197903 Desert Magazine 1979 March

8/14/2019 197903 Desert Magazine 1979 March

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C o m evisitus...

PALM SPRINGS

A GREATSELECTIONOF BOOKS

ON THE WEST

MAGAZINEBOOK SHOP

74-425 HWY 111

STORE HOURS10:00-4:00

Monday thru FridaySaturday: 10 :00-3:00

C los ed Sunday

WESTERN ARTNOTES PRINTS

MAP S GOLD PANSGREETING CARDS

ANDA LARGE

ASSORTMENT OFCURRENT AND

OLD BAC K ISSUES

MAGAZINE BOOK SHOP74-425 Highway 111 at Dee p Canyon Road Palm Des e rt, C alifornia


3/48

WILLIAM andJOY KNYVETTCo-Publishers/ Editors

GEORGE BRAGA,Art DirectorSHARLENE KNYV ETT,Art Departme ntMARY FRANCES STRONG, Field Trip EditorK. L. BOYNTON, Natu ralist

Color Separations byHenry C olor Service

LithographedbyWolfer Printing Co m pany,nc.

Available in MicrofilmbyXerox UniversityMicrofilms

Volume 42, Number 3 MARCH 1979

CONTENTSF E A T U R E S

DARWIN, CALIFORNIA . . . AND THE PEOPLE WHO BUILT IT 8 Annis Cuppett

WESTERN HACKBERRY 12 Wayne P. Armstrong

285-MILE MOJAVE LOOP 16 Bill Jennings

WHEELS FOR BAJ A 20 Don MacDonald

THE MAGIC OF LAKE POWELL 24 C.William Harrison

PROBING ANCIENT INDIANS'ROLE ON DESERT LAND 28 Joe Kraus

AS THE RIVER FLOWS 32 Jerry Sieve

GUARDIANS OF THE DESERT 36 Loretta Berner

SOUTH INDIAN VALLEY 40 Dick Bloomquist

RECIPES FOR M'LADY 41 Helen Peterson

A PEEK IN THE PUBLISHER'S POKE

NEW BOOKS FOR DESERT READERS

D E P A R T M E N T S

5 William Knyvett

6 Book Reviews

TRADING POST 42 Classified Listings

TH E COVER:Gunsight Arm, Lake Powellfrom Ahlstrom Point, South-ern Utah. Photo by DavidMuench of Santa Barbara,California.

BOOKS OF THE WEST 44

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR 46

Mail Order Items

Readers' Comments

CALENDAR OF WESTERN EVENTS 46 Club Activities

EDITORIAL, CIRCULATIONAND ADVERTISING OFFICES: 74-425Highway 111,P. 0. Box 1318, Palm Desert, California 92260. TelephoneArea Code 714 346-8144. SUBSCRIPTION RATES: United Statesand pos-sessions; 1 year,$8 .00; 2 years, $15.00; 3 years, $22.00. All other countriesadd $2.00 U. S. currency for each year. See Subscription Order Form inthis issue. Allow five weeksfor change of address and send both new and

Desert/March 1979

old addresses with zip codes. DESERT Magazine is published monthly.Second class postage paid at Palm Desert, California and at additionalmailing offices underAct of March 3, 1879. Contents copyrighted 1979 byDESERT Magazine and permission to reproduce any or all contents mustbe secured in writin g. U nsolicited m anuscripts and photographs willnot bereturned unless accompanied by self-addressed, stamped envelope.


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cMfioCaptwed&unshiije

A marvelousne w book aboutJohn W . Hilton

The Dean of American Desert Painters"by

Katherine Ainsworth

Just one of the many beautifully reproduce d Hilton paintings included in the book.

The Man Who Captured Sunshine is a biography of aremarkable, modern day, Renaissance Man John W. Hilton.

Though John Hilton is best known as the "Dean of American

Desert Painters," he is also a distinguished botanist, gemologist,

and zoologist. Hilton also is a noted write r and linguist, a guitarist

and singer.

The author, Katherine Ainsworth, makes no apology for the

"lack of objectivity" in writing this book ... she has been a friend

and admirer of John Hilton for over thirty years. Katie's late

husband, Ed Ainsworth, was John Hilton's best friend for almost

as many years. This "labor of love" has resulted in a magnificent

book about a magnificent man.

The Man Who Captured Sunshineis inspirational... abook which inspires one to overcome adversity, to achieve

excellence , to strive for a genuine joy of living. The reader w ill cry,

bu t more often will find himself/herself enjoying the pleasure of

hearty laugh ter, of grand adventure. The significance of this book,

above all else, lies in an impelling fo rce w hich inspires the reader

to live a fuller, more m eaningful, more joyous li f e .. . to be a doer, acreator, a giver.

TO PLACE ORDER:Please send check or money order ($12.95 per copy)

DESERT MAGAZINE BOOK SHOPP.O. Box 1318Palm Des ert, C alifornia 922 60

California residents add 6% sales tax, and please enclose50C for postage and handling.>'. ANETC PUBLICATION


5/48

in thepublisher's

yokeP

ROFESSIONAL LIARS will gatherSaturday night, March 31st, around asmoky campfire in front of Desert

Steve Ragsdale's famous Pegleg Monu-ment, northeast of Borrego Springs,down in San Diego County, for the fifthrevival of the historic Pegleg Liars Con-test. There is no entry fee or admittance

charge for this impromptu event. Specta-tors and liars alike are asked to brin g tenrocks to put on the monument, actually apile of stones erected m ore than 30 yearsago by the late desert character andfounder of the little town of Desert Cen-ter, Steve Ragsdale.

Three past winners, all from the LiarsCapital of California, the town of Hemetin Riverside County, are expected tocompete. Anne B. Jennings, who wonlast year with an outlandish but credibletale of the U.S. Army Camel Corp beforethe Civil War, will face Ben Stirdivant,the 1975 winner, and Walt Frisbie, whotopped the group in 1976. The only otherwinner from past years, Lowell Lindsay,from Amarillo, Texas, is not expectedback this year.

The monument is located adjacent tothe Borrego-Salton Seaway, about 16miles west of State Highway 86 from theSalton City turnoff.

As usual, the contest arrangements

are as informal as the event. Maurice(Bud) Getty, manager of the Anza-Borre-go Desert State Park, and Bill Jennings,a writer for Desert Magazine and editorfor the Boyd Deep Canyon ResearchCenter, here in Palm Desert, are co-chairmen. With their usual aplomb, thechairmen insist that this year's specialinvited guest is singer Helen Reddy.Last year, it was Annette Funicello, thefamous queen of Walt Disney's MickeyMouse Club, who insisted she had not

been asked, but might have come if shehad been. Miss Reddy has not respond-ed, either . . .Desert/March 1979

RIDE 'INI'DINEfor only $8.95

Dine in the sk y .. . After a breathtaking ride o nThe Tram, enjoy a delicious prim e rib dinne r

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Special Ride ' n ' Dine , $8.95 after 4 p .m.Young a dults, 12-17, $7.95 . . . C hild re n,4-11, $5.50

Last car u p a t 7:30, do w n at 9 p.m.

Op e n DailySorry, no credit cards or reservations on this special offer.

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Stella and her chuckwagonon the way toWash ington, D.C.

ChuckWagonCookin'

by STELLA HU GHES

A tantalizing collection of cow-camp cook tales and 112 authen-tic old-time dutch oven recipes.

$4.05

165 pages.

only

Ca lif, residen ts add 6% sales tax plus 50c p ostage/handling

D e s e r t M a g a z i n e B o o k S h o pP.O. Box 1318, Palm Desert, California 92260

Subscriptions as Gifts

H A N G I N Ga n dISBN 0-87004-264-51 87 P a g e s , 6 x 9

P a p e r b o u n d

$4.95

From 'rango to buckaroo, from mare-chaser to soldier in the first World War,from guide and packer in the back coun-

try to rancher and horse raiser, this is thetrue story of Ed James and a way of lifethat was more than colorful. The hard-ships and dangers endured by those whospent most of their lives out of doors, likeEd James, read like fiction, yet these old-timers w ould have had it no other way. Areal-life memoir of the old days and ways.

The CAXTON PRINTERS, Ltd.P.O. Box 700

Caldwell , Idaho 83605

"Booksfor

"Desert

TradersAll books reviewed are available through Desert M agazine Book Shop. Please add 50per total order for handling and Califorresidents must include 6% state sales tax.

A SOUTHERN C ALIFORNIAN'SGUIDE TO W ILD FOOD

By Christopher NyergesBeating the high cost of food is easy

you know what you are doing. SoutheCalifornia abounds with free w ild foodbackyards, vacant lots and wildernesareas. But all of these plants need to bpositively identified before one csafely eat them. Properly preparedthese food are tasty, n utritious, free anvisually attractive.

This newly published manual dscribes the most common plants oSouthern California in detail and tehow to include them into your diet. Finstance, why pay the high price lettuce when you can gather chickweewatercress, mallow, mustard and doc

leaves for your unique salad. SoutherCalifornians can rebel against the unutritious over-sugared sweets in thstores and pick carob pods right off thecity streets! Nyerges tells you how in thbook, which is illustrated by the botacal artist Janice Fryling. Each plant ha detailed guide to insure accurate identification and each plant is clearly illtrated. The glossary is even illustrated help with the unfam iliar botanical term

A Southern Californian's Guide

Wild Foodis not just for the camper anbackpackerit is designed for every c

Deser t /March 19


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dweller as well. Many of the weeds de-scribed can be found right in your ownyard. Have you ever eaten a rose? Howabout prickly pear cactus or dandelion?How many desert and beach explorersknow that the Glasswort plant, althoughat its best eaten raw, can be cooked andsteamed, seasoned and served as a hotvegetable?

In addition to a concise summary ofeach plant's uses, the book also lists theknown detrimental qualities of eachplant and several poisonous ones areincluded to give the wild food foragersome awareness of what NOT to eat.

Author Nyerges considers this book animportant survivaltool. It is designed forthe non-botanist who needs the simplest,most efficient and most capsulized wayto learn the plants of survival.

Paperback, 180 pages, $4.95.

HIGH MOUNTAINSAND DEEP VALLEYSThe Go ld Bonanza DaysBy Lew and Cinny Clark

Described by the publisher and the au-thors as the first book of its kind aboutthe huge mountain and desert countryeast of the High Sierras, this volume fillsa real need, with accurate maps and au-thentic history about the California and

Nevada high country famed (or its min-ing and recreation.

That's quite an order in 192 pages butthey make it. Lew Clark, a native of theCalifornia mining region, knew many ofthe people he is writing about. He andhis wife have collaborated on several re-gional guides.

This book is filled with anecdotesabout the colorful mining, ranching andtown characters of this huge region,from Bodie, Virginia City, Ballarat,Greenwater, Mono Mills, Tonopah andGoldfield, to mention just a few of theold towns and districts discussed.

The area described is bounded on thewest by the Sierras, on the north by theComstock Lode country, on the east byDeath Valley and the Amargosa Desert,on the south by the Mojave Desert.

The Clarks draw on personal trave l, bycar and on foot, providing color maps ofeach designated area. There are manyblack and white photos along with out-standing color plates by Rocky Rockwellof the Inyo National Forest at Bishop.

Sketches of old Randsburg, other min-ing regions and the Sierras are by Fran-cilu Hansen of Ridgecrest.

The book is divided into logical re-gions, with maps and history for each.Some of these include the El Paso andRand Mountains, the Barstow area,Panamint and Death Valleys, OwensValley, the White Mountains-BristleconeForest, the Bishop country, EsmeraldaMines, High Sierra, Mono Basin, BigMeadows and Bodie, and the Comstock.

Clark's maps alone make the book anecessity for high desert-Sierra visitors,includ ing a large four-color model and 36smaller regional maps. A bonanza of aguide and history book about a fascinat-ing region! Perfect bound in paperback,192 pages, 250 photos, $6 .95.

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I V

D a r w i n ,C a l i f o r na n d

T h e P eo pW h o B u iftAbove : Fran ces Black [Mayor of Darwin for the past 12 years], taught school inb y A N N IS M . C U P P E T T

Darwin as well as in Death Valley Junction and Lone Pine. B elow: This schoolhouse is one of the few original buildings still standing after two huge firesp h o t o s b y D e n n i s M i l l a r ddestroyed the balance of the structures.

JfcARWIN IS a lengthening afternoo o shadow of its form er self. Echoesp e a rl ie r , more glorious times whisplike early evening breezes through tcracks of buildin gs long deserted and ttoe along the streets where in 1877, mothan 4500 souls moved through their dividual existences. A hundred yealater, the hot desert sun dapples the exteriors of mobile homes instead of tenand sets bright glints of light bouncoff four-wheel-drive vehicles in placewagon braces. But the spirit of Darwinunchanged. Today's citizens mineindomitable desert lovers and weekeresidents remain as fiercely indepedent and strong-of-will as those eapioneers who harkened to the fateful cof silver.

Located in the mineral-rich environsthe Owens Valley, Darwin was born1874 when Darwin French, a ranchnear Fort Tejon, led an expedition inthe area in search of the Lost CunsigLode. He never found that legendary sver deposit, but his efforts to do so sulted in the settlement of the towwhich bears his name, and it wasn't lobefore this bustling mining camp gr

8 De s e rt/March 19


9/48

The monument erected to thememory of Nancy Williams

is a testament to her popularityin the mining camp.

into the hub of one of the richest silvermining districts in the West. For manyyears, it served as an important miningcamp in its own rig ht, as we ll as a supply

station for the hundreds of silver, leadand zinc mines that would appear in thenext hundred years between the Cosoand Argus mountain ranges.

Three years after Darwin French firstvisited the site, the town's populationstood at 4500 which was the same as inLos Angeles of the same year. (Ofcourse, it must be remembered thatduring those early days, Mexicans livingin the coastal city to the southwest werenot allowed to vote and the actual popu-

lation would have been much greaterthan recorded.) Two of Darwin's richestveins the Defiance and thelndepen-dence spewed out a repo rted$1,580,000 in precious metal and morethan $2,000,000 was removed from as-sorted other silver claims in the district.During the 1880s, almost 60 mines wereoperating in the immediate vicinity ofthe booming town and five smeltersworked around the clock to handle theonslaught. As word of the riches to be

earned in the vicinity spread like a flash-fire through the miner's g rapevine, moreand more people began rushing towardDarwin. The camp's first boom yearswere in full swing.

Today, as you drive south toward Dar-win on the dirt road cut-off from U.S.Highway 190 which connects Lone Pinewith the western entrance to DeathValley, y ou'll pass a large mining opera-tion on your left. This is the AnacondaMine originally known as theDefi-

ance and although it's closed now tovisitors, you'll want to stop along theroad and visualize it as it might havebeen during a more exciting time. Squintyour eyes against the sun and you mighteven see Pat Ready, a one-time DistrictAttorney in the area, peering here andthere into the workings of his ope ration.An d make no mistake, it was his dom ain.Although the Spanish were the first tobegin mining operations on the spot,Mexicans took over in 1840 and Pat

Ready was direct ly responsible forremoving this second group from thevery profitable claim. After taking pos-

session of the property, he literallydefied the Mexicans to return and whenthey didn't, the mine naturally becameknown as the Defiance. Although theDefiance closed in the late 1880s, themine proper continued to weave itself

into the history of Darwin and becameknown, in turn , as Darwin Silver, Dar-win Lead, Consolidated, American Met-als, Signal Oil and finally, in 1945,Anaconda.

The most exciting years in Darwin'shistory incorporate the decade betweenthe mid-1870s and the mid-1880s. Inother parts of the country, men andwomen were concerning themselves withthe resignation of Boss Tweed as NewYork's commissioner of public works;

the plague of grasshoppers which wasdevouring everything in sight betweenthe Dakotas and the tip of Texas; and

strikes by railroad workers which woulultimately signal the birth of*the labomovement in the United States. But Darwin's citizens cared only for silver thbright, shiny metal that could, if LadLuck was with him, make any man ric

beyond measure. During these years,the town was populated by characterssuch as Pat Ready, who in addition totaking over the Defiance, showed an-other side to his personality by startingthe first school in the area for the child-ren of the miners. Living just outside otown were Chinese laborers who, whilostracized from the town's social andpolitical life, helped move the underground riches into the light of day aninto the pockets of other men. And, o

course, there were Indians. In this case,Shoshone. Their settlement was locatedjust north of town.

Des ert/ March 1979


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The jailhouse has three roomsand nowindows except those seen here. In thsumm er, its interior is as hot as an ovepunishment enough for any misdee

As usual, wherever miners congregat-ed , fancy ladies would also be found.A true original of this particular castewas Nancy Williams, a Madam reputedto have come to Darwin by way of CerroCordo. In her new surroundings, shewent into semi-retirement and beganfi l l-ing her days with the proverbial gooddeeds. Although she spent most of hertime ministering to the miners, she waswilling to help any of the townspeoplewho would condescend to have any sortof polite relationship with her. In theend, unfortunately, good deeds provednot to be enough. In 1877, Nancy'sthroat was slit by an unknown assailantand she died at the age of 45. After agrand send-off by her many friends, inthe min ing communi ty, Nancy wasburied in the cemetery west of town andthe site was marked by a large monu-ment which can still be seen today. Thefootstone was stolen time and time again

by souvenir hunters, but was alwaysquick ly re turned as it was in the 1920swhen it was taken and then returnedseveral days later via express mail. Th eshipment included a note that read,"Get this tombstone back on Nancy'sgrave. We've had nothing but troublesince we took it." It seems the thieveshad driven from th e scene of the crim e inan automobile, only to be slowed by ablown radiator, flat tires and myriadother problems indications, they were

sure, of Nancy's ire.Darwin never was a particularly so-

10

phisticated city, but rather a raw miningcamp that served as a safe haven forthose who followed less than lawful pur-suits. The celebrated bandit, JoaquinMu rieta , is known to have visited the vi-cinity but it is his partner, Three-Finger-ed Jack, about whom the following storyis told. For some long-forgotten reason,Jack decided to shoot and kill aman in one of the many saloons whichserved thirst-quenching refreshment tothe hard-working miners. Turning hisback on the scene, Jack casually walkedoutside and down the street to anotherdrinking establishment. Naturally, thedastardly deed demanded revenge and itwasn't too long before the dead man'sbrother had followed the outlaw to thesecond watering-hole. A single bulletquickly dispatched one of D arwin's moredisreputable visitors.

In spite of this story, Darwin wasnever known for hosting a large numberof gun-fights. Other subjects such aswater topped the list of eng rossingconversational topics, for although Dar-win is located at an altitude of 4750 feet,it is surrounded by a dry desert land-scape. In 1875, the first w ater pipes w erelaid from the nearest spring suitable forthe purpose: the area is about eightmiles southwest of Darwin in the CosoRange and since 1944, has been knownas the China Lake Naval WeaponsCenter. The first water line consisted of

four-inch riveted pipe which was firstneatly buried, but the line needed con-

tinuous repairs when cloudbursts wouwash away the dirt and expose the pipeSomewhere a long the way, i t wadecided to set the p ipe above ground andthe only problem with this solution that it tends to freeze in winter. Todaywater line maintenance crews must firobtain permission from the U.S. Navy enter what is essentially a bombinrange.

Frank Carthery, who led the origindecision to lay the water pipes, saw real future in this natural resource. I1888, he became caretaker of the watersupply and kept the main valve padlocked near the horse t rough. Hcharged 50 cents to water a team or 25cents for a single horse and later, fo$3.00 per month, the townspeople coulhave their water barrels filled at theown back doors. Carthery continued acaretaker until after 1915 and in additioto his shrewdness as a water mogulCarthery was also known as thcaretaker of the Defiance Mine durinthe 1880s. Nobody seems to be certainwhether he died a wealthy man or not but everyone agrees that he tr ied.

When the Defiance closed in the lat1880s, the miners left for new vistas buDarwin, itself, refused to die. Oh, it mahave faltere d now and then, but the mincontinued on under new managemenand as it did , the town , too, limped alon always to rise up out of its lethargwith renewed vigor whenever a newstrike was proclaimed.

The year of 1916 is memorable as thyear of the second great fire. The first icloaked in mystery but the second is attributed to faulty gas pipes. Untoucheby the volunteer fire department's bucket brigade, the fire ravished that half othe town which had been left standinafter the first holocaust and explainwhy so few of the original buildings astill intact. Most of the homeless leDarwin while those remaining stayewith friends or found shelter in tents oin the dugouts at the west end of townThe buildings were not rebuilt untaround 1932 and of the original struc

Desert/March 197


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tures, only three are sti l l standing.The dugouts mentioned above were

used by the early miners, although somerecent residents remember a family liv-ing in one of them as late as the mid-1950s. Jim Burns , "Copper Sta in" Bi l lFinnimore, and Bil l "Burro" Jonesarebut three of the hardy breed who foundthe accommodations under the hills totheir l iking. "Copper Stain" Bill wentsofa r as to outfit his dual-entrance dugoutwith running water, and decorated thetwo rooms with carpets and o the rniceties.

The Defiance Mine changed handssoon after Black Friday. It was pur-chased by Signal Oil (at an understand-ably reduced price) after the owner ofAmerican Metals plummeted from a17th floor window in New York City.Signal Oil kept the enterprise going untilit was sold to Anaconda. Their opera-tion peaked in 1956.

About 1962, a water war broke outamong the townspeople to the pointwhere the town was literally splitin two.It all began when some of the residentsdecided to build a swimming pool belowthe Anaconda Mine and the plan calledfo r the willowsand brush near a naturalspring to be cleared, after which a damwould be built . The argument became soheated that the town was soon dividedalong the north-south lines and on thesouth side, signs began to appear whichread, "The South shall rise again!"Battle stations were drawn and it wasonly after shots had actually been firedthat the Darwin Dam dream was put torest. Soon after, the town settled downtoits accustomed state of somnolence.

But the reprieve gained for lazy menwas not to last. A second big boom oc-curred in 1967, when a sign oh a publicbulletin board in Lone Pine announcedthe availability of free lots in Darwin.Again, the run was on this t ime, forland instead of silver and SuperiorJudge John McMurray was so intriguedthat he decided to look into the matter.He discovered that du ring the early daysof Darwin,the court had assigned plotsof ground to miners on which they wereto be allowed to bui ld any sort of hous-ing they might desire. The fee of a fewdollars was to be applied to the cost ofplotting the townsite. Only a minimumnumber of lots had been improved

through the years, but Judge McMurraylearned that the precedent a charge of

Desert/March1979

$5.00 per lot was a simple matter ofrecord. Wi t h the land rush in full swing,he decided to allow the price to stand buthe managed to slap on a quota whichlimited the purchase to a total of threelots per buyer. During the late summerof 1967, the rush ended as suddently asit had begun. On the final day, over 250lots were sold at the long-before statedprice of $5.00 each. Some of these werepurchased for speculation while otherswere purchased as prospective homesites for permanent or weekend resi-dents. The fact remains that whateverthe reason for their purchase, most ofthe lots still stand empty.

Finally, in the late 1970s, Darwin isquiet again. The most movement you'llsee is if you happen to visit the townwhen university geologistsare present.Their blue and yellow tents dot the hill-side behind the wash and they lay outtheir study materials on rickety tableslined up in the old Crossin buildingonMa in S treet. Their interest liesin the orehiding in the limestone of the DarwinDistrict and theyare generally more thanwil l ingto describe their findings to any-one with interest.

The road out of town to the east willbring you relatively close to DarwinFalls. The BLM has blocked the roadabout one-half mile from the Falls butyo u can park your vehicle and hike in, ifyou've a mind to. It's a postcard-perfectsight, but take care to carry water withyou, even on a mild day.

Rockhounds, of course, can find allsorts of treasures around Darwin but itshould be remembered that most of themines are on private property. Unlessposted, "good pickin 's" can be foundaround the smaller but legally-accessible mines.

It 's a good idea to fi l l up on gas inLone Pine (approximately40 miles to thewest) although if John Moody is home,you might be able to obtain gasoline inDarw in. Lodging and foodis easily foundin Lone Pine and plenty of camping sitesare available in and around Darwin.

The old mining camp of Darwin is afine place to visit if for no other reasonthan to gain a sense of what it mighthave been like to have lived there somany years ago. And if you allow yourheart to listen, you might hear the voicesof Pat Ready, Nancy Williams, "CopperStain" Bill , or Frank Carthery whistlingon the wind.

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12/48

W E S T E R N H A C KA L it t le -k n o w no f T h e H ig h D e

by WA YNE P. ARMSTRONG

i F ALL TH E native trees of the south-| west, the western hackberry [Celtis

\reticulata] certainly has one of themost interesting distributions. In fact, ifit weren't for its fascinating geographi-cal range I probably wouldn't have writ-ten this article! It doesn't really have anyshowy flowers or fruits, and because ofits densely branched growth form it of-

ten looks more like a large bush than atree. Although it is deciduous, it really

doesn't produce any spectacular fall dis-play like the cottonwoods, maples andaspen. In some areas it seems to be afavorite target for certain gall-forminginsects that lay their eggs in the leavesand stems. Swellings and deformities ofthe leaves and stems serve as incuba-

tors and food for the insect larvae.Donald Culross Peattie, in Natural

History of Western Trees (1953), de-scribed the w estern hackberry in the following uncomplimentary statements"The general shape is what women calshapeless; the bark is undistinctive; thfoliage vaguely reminds one of manother trees; the flowers are so insignifcant as to be beneath the notice of any-one above the rank of botanist and thelittle berries are as quietly misleading aa cheerful liar, for they suggest somchoke cherry rather than a member othe Elm family with its dry, paperwafer-like fruits." To me its unattractivqualities are far exceeded by its uniquand extremely interesting features. Ifact, you just can't help falling in lovwith these old trees which are reall

Leafless western hackberry trees inwinter on a ridge overlooking the SaDiego River canyon, west of Julian. Nothe numerous swellings or galls on thbranches. This is a new and recently discovered location for this rare tree iSouthern California.12 nutfMu.k m m


13/48

quite beautiful in their own special way.Western hackberry actually has an

enormous and extremely scattered dis-tribution throughout practically all of thewestern states, from Washington, Utah,and Idaho, extending southward throughArizona, New Mexico, and Texas. It alsooccurs in Baja California and Sonora,Mexico. There are even western hack-berries deep in the Grand Canyon on theHavasupai Indian Reservation and alongthe Bright Angel Trail .

In California it only occurs in fivecounties, generally in gravelly washesand canyons bordering the deserts ofSouthern California. The roots apparent-ly seek out moisture and can be very in-vasive and troublesome if planted nearseptic tanks and leach line systems. Itmay be associated with several types ofvegetation or plant communities, includ-ing creosote bush scrub, Joshua treew o o d l a n d , p i n y o n - ju n i p e r w o o d l a n d ,streamside or riparian woodland, andscat tered oak woodland. In OwensValley, Inyo County, it grows amidst a

low desert scrub vegetation dominatedby sagebrush [Artemisia], rabbitbrush[Chrysothamnus], matchweed [Gutierre-

A large, spreading western backbegrowing in Thing Va lley, San DiegoCounty. This very rare tree had a muchmore extensive distribution in southernCalifornia, but today is only found in few isolated valleys and canyons.

zia], and saltbush [Atriplex.]. Like manyother Califo rnia natives, such as cypress,

fan palms, madrone and bay laurel, therare hackberry once had a much moreextensive distribution during less aridtimes, about 20 million years ago. Todayonly isolated relic populations remainsurrounded by more drought resistantvegetation.

Some of the known localities inCali-fornia are Hackberry Canyon (a tributar yof Caliente Creek), in a canyon aboutthree miles above Caliente, and Demo-crat Hot Springs on the Kern River, all in

Kern County; Eureka Valley (north oDeath Valley) and Independence, InyoCounty; near Banning, Riverside Coun-ty; in the Clark and New York Mou ntainof eastern San Bernardino County; andan isolated location in Thing Valley onthe desert slopes of the Laguna Moun-tains, San Diego County.

I could find only one large multipl

A n isolatedclump of bushy

westernhackberry trees

on a steepcanyon slope

north ofBanning. Thelarge tree on

right isaCaliforniasycamore.


14/48

trunk in dividua l and a single root sproutin Thing Valley. A local rancher, MikeHarris, said he has never seen any otherhackberries in the area. The leaves werenoticeably infested with little fuzzy gallsthat contained an aphid-like insect. Per-haps there were additional hackberriesin Thing Valley. They may have died outas the climate became increasingly morearid, or possibly they were elimina ted byfire or overgrazing. The valley appearedto be badly overgrazed when I visited itin fall of 1977. Another possibility is thetree may have been planted by local In-dians. The distribution of western hack-

River canyon. The trees grow on a rug-ged outcrop of Julian schist at about3,800 feet elevation, and are surroundedby large, spreading California blackoaks, Engelman oaks and coast live oaks.Julian schist is historically important be-cause it contains most of the gold quartzveins of the old Julian Mining District.The lichen-covered branches are con-spicuously deformed with numerousswellings or galls, presumably caused bya gall mite. This apparently is a ratheruniversal characteristic of western hack-berry, especially evident during winterwhen the trees are bare. I took core

The elm-like leaves of western hackberry have a prominent network of veins on thepaler underside. They are commo nly infested with fuzzy little galls containing anaphid-like insect. The small, brownish, cherry-like fruits are quite unlike the dry,papery fruits of elm.

berry in California presents some fas-cinating speculation on its origin and

ecological requirements. By the way, theunusual name of Thing Valley is ap-parently derived from a previous ownerwith the surname of Thing!

Recently an interesting grove of un-usual trees was brought to my atten-tion by Robert Crippin, longtime natura-list at Yosemite National Park. The smallgrove is located approximately threemiles west of Julian on the Hosking'sRanch. At least 30 gnarled and stragglywestern hackberries occur along the

crest of a ridge just south of ColemanCreek, and east of the deep San Diego

14

samples from several trunks and foundthem to be well over 100 years old, dat-

ing back at least to the Civil War period.For many years the only known loca-

tion for western hackberry in San DiegoCounty was Thing Valley. This a ddition-al site west of Julian appears to be na-tural; however, their origin is still amystery. They could have been plantedby native Indians hundreds of years ago,but more probably are relics of formerwidespread occurrence in this regionduring less arid times. C onsidering theirage and rather inaccessible location on arugged rocky outcrop, it is doubtful thatthey were planted by humans. It is quite

possible that other small isolated grovesmay be found in the vast oak woodlandvalleys and canyons of interior San DiegoCounty, much of which is privatelyowned range land.

The Independence location in OwensValley (Inyo County) is within 100 yardof the Eastern California Mu seum , aboutthree blocks west of town. The spectacu-lar museum (and hackberry) make a re-warding side trip if you happen to be inthe area. The hackberries are scatteredalong a dry wash and are especially in-teresting because they are associatedwith desert olive [Forestiera neomexi-cana], another unusual shrub with alarge but very scattered distributionDesert olive is one of the few nativemembers of the Olive fam ily, along witArizona ash and a spiny little desertshrub called twinfruit[Menodora spines-cens]. In the fall , the leaves of desertolive turn a brilliant gold which rivals thspectacular color display of the local willows, cottonwoods and water birch.

Another interesting and very isolatedlocation is in a canyon north of Banningabout one-fourth mile above the oldGil-man Ranch House. The abandoned Gil-man Ranch House was built in 1879 byJames M. Gilman. Unfortunately it wadestroyed by fire in March of 1977. According to a Riverside County HistoricaMarker, this was also the site of a stagestation, store, post office, and ranchheadquarters. An adobe structure builton the site in 1854 was apparently thefirst house in the Banning area. The Gilmans had eight children, all born at theranch. One of their children. M. FrencGilman, became a noted botanist andseveral plants are named after him, in-cluding the extremely rare and seldomseen Death Valley wildflower, Cilmaniaor golden carpet. Because of its significance in the early history of southern

California , the Gilman Ranch property scheduled to become a Riverside CountyHistorical Park, including the restoratioof original structures and places of interest. Perhaps a little tr ail to the rare hackberry grove would be a worthwhile anscenic side trip.

The small grove of hackberries growon a steep, shady, north-facin g slope justabove the stream. The canyon has run-ning water all year and contains a denseand vigorous growth of riparian vegeta

t ion. Some of the colorful trees are Cali-fornia sycamore, Fremont cotton wood

Des er t / March 1979


15/48

big-leaf maple, several kindsof wil low,and my favorite shrub to hike throughpoison oak! The huge sycamores arenesting sites for magnificent, soaringRed-Tailed Hawks. One rather uncom-mon shrub growing nearthe hackberriesis California barberry [Berberis dictyo-ta]. Several species of barberry or ma-honia are commonly cultivatedand a re-lated species, called Oregon grape, isthe state flower of Oregon.

The generic name Ce/t/'s (SEL-tis) isapparently a classical Greek name for atree with a sweet fruit. The specificepithet (species name) reticulata (reh-tick-you-LAY-tah) refersto the promi-nent network of veins on the eaves (reti-culate). According to Peattie (1953),thecommon name hackberry is presumablya corruption of the Scottish hagberry orwitchberry. Apparently some early colo-

nists though t it reminded them of the un-related European tree, and the name stillstands to this day. According to Web-ster's New World Dictionary, the nameis Scandinavian in origin .

Several s t reet names and placenames, such as Hackberry Mountaininthe Mojave Desert and Hackberry,Ari-zona near Kingman, are apparentlyde-rived from this tree. The little townofHackberry originated witha mine calledHackberry Mine near a spring called

Hackberry Spring.A beautiful hackberrytree beside the spring provided shelterand cool shade for the four men who dis-covered the mine in the 1870s.

Western hackberry is rather uniquebecause it is the only native memberofthe Elm familyin California. In fact, theleaves are strikingly similarin appear-ance to those of the famous Americanelm, except that they have the roughnessof fine sandpaper. Botanists have a spe-cial word called "scabrous"to describe

this rough surface. The miniature, brown,cherry-like fruitsof hackberry are com-pletely unlike the dry, papery fruits ofthe elm . For this reason it has often beena preplexing tree for the nature loverwho frequently asks "what kindof tree ist ha t?" Other rather descriptive commonnames for this tree are sugarberry, net-tletree, and false-elm. There are severaladditional species of hackberry nativetothe midwestern and eastern UnitedStates. About the only additional kindsthat you might expectto f ind in the Pa-cific states is the European hackberry[Celtis australis], or perhaps one of he

Des ert/March 1979

EureVall.y0

Indapondenc

DemocratHot Springs

0

Knonn Groves Of Western Hackberry

(Celtis retleulata) In California

eastern hackberries, which are occasion-ally planted in parks and gardens.

Several tribes of southwestern Indians

ate the sweet fru its of western hackbery,including the Papagos, Apaches andNavajos. The little fruits also providedimportant foodfor a number of birdsandsome rodents. In fact, birds probablyaidin seed dispersal as the hard stony pitcontaining a seed readily passes throughthe bird's digestive tract. The small ,round fruits may also be washed alongby intermittent streams during periodsof heavy rainfall. So far I have beenunable to get any of the hard seeds togerminate. Removing the outer skin ofthe fruit apparently hastens germinationbut it still may take several months inmoist stand. Navajo Indians made tubesfor bellows from the wood and theyboiled the leaves and branches to make adark brown or red dye for wool. PapagoIndians made sandals from the bark,which peels off in convenient smoothslabs. The bark on some old trees ac-tually resembles the cork oak to someextent.

The wood of western hackberry ismedium-heavy, about the same dryweight as South American mahogany

[Swietenia]. The tree is also called "palobianco," referringto the very light sap-wood. Because of its close resemblance

to elm, hackberry lumber in some stateshas been used for boxes, crates, barrelsand cheap furniture. Where it grows inabundance it is commonly cut byranchers for fence posts; however, onereference states that the wood rots rath-er rapidly in the ground. AccordingtoPeattie (1953), it is also used for doorsills and the treads of steps, which sup-posedly wil lnot squeak. Hackberry treesare deep-rooted and are occasionallyplanted as street or lawn trees in hot,wind y, desert regions with alkaline soilsThey have the virtue of providing shadeadjacent to buildings and pavementwithout buckling sidewalkor curbing.

In addition to its ecological importanceto wildlifeand its many uses by nativepeople, the hackberry tree has undoub-tedly been a welcome shady place formany an Indian or prospector on a hotsummer afternoon . So the next tim eyousee a small tree that looks outof place onthe high desert slopes, and has leaveslike an elm but fruits like tiny browncherries; it will probablybe the famous(or infamous) w estern hackberry. D

15


16/48

TripOffers

by BILL JENNINGScenery OU W ON 'T FIND this weekendV circle tour on any special travel map^ or among the numbered routes in a

standard vacation guide but it is easy totrace, with ample fuel and food stops,

mainly on paved highways and no four-wheel-drive effort unless you want it.Let's call it the Mojave Loop.

The starting and ending point is Bar-stow, a mid-M ojave Desert mecca withall the amenities only 130 freeway milesfrom Los Angeles.

The first stop should be the U.S. Bur-eau of Land Man agem ent's new BarstowWa y Station, just off Interstate 15 a half-mile west of the junction with Inter-state 40. While you're there admiring

the informative exhibits and the hand-some building, pick up BLM's handyHigh Deser t Recreat ion ResourcesGuide, a combination road map andnumbered list of scenic and historic at-tractions , all plainly marked on the map.

A word of caution, however, don't re-ly solely on the BLM guide as your tourmap. It is accurate as far as it goes, butleaves out the names or numbers ofmany of the side roads you will tra-vel and also omits key mileage here andthere. If you are a member of the Auto-mobile Club of Southern California or

16

know someone who is, avail yourself ofthe club's San Bernardino County map.It is the best available of this vast andcolorful region.

(Another word.) Fuel up at Barstow

and top your tank at key points along theroute, because gas stations are aban-doned, closed often or don't have eitherno-lead gas or diesel fuel ar ound m uch ofthis high desert circuit. (Diesel is get-ting to be critical to some of us, includingthe writer, and is found only at Barstowand Baker on the entire loop.)

We'll start out in the northeasterly di-rection, toward Las Vegas, via 1-15, butwith mention of two alternate, scenicside trips out of Barstow. The first is via

paved and well-graded roads northw ard,out some eight miles on the Ft. Irwinhighway and then west three miles to theRainbow B asin-Owl Canyon B LM recrea-tional area, with a campground. Firstcome, first getting the 31 sites a vailable,so start out there early.

The second, some 35 miles to thenorthwest, is Inscription Canyon, somesay the home of the finest remaining setof petroglyphs in the western MojaveDesert. It is reached by State Highway58 to the H inkley turno ff, north on Hink-ley Road to the Opal Mountain-Black

Mountain road. This is also a major rockhound area and it is advisable to checkroad conditions at the B LM Wa y Station

The trip out to Inscription Canyon is aleast a half-day affair and should not be

attempted by the casual or unpreparedmoto r i s t . The rock-ca rved p ic tu reswhether the y are messages or merely an-cient gra ffiti , have been vandalized in recent years but remain one of the bestgroups of their type in existence.

Back on the loop. The first stop shoulbe Calico Ghost Town, a restored buauthentic mining camp only a dozenmiles northeast of Barstow. There is agood county campground, curio storesand guides and a bonus, the area's only

work ing archeological" d i g , " conductedby the San Bernardino County Museum

One of the scenic attractionsof the central Mojave Desert is th

Kelso Dunes. The tremendousmasses of sand offer photographers

an ever-changing challengePhoto by David Muench

of Santa Barbara, California

Desert/March 1979


17/48


18/48


19/48

Old photo showssteepnessof the Piute Cree k section of the

Government Road. Scene s onthe ridge above Piute Spring.

2,000 feet, that in steam-engine dayswas the backbreaker on the old Salt LakeLine. The big helper mikado and 2-10-2freight engines turned her for the longcoasting ride back to Kelso where a ma-jor terminal, complete with a hotel, res-taurant and other rail services thrived fora half-century until the diesel era be-gan after World War II.

The UP hotel and cafe at Kelso is nolonger open to the public and even theinviting cottonwood-shaded green lawnsare posted against trespass. But Kelso isanother side trip, anyway. Our routeturns off the paved Kelso-Cima roadabout four miles west of Cima and wehead up the Cedar Canyon Roa d, a work-ing segment of the old GovernmentRoad, to the east and a choice of eitherthe Mid-Hills or Hole-in-the-Wall BLMcampgrounds or the Mitchell CavernsState Recreation Area, all sites in thescenic New York and Providence moun-tains to the southeast.

It's an easy 10 miles from Cima out toMid-Hills where BLM has established ascenic, well-watered campground in thepinyon-juniper highlands at 5,600 feet.Wood gathering is prohibited, so if youplan to camp here, or at Hole-in-the-Wa ll 10 miles down Wi ld Horse Canyon,bring your own wood.

This is roughly the halfway point onour 285-mile loop and a logical campingsite. Hole-in-the-Wall, also reached bywell-signed county roads, offers unusualgeologic formations, water and windcarved volcanic rock, in the midst of astill-active cattle country, so watch out

for wandering bovines, especially atnight. They have the right-of-way!

Mitchell Caverns, a major unit of thestate park system, is now known offi-cially as the Providence Mountains StateRecreation Area, the center of a hugehigh desert panorama overlooking theClipper and Fenner valleys to the southand east, across to the Old WomanMountains where a huge meteorite wasfound recently.

The caverns, a maze of eroded and

water-formed limestone pockets wereopened to the public more than 40 yearsago by the late Jack Mitchell and are

now augmented with a small camp-ground, an interpretive display andsome of the friendliest rangers you'llfind anywhere. A paved road reachesfrom M itchell back down to old Highway66 the National Trails route at thelittle town of Essex.

We head westward back to Barstowfrom Essex, through a rich mining re-gion, inhabited mainly by" w i l d " burrosand the seldom-seen Desert BighornSheep. There are a few deer in thehigher regions also. It's 65 rugged m iles,

some of it washboard, from Cima southto Essex, with no service in between.

At Essex the historic highway, Old 66,immortalized in song and story as theysay, heads generally west through theservice station oases of Danby (a long-time justice court hangout of Dix VanDyke), Cadiz and Amboy back to a free-way junction at Ludlow. Or, if you'retired of the whole thing by now, you canrejoin the freeway six miles north of Es-sex and swing west in high speed style.

A word of caution again. The desertstretches of freeway are well -patro lled inthese 55-mile-an-hour days, so you canmake nearly as good time on the oldroads and see more scenery.

West of Amboy, a somnolent deserttrading center under one-man owner-ship, the old road follows, crosses andre-crosses the Santa Fe Railway, whichwas established here originally in the1880s by the Southern Pacific, later be-came the Atlantic & Pacific and is now

the highspeed route of much of the man i-fest freight to and from metropolitanSouthern California.

Just west of Amboy the distinctiveAmboy Crater looms to the south,reached by a tire-testing dirt road; atLudlow you encounter the southernterminal of the Tonopha & Tidewaterand by leaving the freeway you can wan -der through the remnants of a once-major mining and ranching supply cen-ter, now just a ghost with freeway rampgas stations and cafes.

From Ludlow, it's a short 50-mile runback to Barstow, via the interesting Pis-gah Crater, a low cinder cone south ofthe freeway and its paralleling Old 66You'll go through historic Newberry anbypass Daggett without realizing, per-haps, the history represented by theseold communities.

Newb erry once served most of the des-ert stations and towns to the east withpotable water from its deep wells andsprings, while Daggett was a majormining outfitting and supply center until recent times.

From Barstow, where you again en-counter the exotic Mojave River, eitheits sand or clear, flowing water, it's afreeway jump to San Bernardino, 70miles via Victorville, or a longer, morin te res t ing undu la t ing run up theMojave River via old 66 through Helendale, Oro Grande, Victorville, Hesperiand Cajon Pass.

The Mojave Loop, as I said at the out-set, isn't delineated on your regulartourist map or extolled in a special travel guide, but it 's well worth a circui

particularly in a flower-fragrant sprinas the one we're encountering this year.Happy Mo toring! H


20/48

W H EPrimary spare

is carried onroof rack which

is stressedfor 1000-pound

loading. Visibleahead is the

often-usedventilator.

Universal slide-outwheel carrier, primarilyintended for domestictrucks, fit neatly underthe rear overhangbut someday will bedisplaced b y anauxilliary gastank.

Well-guardedpropane tankcontrols and

easily visiblegauge make

camp cookingapleasure.

Appliances pluginto covered

fittingat far end.

ITHE February, 1979 issue ofDese

I described how my choice narroweda 1965-vintage FJ-45L Toyota La

Cruiser pickup as a working tool to cry two people, camping gear and lots supplies anywhere on the Baja Penisula for a research project that at timerequires one to two self-contained weekaway from civilization. And knowing this Land Cruiser is a rare model (on2782 sold in the U.S. between 1962 an1967), I mentioned some alternate vhicles such as the curren t InternationScout III Traveler, the four-door wagvariant of the Land Cruiser and the Eglish Land Rover 108. The vehicles oviously omitted from my suggested linotably CJ-series Jeeps, Blazers antheir ilk, and any late-model Americ4WD pickup truck are left out for cafully considered, non-critical reasonspecifically, the Jeeps are too short tserve as a bedroom while converselyBlazers and late-model pickups are tobulky and vulnerable.

Within these limitations, I then wroabout the extensive mechanical modifcations requ ired to create a package capable of coping with Baja's rugged traand developed my case in favor of staring out with a bare-bones used vehicrather than a new one. The reason fothat, very simp ly, is you 'll probably neall the money you can save from gointhe used route to acquire the necessaryequipment, not to mention the modifictions. Though my total expenditure wcome close to $7,000, it is a figure somewhat less than today's price for a factory-stock 4WD pickup of any make.

I bought the FJ-45 from its first ownin May, 1975, and the equipping procesis still going on as I write this nearly foyears and 100,000 miles later. The bigticket items still missing include a wincoverdr ive and a i r-cond i t ion ing . Thwinch was continually aced out of fina


21/48

PART II

by DON MacDONALD

Photo s by Gary Squie r

cial contention by constant and expen-sive valve problems with the originalToyota engine while the overdrive andair-conditioning, of course, had to awaitthe conversion to 350-cubic-inch Chevro-let power. One doesn 't, however, have tostay home until every detail is in place.Don't succumb to the lure of the cata-logs and try to do everything at once.Plan ahead with the idea that you 'll stillmake a few mistakes as I did, notablypostponing a paint job until now, most ofthe cost will be for removing equipmentpreparatory to painting.

My first project was to hunt for a suit-able shell. It was not all that easy be-cause the truck's odd-ball 2135mm x1590mm bed size required a customstructure and I was unwilling to settle forthe usual and flimsy wood and aluminumsandwich type of construction. I wantedan all-aluminum unit and among themakers I knew of, only Travel-Time ofSpringville, Utah, and the people who

Road lights on cab roof [above] have reflective range of 500 0feet.Extendable rear view mirrors can be moved in when clearance is a problemFog lights u nder bump er [below] are protected by heavy guards. Those on

fenders are normally aimed to light each side of the roa d.Visible bottom center is the prototype d ifferential guard m entioned intext.

make the hydraulically extendable Alas-kan camper were willing to fool with non-standard dimensions. The Alaskan offersmany advantages but it is heavy, and thecollapsible feature severely restrictsvisi-bility to the rear.

Whatever make shell you choose, besure all windows are of safety glass, notplastic which scratches too easily, andthat they are of the sliding, not jalousie,type as the latter are prone to damage byheavy brush. The skin should be thethickest in the maker's catalog, painted

white to reflect heat, and the roof shouldbe braced to carry at least 1000 pounds.You won't really have that much gear onthe rack but it gives you a hedge againstthe impact forces generated by the roughroads. Be sure, too, that a roof v entilato ris included, that all screens are mountedinside the windows and that the reardoor is of the vertical or so-called"cargo" type attached with piano-stylehinges. Do not panel or carpet the interi-or walls; the bare skin will give youbetter cooling.


22/48

Headlight guards protect expensive

halogen units from damage by flyingrocks and brush.

Sealed beam tractor lights at $7.95 each make

excellent aids for backing out of your m istakes.Note the spigots on the water cans,

I use the pickup body floor for sleep-ing so to insulate it, I started out with alayer of one-half inch rug cushion toppedby one-half inch custom-fitted plywood.To this I added five-inch foam cushions,also custom-fitted in two sections andcovered with the heaviest obtainable Nau-gahyde. The mirror-image cabinets andicebox housings along each side were, of

course, constructed before the cushionswere fabricated. These top-access cabi-nets have removable dividers for flexiblestorage, and also serve as passengerseats. There is add itional space for sm allitems behind the catalytic heaters at theforward end of the shell and the shelfabove them is convenient for sleepingbag stowage.

Mounted on and under this shelf is al inear-ampli f ied Sanyo casset te tapedeck with A M /F M stereo radio,posi-tioned so that it can be easily reachedfrom both the driver's seat and from in-side the shell. The two Jensen tri-axialspeakers are boxed and mounted on theicebox cabinets at the rear. The principalpurpose of this tape deck is for recordingnotes and observations while on the roadbut the home-quality stereo it producescan indeed be pleasa nt. A Pace 2300 CBis mounted on an accessory packageshelf (Downey Toyota) above the wind-shield. CB is, of course, of marg inal use-fulness in Baja due to its line-of-sightrange and the scarcity of REACT centersbut that will change in time. After all,

22

CB has just recently become legal forAmericans to use down there. Both theCB and a dash-mo unted scanner capableof receiving the national weather fre-quency as well as police, marine and air-craft transmissions are connected to aunique device called an Ashworth SoundReproducer. Th is essentially is a speakermagnet screwed into the package shelf

(or any other flat surface) which trans-mits sound through the entire surface towhich it is attached. It thus eliminatesthe directional limitations of con vention-al in-car speakers. The CB has its ownset of side-mounted, top-loaded four-footantenna and the other radios share theconventional antenna mounted on thecab roof. I don't claim these to be opti-mum for best reception as I was moreconcerned with avoiding damage fromoverhanging tree limbs, not to mentionman-made overhead structures.

Air-conditioning should not be con-sidered a luxury for Baja travel or any-where else in the Southwest desert forthat matter, particularly in a ToyotaLand Cruiser. No attempt is made by thefactory to insulate the bodies from me-chanically generated heat and on one oc-casion, a passenger very nearly requiredhospital zation for heat prostra tion onemid-afternoon while coming in from Lan-caster on the Antelope Valley freewaydur in g 100F amb ien t t empera tu reswhich in any other vehicle would be nobig deal. I've even found it necessary to

Tool-Tote on bumpe r carries a Hi-Ljack, shovel and axe along with a resilient "snatch" strap for towing.

wear leather-soled, not plastic or rubbeshoes to protect my feet from the hofloorboard.

My choice for air-conditioning wheget it will be an Alamo Model T-160 umounted on the cab roof, using the rotary compressor that came with thChevy engine. There's no room undethe dash and Alamo's design has a de

sirably low profile as well as enououtput to cool both cab and shell. Thlast requirement illustrates the need foplanning ahead. To cool the shell with aair-conditioning unit mounted on the croof obviously requires an enclosed pasageway between the.two structures, o"crawl-through" boot as i t is commoncalled. I foresaw this when the shell wabeing fabricated and had them positioand size the fixed forward window that it exactly matched the rear windoof the truck cab, thus greatly simp lifyithe construction of the boot which wdone for $125 by Crager's Auto Interioof Torrance. Even with the nicely matced fit, however, there was enough flebetween the cab and pickup bed to require a set of BMC cab-to-bed dampeto protect the boot structures. Thesdampers are nothing more than shortstroke, automotive-type shock absorberand they do their job well.

I 've been accused of "ov er -k ill " whpeople see my three sets of Cibie roalights on the front and sharper eyemight even note that prior to the Ba

De s ert/March 197


23/48

t r ip , I exchange the domestic sealed-beam headlights for Cibie halogen units.That makes a total of 1,100,000 candle-power if I used them all at once, which Ican't because they draw too much cur-rent. However, Baja is an "open range"area, meaning that livestock wanders atwill on the highways and trails. Inaddi-tion, the paved roads usually lack shoul-ders which means that when a vehiclebreaks down, repairs take place in themiddle of the highway at any time of theday or night. That activity, inturn , isusually signalled by large rocks placedacross the lane some distance from thedisabled vehicle. Then often as not whenthe vehicle is finally repaired, the rocksare left behind. It 's just the way they doit down there and it's cheaper and saferto light than fight.

The lights under each end of the frontbumper and protected by heavy guardsare for fog and useful anywhere. Thepair on the front tenders are also foglights but when in Baia, I aim them off toeach side to outline pedestrians, un-marked intersect ions and most im-portantly, cattle grazing by the side ofthe road which might spook out in frontof me. The units on the leading edge ofthe cab roof are true road lights whichare capable of reflecting objects at dis-tances up to 5,000 feet. In practice, theywill pick out a dead, black cow lying onasphalt (or those rocks I mentioned) intime for you to dodge or stop. All ofthese lights except the bumper-m ountedfogs are connected to separate toggles

through the dimmer switch which de-activates them instantly with the ap-proach of an oncoming vehicle. Collec-tive ly, they have saved their $70 per paircost many times over. There are manygood brands of road lights on the marketbut I know from experience that theCibies are rugged, praise I can't bestowon the Philips bulbs used which are un-predictable. One bulb in a pair of newlights might blow in a few days and itsreplacement does the same, so you (orthe dealer) start blaming voltage surge,and then the second replacement willlast for months.

I have not yet succumbed to over-killon instrumentation or luxury appoint-ments in the cab. The original Toyotagauges were adapted to accept signalsfrom the Chevy engine. I've added atachometer, eight-day clock, map light,compass and inclinometer. The clock,which was liberated years ago from aWo rld War II bomber, worked fine until Iinstalled the new engine. Now, it alter-nates between running two hours fastper day and not at all. It's obviously avictim of magnetic fields set up^ prob-ably, by the electronic ignition which Ihave yet to find an effective method ofshie lding . Reader advice on this problemwould be welcomed.

The five-gallon propane supply fitsneatly ahead of the right rear wheel, be-ing on the curb side along with the twospare Jerry cans of gasoline to minimizefire danger. I experienced some diffic ul-ty in finding an LPG tank that combined

the right shape with a guard for the con-trols and a gauge, mainly because theonce numerous and helpful fabricators ofthese tanks have all been absorbed by acouple of big outfits which have stand-dardized their own ideas on what youneed. One need of mine was two outletvalves, one for the catalytic heaters inthe shell and the other for a low (4.5 psi)pressure cooking stove and one or morelanterns which would be used outsidethe truck. Keep in mind, as I didn't, thatvehicle-type propane installations won'tserve the Coleman variety of high-pres-sure camp stoves and lanterns. You haveto buy special low-pressure equipmentand the portable kind is sometimes hardto f ind. I have now specially fabricatedhoses .with bayonet fittings that plugright into the supply and reach to thecamping area.

You're never very far from the oceanin Baja so bathing isn't much of a prob-lem. Drinking, radiator and cookingwater, however, are, so in addition to asmuch b ottled water as I can fin d room forin the shell, I carry two five-gallon watecans on the left rear which are equippedwi th s pigots. I hese special cans, obtain -able at surplus stores, are painted on theinside; don't use ordinary Jerry cans forwater as they'll quickly rust out. Thesimplest, most durable mount for stan-dard shape cans, gasoline or water, isD i ck C e p e k 's " o r i g i n a l " an d m a i l -ordered by him out of his store in Downey, California. And that brings to min

Continued on Page 35

View to rear from cab shows Sanyo tape recorder and the twinspeakers mounted on the ice boxes.

Instrumentation and controls are essentially stock. Cen tereabove is the Pace 2300 CB with the Ashworth Sound Reproducer [described in text] below it.


24/48


25/48

c The day tour bo atto Rainbow Bridgewinds througha narrow canyon.

Powellby C . WILLIAM HARRISONas it spins the turbine s of the da m'seight huge gene rators. Unbelievable asit may seem, this enormous man-madelake has some 1,900 m iles of sho reline,surpassing in length the combinedcoastlines of Califo rnia, Oregon andWashington.

Each year Lake Po well becomes thefour-seasons mecca for more tha n amillion sight-seers and sportspersons.Yet so vast is this vacationland of waterand rock, and so varied its manyattrac tions , there is never any sense ofbeing crowded or hurried by others. Forthose who seek it, solitude and silenceare always close at hand in theinnumerable bays, inlets and tributarycanyons of the lake's 250 square miles ofboating and fishing waters.

For some it is a never-to-be-forgottenfirst visit; for others it is an annual orsemi-annual renewal of explorations andrecreational pleasures that cannot befound in any other place. Some arrive intraile rs, campers or motor homes.Others arrive by air or in family cars withplans to stay in one of the several motels

in nearby Page, Arizona , or in the

AwesomeRainbow Bridge

is only a shortwalk from thedock.

Rainbow Marina in Forbidding Canyon offersfuel, a store and sanitary facilities.

979 25

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26/48

The pool area at W ahweapLodge provides rest and relaxationwhile affording a panoram ic viewof the bay.

superb lakeshore comforts andconveniences of Wahweap Lodge andMarina.

No visit to Lake Powell is com pletewitho ut experiencing the pleasure andexcitement of one of the half- or full-daboat excursions out of Wahw eap Ma rinato the most mem orable attraction ofthem a ll, the majestic and incomparableRainbow Bridge.

W ith a licensed and informative piloat the controls of your all-weather tourcruiser, your 100-mile voyage to thatimmense and superbly sym metricalrocky rainbow, which was calledNonnezoshebokoby the Navajo andBarohoini by the P aiute, is anever-changing panorama of scenic andhistoric de lights . . . the sitecomm emorating the place where in 177

Tranquil W ahweap Basinprovides mooring for manyprivate c raft. This view is fromWahweap Lodge.

26 Des er t /Mar ch 197


27/48

The tour bo at leavesits wake [abo ve] as it hea ds for

Rainbow Bridge.Houseboating [right] is

a favorite on Lake Powe ll.

the two lost and starvin g Franciscanpriests, Escalante and Dominguez,somehow managed to cross the turbulentColorado in their efforts to return toSanta Fe . . . the silent procession ofbuttes and minarets spectacularly carvedby time and the elements . . . thebrooding labyrinthian waterway ofSecret Canyon tha t takes you betweenthe bulging immensity of sandstonecliffs w here nature has been strippe d by

prim ordia l forces to pose nude andunblushing before humanity.An d then you see it as your cruiser

eases around the fin al bend in thenarrow channel see at last the s unlitbeauty and sublime nobility of thatcolossal struc ture of all ages, beckoningyou to it with the silent se renity of itseternal glory .

The tour boat ties up atthe foot of the trail to Rainbow Bridge.

Des ert/ March 1979 27


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A n c i e n tf R o l e

t L a n d sbyJOEKRAUSThrough much study it has been de-termin ed that the Antelope Valley regionof the Mojave Desert served as a cross-roads in an Indian trade route and wastherefore inhabited for much longer per-iods of time than what was previouslybelieved. And by uncovering what theIndian had left beh ind, researchers havebeen piecing together a most fasc inatingstory.

At the present time a team of arch-eologists are winding up the excavationof a major village site at the west end ofthe valley. Research so far has indicatedthat the village was occupied fairly con-tinuously over the last 2,000 years, anarea occupied during the early historicperiod by the Kitanemuk Shoshone.

Robinson said that teams have ex-cavated the remains of a large cemeteryas well as many parts of the villageproper including the remains of houses,roasting pits, fire hearths and otherfeatures.

Among the materials uncovered havebeen ornaments made of beads, shells,bones and stone. The archeologists havealso uncovered work tools such as d rills,

knives, scrapers, needles and punches.There have been tools of hunting and

war projective po ints, arrowheads andnprl / March 1Q7Q

Mark Sutton[left] and

RogerRobinsonlook over

smaller artifacts

found justthat morning.

Amateur archeologists and students excavate remains of an ancient wickiup.


30/48

Student PatFlanagan [left]uncoverscharcoal remainsas InstructorRoger Robinsonlogs find inrecord book.Below: GaryAubrey getsclose to his workas he exposesfoundation rimof a wickiup.

35

spearheads o f all types. The dig has alpro vide d handicrafts am ong which habeen basketry, cordage and pottery. Tharcheologists have also uncovered stonbowls, grinding rocks and implementst he s i t e .

The a rea cu r re n t ly be ing workcovers about three acres wi th "s ubu rbin the im m ediate area adding anot300 acres. Because of the massivamount of work required, Robinson amitted that the site will never be copletely excavated.

He explained that the site was dicovered only after 70 to 80 percent of tarea was already destroyed by vandalEven thou gh what rem ained was mrewarding and the site evolved into m ost productive of all in the area to dvandals had taken their toll . Robinsoem phasized, howe ve r, that the vandlism here and in othe r ne arby areas wnot necessarily inte ntional. Som e owas done by individuals not knowiwhat was beneath the gro und. Some wdone through construction projects suas roads, canals and buildings, also unknowingly by workm en at the site . said it was only natural as we ll for a hior horseback rider to pick up an objecit looked interesting, not knowing tthe displacem ent o f the artifact couvery well lose i ts real value to archegists. Few of these people, as well , aware of the federal and state laws prtecting such areas.

Despite all of this, however, the prent dig has prov ed m ost rewarding. form ation obtained to date has providknowledge of the general way of lifethese people o ver a long period of t imI t a lso su gges t s m any changes culture.

"Because of our research," Robinsosaid, "we now know a great deal abothis Indian's basic economic system, thfoods he ate and the raw m aterials he gathered. We now know where he went toget these raw materials and when (timof year). We also know something abothe relationship he had with surroundincul tures ."

Robinson said that am ong the m oi n t e r e s t i n g i t e m s w h ic h t h e s t uuncovered was that the Antelope Vallwas considered by the early Indians to bve ry im portant in trade relations. Mof the m ater ia l m oving between the derts in Easte rn California and the co asa reas passed th rough the Ante lopValley. For the e arly Indian the area w


31/48

a crossroads for general trade and cul-tural contact.

He said artifacts found at the presentdig prove direct ties between peoplesofthe whole Pacific Coast from whatis nowSan Francisco Bay through Baja Cali-fornia and from the canyons of the Colo-rado River in Arizona.

" W e are shedding light on the way inwhich humans come to acquire a know-ledge of their environment," he said." W e are also seeing how their cultureadapted to change."

Another major discovery, accordingtoRobinson, is that it is now believed thatthe area was capable of sustaining amuch large population and had a morecomplex and stable culture than wouldbe assumed for a desert environment.

" W e are stil l not sure, however,whether this is due to widespread cul-

tural contactsor a

differentand

moreproductive environment or perhaps acombination of b o t h , " Robinson said.

Although large, the population waskept down and somewhat limited by theenvironment. This was due, he said, tothe harsh conditions. The desert Indiansgathered all their food by natural means.They did not engage in agriculture nordid they raise domestic animals.And yetunder these terms they apparently wereable to maintain a large village andthrive quite successfully under condi-tions which anthropologists would asso-ciate with marginal living.

" W e are much more enlightenednow," Robinson said. "B ut 20 years agoif you told archeologists that this siteeven existed here they wouldn't havebe-lieved i t . "

Robinson said that the pre-history ofthe Mojave Desert possibly goes backtoth e end of the last ice age when pres-ent-day dry lakes were wet lakes, whenancient hunters probably tracked anim altypes that no longer exist.

Although much of the information isbeing pieced together with the resultthat many of the earlier questions arebeing answered, there is still quite a lotof mysteries to be uncovered. He saidthe students and volunteers involved inthe excavation are now workingon morespecific problems involving socialandpolitical organization and general cul-tural-ecological relationships. And, ac-cording to Robinson, there is still muchwork to do in the job of obtaining newand valuable information for futuregenerations.

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Exploring Calif. Byways#ll l Desert Country

Exploring Calif. BywaystflV Mountain Country

Exploring Calif. Byways#V Historical Sites

Exploring Calif. BywaysWl Owens Valley

Exploring Calif. Byways#VII An HistoricSketchbook

Guidebook to theColorado Desertof California

Guidebook to theMountains of San Diegoand Orange Counties

Exploring HistoricCalifornia

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32/48

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A S T H ER I V ESand dunes have formed high on some of theescarpments along the Paria River. Photos by author. F L Oby JERRY SIEVE

DURING T HE evening anotherspring storm has piled snow highon the m ulti-colored cliffs of BryceCanyon. As th e sun appeared onthe eastern horizon, m illions of-snow crystals are instantaneouslytransformed into liquid which inturn sets in m otion a system thathas lasted for over 60 millio n years.

Down from highly eroded cliffswater travels quickly until reachinga rather broad plain where in

tota lity it received a name. Paria:(PA-REE-AH ) a Piute Indian w ordmeaning elk or dirty water. Foralmost 40 miles the Paria lazesalong in a self-contained meanderrarely becoming more than sixinches deep. Soon, with thesinuous water way moving south,the Paria approaches an obstacle.On the horizon appears the risinghulk of Paria Plateau. At this po intthe struggle begins.

Firs t, low m ounds ofcross-bedded sandstone appear asthe valley narrows from perhaps amile to about 100 yards. Gradually,while traveling deeper into theconfines of the plateau, themounds have been transform edinto vertical walls and have begunto close in .

The Paria River makes

curious patterns on its way tothe Colorado River at

Lee's Ferry.Deser t /March1979 33


34/48

->**."

As the sun leaves for the day, Paria Canyon prepares to sleep.

Higher and higher the wallsreach as the in ternal forces keep anupward thrust on the land massseemingly to block the Paria'sprogress. F irst 50 , then 100, soon

200 feet. But relentless cu ttingaction by the river thwarts anyattempt at obstruction.

The rive r is no longer in a valleynow but a canyon, with a width ofno more than 50 feet. A lso, sandybanks once filled with sm all treesand shrubs have vanished leavingnothing but river bottom and sheersandstone walls. Previously, ourriver has traveled in a roughlysouthern direction but now, with

canyon walls of 300 feet, theplateau forces the Paria to veereast for a w hile, then back south,34

then east again. For a moment itappears the plateau m ight repelthe river as the waterway is forcednorthw ard. However, in response,the channel narrows even more as

the Paria concentrates its erosionalpower.As the p rimeval contest

continues, the twisting stream'spath is suddenly sp lit by a100-foot-high block of solidsandstone that has fallen from thecanyon walls. This only temporarilyimpairs progress as the barr ier'sbottom is gradually g round into apoint. Passing th is, the Paria againattains a southerly course.

At its narrowest point, PariaCanyon measures only 12 feet w idewith curving sandstone walls that

reach a height of 500 feet. S hortlafter t his , the Paria joins forceswith water from a contortedtributary called Buckskin GulchAlso adding to an ever-increasinflow comes water from varioussprings and seeps that in someplaces have caused the form ationof small box canyons.

W ith this extra erosive strengtthe channel begins to widen aga iSandy banks reappear along withthe brilliant green of ripariangrasses, bushes and cottonwoodtrees, all of which contrast sharpwith colossal red canyon walls.

Soon, massive side canyons cutdeep gashes into the plateau'sflanks. Each have springs and alscollect runoff from rainstormswhich occasionally occur. All of

adds more power to the Paria on relentless journey which has nowshifted to a southeasterly directio

In what seems a last ditch effoto block the rive r'spath, theremains of a massive rock slide afound strewn along one portion othe canyon. The Paria, however,has either pulverized or swept ouof the way any auto-sized bouldethat have fallen in its course.

Nearing the end of its journey

the river flows past beautifulblue-black desert varnish ,gleaming on burnt red canyonwalls, that are now more than amile and a half away and over 25feet high.

Finally, the end arrives. TheParia is victorious . H owever, thidoes not end the story of themelted snow crystals we havefollowed from limestone cliffs s80 miles away. The time has com

to join with a greater rive r, theColorado, to do battle in thegreatest of canyons, the GrandCanyon, and in turn continue theprocess begun millions of years ithe past.

NOTE: Info rm at ion abou tbackpack ing in Paria C anyon canbe obtained by contacting theBureau of Land Manage m e nt, inKanab, Utah. The hike cove rs

abou t 38 m iles and usu allyrequires abou t f ive days to walki ts e nt i re length .

Desert/March 19


35/48

WHEELS FOR BAJAContinued from Page 23

padlocks. All items on the outside of thetruck and some inside are padlockedwith one key serving all the locks. Orderthem this way from any lock shop andget a couple more than you think you'll

ever need.Anothe r exam ple of foresight in choos-

ing equipment is illustrated by theTool-Tote mounted on the front bumper. AsI've mentioned, a heavy-duty Warnwinch is a high-ticket item and its pur-chase tends to get postponed. Mean-while, the 7500-poung capacity Hi-Liftjack included with the Tool-Tote willdouble in brass as a winch. Use it likeyou were stretching barbed wire for afence; the process is time-consum ing but

effective. Also, of course, the shovel andaxe are handy to have along. The Tool-Tote mounted in that location is compat-ible wit h the Wa rn winch and the specialbumper provided with it for Toyota in-stallations bu t not with any other designwinch that I know of.

I am about to get rid of the stepbumper at the rear for there is enoughoverhang to be bothersome without it.Whatever its replacement, however,there will still be provision for those pro-

tected tractor lights which I've usedmany times for backing out of my mis-takes as well as for light in camp. An-other useful item that can't be readilyseen in the photos is the slide-out car-rier for the second spare wheel and ti re.These are made for most American pick-up trucks and the "universal" modeljust happened to fit my Toyota, replacingthe back-breaking original carrier.

I could devote much of this article tothe big-ticket items already in place orplanned but the right little ones are justas hard to find and some of both turnedout to be ill-conceived in unexpectedways. For example, I inherited a set of"Western" rear-view mirrors when Ibought the truck but replaced them withextendable, cowl-mounted mirrors fromDowney Toyota because the la t terseemed l e s s vu lne rab le . I d idn ' t ,though, anticipate the doors bangingagainst them wh ich, on the right, alwaysmanages to break the parabolic insert Ilike to keep there.

It 's improbable that my Toyota willever blossom forth in a candy pain t job or

Desert / March 1979

Truck bed with its five-inch cushions is just wide and long enough for two sleepersIce boxes at forward end each hold 25 pounds w hich lasts m aybe five days. Catalyticheaters at far end are super-efficient when they work.

any more chrome than what migh t comewith some accessory I install. Its beautyfor those who might appreciate it is in itsfunc t iona l i sm. Every ins t a l l a t ion i seither paired or centered which can be asometimes expensive fetish as witnessthe unnecessary second catalytic heater.There's a grommet w herever a wire goesthrough sheetmetal. Slowly, everything Imust carry is finding a place. If I can'tbuy the necessary bracket, I have onefabricated. If you take your time, you'llfind a "sanitary" answer to each prob-lem, an answer that will hold up underany pounding that Baja might give it.

Lastly, I'd like to list some experts,both to credit them for their contribu-tions and as a guide to readers whomight be planning a similar project. Thebig job, that of the engine conversion,was handled by Paul Cantarano who op-erates the Anza Valley Tire and A uto Co.on Highway 371 in Anza, California. In-stallations other than m y own were aboutequa lly shared by Tony and Joe Cracchio-lo of San Pedro 4WD Center on CaffeyStreet in San Pedro and Burt Koch ofKoch Bros. RV Supplies on Long BeachBlvd. in North Long Beach. Both of theselatter firms will also go out of their wayto order up hard-to-find equipment oreven, as in the case of my front differen-

tial guard, talking the supplier into de-signing something that's needed. Then

Cal Finley, president of Travel-Time inSpringville, Utah, will still custom-builan all-aluminum shell for those who wantone but not, I'm sure, at the $609.50price he charged me four years ago. Forsound advice rather than boloney abouttire types and wheel combinations I'd

like to thank George Vaught, chief tireengineer for Sears in Chicago. For Toy-ota factory parts, I rely on Desert Toyotain Cathedral Ci ty, mainly becausethey're w illing to try where other dealersin that make oftentimes are n't.

"The original of this painting not for sale. Nowin the collect ion of Dr. & M rs . R. S. Baddour,Pa lm Springs , Ca l i fo rn ia . "

gOnSaU tut lJAt/iZ 'MAGAZINE'SWESTERN ART GALLERYSeeiAem at

74-425 HIGHWAY 111PALM DESERT, C ALIF

35


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GUARDIANS O

SILENTLY THEY WATCH overthevalley, sometimes shrouded in themists of early morning or the haze of

late evening, sometimes boldly flauntingtheir images in he brittle sunlight. Likecryptic beings of a nether world they

hold themselves aloof, tantalizing thosewho crave a more intimate acquaintance,because their existence is questioned byunbelievers. Yet the Angel, the Witchand the Madonna are visible all yearround to those who have solved the mys-tery of their whereabouts, although mostpeople pass through the Palm Springsarea unaware of their guardianship.

The best known of these landmarks,the Angel, is believed to have beencreated by a rock slide in the earlytwenties. A Southern Pacific train con-ductor is credited with its discovery, andwhen the train pulled into Banning,he

36

excitedly called his friend, Russell Don-aldson, an early-day photographer. Don-aldson was skeptical of his story about anAngel standing over the dust of a rockslide on the mountain near Whitewater,but on the chance that there just mightbe something worth photographing,hepacked up his equipment and hurried outto see for himself. To his great amaze-ment he did find a 450-foot-high out-cropping of white granite at about the2300-foot level on the mountain, anditdid indeed resemble an Angel with out-stretched wings.

Pictures were taken and reproducedon postal cards, which are still availablein desert shops these many years later.Tourists came to the desert to view thisnatural wonder, and the granite forma-tion about half way up the slopeof M t.San Jacint

Documents

197903 Desert Magazine 1979 March