in the cards on our last trip. The Chemung Mine was rather overwelming and the little competitor mine did not compare. There was also some hungry kids in the Jeep as well. As with any trip, I came away with more trails to follow and history to investigate.

Success Mine Trail Map

One Tree Hill, A trip to the U2 Joshua Tree

Posted on July 18, 2016 by Destination4x4

A trip to the U2 Joshua Tree brought back a life time of memories. There was never a point in time that I was not aware of Joshua Tree’s. Growing up in Southern California, they are a common site in the high desert and after all there is a National Park named after them. Many nights I have spent camping in the national park and asking my dad about the Joshua Trees. They are just so weird. Their limbs twisted in the wind. They thrive in the harsh desert environment, yet don’t offer much shade. The are a symbol of the desert southwest, and perhaps would be THE symbol of the desert south west if not for the saguaro cactus.

U2's Joshua Tree - 2016 — U2’s Joshua Tree – 2016

The original Joshua Tree of the Us Cover. Photo made Dec. 19, 1994 |Source= Joho345 – @U2 (www.atu2.com)

I remember exactly where I was when I was introduced to the Irish Band U2 by a close friend of mine. Back then, they were the Irish Rock Band U2. I was introduced to them watching a video tape copy of “Under a Blood Red Sky” and forever fell in love with my Irish compatriots. In 1987, U2 released there next album “The Joshua Tree” which also coincided with my passing the exam for my drivers license. I wore out by original tape and its copy driving the city of Pasadena to and from high school.

The album tore through the consciousness of the United States and this Irish boy had a little more pride in his heritage. The best part was that the album was named after and predominately featured photographs of the iconic image of the desert.

In May, 1987 my friend invited me to a trip to Death Valley. As his father drove across the desert that afternoon, my friend pointed out the window and yelled, “There is ‘THE’ Joshua Tree”. By the time I turned around in my seat, the tree was off in the distance. I could not tell from the angle and distance, but the area looked about right. We drove on, the sounds of an Irish Harmonic flowing through the speakers. I would soon forget this conversation, a foot note of my past.

I always wanted to see the Joshua Tree of u2. Before the internet it was not easy to find places such as this. They don’t put this information on maps. Rumor and stories filled the void. I never asked, but over the years I heard that the site of U2’s Joshua tree was not near the National Park. I heard that someone lite it on fire. I heard it died. Many stories told of unprepared people dying while searching for the Joshua Tree. All just rumors.

I never thought about the Joshua tree site until I started Destination4x4.com. After about 10 minutes searching on the Internet, I found it. Sadly the rumor it died proved to be true. But then an odd thing happened. Like many lost places of the Mojave, there is a small make shift monument to U2 at the site of the fallen tree. The dead tree is still there, fallen to the earth around 2000 and being consumed by the harsh desert climate. The site is located just off the CA Highway 190 between Lone Pine and Death Valley.

Within a year, of finding the Joshua Tree site, I found myself driving along the highway 190 into Lone Pine, CA. There is no marker to the site, and no paved road to follow. The site of the Joshua Tree is located about 100 years off of the road, which runs parallel to the highway. After some back road creative navigation, I saw a glint of metal and the downed icon about .5 miles in front of me.

You have found what your looking for monument located at the site of U2s Joshua Tree.

As I walked towards the dead Joshua Tree, I could not help but think about how silly this endeavor was. A grown man taking his family to see a dead tree. My inner sound tracked played “Running to Stand Still” as I stepped back into the past. Memories of high school came flooding back. The surrounding hills morphed into the album cover. I recalled a conversation between me and a lost friend on the highway not too far from here where he was convinced he saw this tree. I now know he did see it.

Like many places in the Mojave, a make shift monuments lies on the site. Undoubtedly updated with each new visitor who like me hunt down the obscure. It is a matter of time until a passing windstorm, dry climate and time remove any remnants of the Joshua tree. Oddly enough, it was here alone with my small family that I understood what I what I wanted to do with Destination4x4.com. The four us jumped back into the jeep. I loaded up the Joshua Tree on my phone and played “Where the streets have no name” as we drove off for our next adventure.

Update

Just under a year after our visit to the Joshua Tree, for our wedding anniversary, Heather and I saw the band play their songs from the dessert at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena on May 20th, 2017. I found out later that I had a case of double Pneumonia, but would not miss this for the world. The concert was a celebration of their music and the desert landscape which i love.

Bodie and Aurora rivalry continues to this day

Posted on June 26, 2016 by Destination4x4

Two towns located in the hills above Mono Lake maintain, the Bodie and Aurora rivalry continues even now, long past their demise. Bodie, CA and Aurora, NV boomed with the gold rush of the 1870s and busted just years later when the gold ran out and faded into history. Miners, merchants, and people would undoubtedly moved either direction between the two cities and with good fortune would undoubtedly talk down the previous city. Such is human nature, but why would this rivalry continue long past the demise of both towns?

The Standard Mill, Bodie, CA. Photograph by James L Rathbun

Bodie, CA is the crown jewel of ghost towns. Maintained in a state of arrested decay and located just 13 miles off the 395 highway outside of Bridgeport, CA, Bodie hosts over 100,000 visitors each year. The current site has some 100 structures, flush toilets, museum, guided tours, on-site staff, a website, Facebook presence and a gift shop. (I own two coffee mugs and three shirts) During a visit two Bodie, I over heard two fellow visitors joking about a StarBucks coffee located near the fire station. Bodie, justifiably is a popular place to visit, there are many people there when you visit.

Aurora, NV Photograph by James L Rathbun

By contrast, Aurora is a forgotten intersection of two roads. The town was raised long ago for its brick, and only two structures are not lost two the bush and those are unrecognizable monuments to the towns past. Few visitors will reach the town site of Aurora and those who do might be disappointed in what they find. By almost any measure there is no comparison in the quality of a visit to the two towns in modern times. So, why would there be an active effort on the part of those affiliated with Bodie to discourage visitor from driving to Aurora? Does the Bodie and Aurora rivalry continue to this day?

On a visit in June, 2016 I walked into the museum and spoke with one of the park staff / ranger to inquire about Aurora. I told the ranger I was planning to drive to Aurora and asked “How many miles is it to Aurora?”

The Ranger replied, “I think it is about 30 miles?”

I answered, “Well, I thought it was about 9 miles, but I don’t remember the source so I could be wrong.” I thanked him and moved on.

Perplexed a bit, I walked around the museum and studied a few exhibits. Once of the exhibits I saw was a hand written note / map, which noted that it was 6 miles to the Nevada border and Aurora was 10 miles past that point. I returned to the Ranger at the front desk and told him, “Apparently, we are both wrong you have a document which states it is 16 miles to Aurora.”

He replied, “Well, it can be a rough road and I heard the bridge is out.”

Again, I thanked him and walked off towards the jeep. Rough roads do not cause much concern, and a bridge being out is a binary concern. We can either pass or not pass and will not know until we get there. I loaded my family into the jeep, reset the trip odometer and sent off east towards Aurora. We followed the road and Bodie Creek North from Bodie and soon we reached a small bridge. As we drove over the bridge, I thought to myself, “Well so much from that bridge being out…”

As we continued down Bodie Creek there was another bridge, which was indeed out but immediately the obstacle was passable via the road to the right. The bypass simple dropped down a few feet, crossed Bodie Creek and up the other side. Not any issue with our Jeep JK. We continued down the road and made a right turn to climb the hill into Aurora. We soon reach an valley covered in sage brush with a wooden structure which appeared to be a head frame. A moment later we reached and intersection and another concrete structure which was the remains of a building. Surely, this must the Aurora.

Everything about the small valley was screaming Aurora. The map told me we found Aurora. Memories from my last visit 30 years prior told me it was Aurora. The structural remains told me we found Aurora. Everything told me that we found Aurora, except my trip odometer. Since my cell phone GPS is worthless with no Internet connection, the one piece of measuring equipment told me I was 5 miles off of my destination. After lunch we headed out again and soon found ourselves in the highlands above Mono Lake in extremely rough terrain. We finally reached mile 16 and knew that the distance measurement found in the Bodie Museum was flat out wrong and wrong in a big way!

Remains of Aurora bricks found deep in the undergrowth. Photograph by James L Rathbun

We turned around and returned to the site we believed to be Aurora. Again we checked the maps, and everything appeared to match. We had an intersection with another road. We had a few limited structures. One further investigation, we began to see flattened buildings in the over growth of sage brush. Two structures became several. As I walked through the thigh high sage brush, I looked down and saw bricks! Bricks are the sure sign that we found Aurora!

Photographic landscape comparison between our trip and a historical photograph. The angles are slightly different but clearly the hillside line up.

So, how do we explain the differences in the distances. My memory, which is fallible, was 9 miles. The Ranger told me about 30, which I believed was way off. The map in the museum told me 16 miles, and my odometer measured 11.5. I reset my odometer and drove back to Bodie and duplicated my initial measurement of 11.5 miles and made a mental note of the dilemma. Why is the distance so wrong? I am willing the accept a slight variation in the mileage measurement of the jeep. I have 35″ tires on the 4×4 and the gears are changed to 5.13:1. The computer was changed to reflect these modifications. This could explain a slight variation but not 4 miles over 16 if the program parameters are not exact or correct.

When we returned to camp that night I checked the “Bodie State Historic Park” guide purchased when I arrived at Bodie and published and revised in 2010. On page one there is a town map with a reference to Aurora at a distance of 18 miles away!!! Great, another number for the distance between the two towns.

When I arrived home I opened up Google Earth and check my measurement for the Bodie to Aurora Trail. This measurement from Google Earth is 12.1 miles are more or less corroborates my measurement. So, why would California State Parks publish an erroneous value and lengthen the distance of the Road from Bodie to Aurora? Could the fact that California “lost” Aurora to and its revenue to Nevada when the area was surveyed in 1863 explain this behavior? Does the Bodie and Aurora rivalry between the two towns continue? Could it be that the mile distances site actually describe a longer route around the mountain to the north west of Aurora. Perhaps no one from California State Parks has checked?

I prefer to think of this is the last argument in the rivalry between two lost mining towns. An underhanded slight to history. The Bodie and Aurora rivalry continues…

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Davy Gilia (Gilia latiflora)

Posted on May 2, 2016 by Destination4x4

A Davey Gilia stalk poking up between the California Poppies in the Antelope Valley Poppy Reserve.

Davy Gilia (Gilia latiflora) also known as Hollyleaf gilia or broad-flowered gilia is a flowering plant commonly found in the open flats or sandy areas and can carpet the western Mojave Desert, Joshua Tree woodlands and endemic throughout California. This wild flower grows at 2500 to 4000 feet in elevation and grows to reach about 18 inches in height.

The plant features a tiny, small, five leafed flower about one inch in diameter. The flower is is purple in color and features a white throat to offer a beautiful display. The purple flowers are known to bloom between March and May.

Typically a Southern California Flower, the Davy Gilia has been observed in southern Nevada in the areas surrounding Rhyolite and Beatty, Nevada.

This Davy Gilia was photographed in the Antelope Valley Poppy Reserve and the small purple flower was a highlight in the lush canvas of deep golden colored, California Poppies. It was common for a taller gilia flower to explode above the shorter California Poppies.

The California Poppy was the reason from my trip, however the gilia was the purple accent which made my trip.

Beavertail Prickly Pear (opuntia basilaris)

Posted on May 2, 2016 by Destination4x4

The Beavertail Prickly Pear cactus (opuntia basilaris) is very common in the desert south west, and would go most of the year most of the year without a second glance. However this species of cactus exemplifies the best of what the desert has to offer in one symbol.

Beavertail Prickly Pear. Photograph by James L Rathbun

The Beavertail Prickly Pear grows in clumps, low to the ground and grows horizontally rather than vertically like the iconic saguaro. The dull greenish grey leaves grows feature a complete lack of spines and a shaped which gives the plant it’s name. The pads of this cactus lake the spines traditionally associated with cactus, but rather the pads are covered with minuscule, gray-blue bristles which feature barbed tips which easily puncture human skin.

Each spring the cactus puts on a display of wild flowers which is amazing to behold in the arid desert environments. Typically starting the March, each cactus pad my put out several shoots which Colosseum in a burst of colors, most commonly a vibrant pink but also known to be yellow, white or rose colored.

Beavertail Cactus found off the Mormon Wells Road, Las Vegas, Nevada — Beavertail Cactus found off the Mormon Well Road, Las Vegas, Nevada

The cactus typically grows in rocky , sandy plains, valleys, washes & canyons all over Arizona, California, Nevada, Utah and Northern Mexico.

Success Mine Trail Map

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