When travelling the Old Mojave Road, there is a tradition to pick and carry a rock, and carry the rock to the Travelers Monument. The monument is located about half way along the Old Mojave Road, just south of the town of Baker in the dry soda lake.
Prior to our trip, my son took great time choosing the rock that we would contribute to the monument. There were at least three re-picks for him to find the perfect stone. Throughout our travels on that day, he took great delight in watching the stone which was on the floor below his feet. It was a long day of waiting for him.
Eventually, we arrived at the dry soda lake. I knew what to expect as far as surface texture, however it was a bit strange transitioning from a dry lake shore to a dry lake bed. The transition when I ran the trail was rutted out pretty bad, and it appeared that someone with a bigger and more powerful vehicle than my jeep was out playing when the area was last wet. The wind was blowing slightly from the north, and caused the dust to dance across the surface of the dry lake bed.
As we headed towards the monument, it became difficult to accurately judge distance. The foreground was just white out until the horizon and the dust from our tires exploded behind us.
After some time, a black spot appeared on the horizon and continued to grow as we approached. When we arrived at the travelers monument, we noted it as what is was, a big pile of rocks. My family took great joy in my son adding his rock to the pile and he climbed the monument. There is a plaque which shall not be described. I have been to many wonderful places in the Mojave and the world, but this is the only monument I helped build. For that, this is the Traveler’s Monument.
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