The Wagonteamster Channel has it’s first video production - Journey To the Valley Of the Wild Horses

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10-20-12, E. Kern, CA (Coord. N. 35 deg, 46.490 min; W. 117 deg, 51.018 min.)

Today, was a great travel day with wide shoulders and light traffic. Doc and Bill pulled the wagon 21 miles while descending to 2400 feet above sea level.  After pulling through Barstow, the wagon will briefly climb back to 4000 feet, but for now I’m in the low desert.

After pulling out of the rest area at 8 am, I briefly stopped at the gas station to fill up the main water tank. The road conditions were great with wide shoulders all day long.  The morning drive was through an area with a lot of historic volcanic activity.  Large lava flows and domes were interspersed with old cinder cone volcanos.

A mountain of brown pumice, this cinder cone volcano was probably less than 50,000 years old. With a large chunk of solidified lava and several Joshua Trees at the base, it was quite a sight.

All day long, the temperature never climbed much above 80 degrees, with a light, cool breeze from the south. The lads were strong and pulled well.  The towering Sierra Nevada Mountains are now much more subdued and lower in altitude.

I had to show the picture above in tribute to all people that receive an hourly wage.  Rather than build a roadside fence around this small dome of lava, the good people of our government decided it would be a better idea to keep the fence line straight and drill holes in the lava rock, so they could run the fence line directly across the dome. I know they weren’t getting paid for ‘piece work’.

Just before lunch, I drew abreast, then passed ‘Little Lake’, the last large body of fresh water I’ll see in some time. The lake is completely surrounded by private land, so I didn’t get a chance to take a last dip in some mountain water.

Little Lake was host to a large number of waterfowl.

After lunch, I continued my descent, finally bottoming out at around 2400 feet in elevation. I then started crossing a large valley, which contains the City of Ridgecrest.  I’m taking a detour of a few miles in order to go to Ridgecrest and pick up a few things.

Passing by the ‘Want-to-be’ community’ of Pearsonville.  It’s only claim to fame is that it is the ‘Hubcap Capitol of the World’. I did see a couple of hubcaps on a wire fence in front of an old mobile home! It also has a 20 foot high statue of gal in a red miniskirt - ‘Yo Baby’!

A few miles short of the Route 41/US 395 split, I pulled onto Brown Road which gives me about a day of travel on a back road. After driving through a go-around gate to leave the highway, I’m now settled into a roadside camp of sand and creosote brush.  There’s no traffic and it’s quiet, so it’s not too bad.

Tomorrow, I plan on a shorter day to allow me to camp prior to the City of Ridgecrest. This will allow me to get some shopping done on Monday morning, vice Sunday afternoon.

Big Bob, King of the Desert!