Is This California Ghost Town An Oasis In The Desert?
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- Опубліковано 1 жов 2024
- Is This California Ghost Town An Oasis In The Desert? Check out Desert Center, Lake Tamarisk plus a massive solar farm and Eagle Mountain Abandoned Ghost Town
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I live at Lake Tamarisk and it is nice and peaceful. Only takes 45 minutes to get to town. Old HS is now elementary school. Should have done all grades there. A long time ago the Woz wanted to make the school an Apple magnet school and they turned him down! Next time you come through we will give you a more in depth tour. There are about 1000 people that live out here and we really appreciate the Post Office and Diana.
Thanks for the video Russ. I graduated from Eagle Mountain HS in 1979. Very sad. The mine shut down in the early 80's.
Here's a little trivia item for you. I am going from memory, and I have had two strokes. But I remember a time when railroads, maybe in the 80s, were dumping cabooses.
I worked at Edwards AFB. I remember a couple yards where you could buy a caboose for $500 plus moving it. That is why you will often find a caboose as part of the southwest design in large yards and such. That was right by Mojave, CA. with two main lines.
Lived in Eagle Mountain from 72 - 75. Had a lot of fun climbing hills and roaming the desert. My aunt and her family lived in Lake Tammerisk, and in about 74 a tornado ripped that place up destroyed alot of mobile homes.
I lived there in 76 I had some of my best childhood memories there and I remember the deep fried burritos at the bowling alley they were the best I ever had
Desert Center was founded by Desert Steve Ragsdale before the road from Mecca to Blythe was paved. He actually moved his town to where the state moved the road when they did pave it, running a water line from the spring that had brought him to the center of the desert to the new location. He had a gas station, repair shop, cafe, lodging, and he was the only one. He and his family became millionaires as the town boomed around them. In 1950 they had a huge celebration; 29 years they been there. Many speakers at the event declared Ragsdale a courageous pioneer and the world's worst poet. The town would continue to be a place you had to stop at for fuel, food or directions. What you couldn't buy there was any form of alcohol. Tea-totaler Ragsdale's motto was "Honesty, Industry and Sobriety". A sign on the door read "No dogs, no drunks. We prefer dogs." Another sign read "We never close. We've lost the keys". Then I-10 got built. Desert Center would continue to be a relatively successful town, but slowly people forgot to stop. It only really closed a decade ago, all of it's most valuable items auctioned out. Desert Steve has two graves. He dug one for himself somewhere around the town, with a tombstone he had made himself. He actually got buried elsewhere, but I'd like to see the grave he dug himself.
this is exactly what the Disney movie Cars was all about: small town does well until the highway is built and then people stop visiting and instead embrace a faster pace of life, and it slowly dies. sad, in my opinion.
@@ppmnox Desert Center is literally right on I-10. The highway didn't kill it, better gas mileage did. I live in Palm Springs and regularly drive to Phoenix using I-10. I can make the 700 mile round trip on one tank of gas. There is no reason to stop there anymore. Blythe is less than an hour away as is Indio in the other direction.
@Dave Taylor thanks so much for explaining the history! and for anyone who does a round trip of 700 miles or whatever without stopping, your bladder must be made of titanium. And your stomach must run on no food and no hot drinks. LoL
@@ericbarnett6771 Excellent point. We have a Odyssey van, and we can make it from South FL to South Carolina on one tank. I think that is what killed off the smaller service stations which I truly miss.
I'd like to see the Tombstone he made himself and read what he wrote. Desert was his first name hence Desert Center, CA. Awesome town & story. I love history and our own the best. Born & raised in SoCal. Got too crowded s😃😇💙💚o moved up north, wound up in Auburn, CA a wonderful place to raise kids.pop. 6,000 I don't ever like to go over six thousand because I don't like crowds who I don't know or being a stranger where I live, that's too weird. I grew up in the same town San Dimas my whole life. Moved to GrassValley, CA but had to move recently due to fire smoke nine months a year. CA needs to burn, in the forests but we need controlled care while it is done. No more expensive than paying out on all these homes, whole towns displaced before winter, awful. So I moved, lead by the Lord, North I live in SW WA now along the coast, just wonderful, On a farm, in a forest, at the beach. They don't seem to clean their forests but you see a lot of work going on and spots where they are doing just that, cleaning the forest floors up under the trees which are a hundred years old and older. The difference is WATER. Lots of water. We run de-humidifiers 24/7 and take out about a gallon of water a day out of the air in home. I just bought a 2022 Jayco Eagle 294ckbs for my home, with fireplace, 7' ceilings, closet a wall of mirror that will be my library, most of it. God bless you RVer and be safe out there. Glad to see you avoid monsoons and really bad weather, we care about you and our travels. Stay well & safe. If not let us know so we can pray for you and not worry. Great channel RVer . Goodwill to all. 🙏🙏🙋👋Peace on Earth. Again take care!
Interesting video. I pass by there now and then. I saw a homeless, I guess, young guy there in Desert Center. I gave him some water and 20 bucks. He really didn´t seem to know where he was.
This is probably more accurately described as the Colorado Desert given the elevation and vegetation. The Mojave Desert is farther to the north, along, for example Highway 62 west towards 29 Palms/Joshua Tree.
Have stopped before at Desert Center but never went as far as you did to Kaiser. It’s really sad , that place collapsed when Kaiser Steel in Fontana went under about 35 years ago. Many of the Liberty ships of WW2 were built with steel made from the iron of that mine. Another Great road video!
Actually, the steel for the Liberty Ships came from the Vulcan Mine, out near Kelso - the West side of the Providence Mountains (North of Interstate 40). After WW2, the Eagle Mountain mining region was taken away from Joshua Tree National Monument, given to Kaiser and was supposed to be given back to the JTNP when they were done mining. They didn't. They tried to make the Worlds Biggest Pile of Garbage - Eagle Mountain MegaDump.
The freight company I worked for had me doing meets at the Desert Center Cafe in the early-mid 90's. I use to eat lunch at the DC Cafe when on a meet.
Loved the wide open places when I was an OTR driver made me feel so free of all the problems associated with my job , thanks enjoyed.
Inside the old Cafe, the bathrooms are just the way they built them in the 1930 and 40s. Beautiful tile. They are pristine. Too bad you couldn’t get in to see the tile work. It’s like walking back in time.
Outback Australia has some very long distances between towns as well, for any Europeans watching this vid. A truckdriver further down the comments said he used to love long distance driving through this type of country, it gave him a mental break from everything. My favourite drive used to be Alice Springs, to the Flinders Ranges, then the Barrier Highway to Broken Hill and from there to Victoria on the backroads. Get up at daybreak, quick cup of tea, on the road and many long straight miles for hours and hours and hours...loved it. Very soothing. But sunset and dawn are times to be wary of stray wildlife crossing the road, kangaroos and emus mainly. But other creatures as well... drive a lot slower, in case you may have to dodge something in a hurry!
Spent a few holidays there......I had an uncle that worked for the Kaiser Mine in the mid 70's to early 80's. It was a sweet gig. The mine provided housing for some of the employees. I can't remember if it was free or very low cost. There was a store, a doctor's clinic and a Post Office. They had everything they needed right there. We lived in Indio which was only about an hour west. Now we pass through Desert Center if we are going to Laughlin, NV. There was a little burger stand that was across from the gas station that stayed open until sometime in the mid to late 90's. We would use it for a bathroom stop and refreshments. Lot's of neat little places out there in the middle of the desert. Cool Video....Thanks!
I believe Eagle Mountain actually has a few residents - you noticed the homes near the entrance with lawns - who function as caretakers.
Wow that was a LOT of solar panels!! Love your laid back style of filming and narrating, makes it relaxing to watch.
I know, Russ is the GREATEST!!!! I sincerely don't know how Quartzsite is going to survive without it's Mayor!!!! Right my friend, oh come on now Russ don't be shy!!!! Hahahaha 😆 😉 😄 😃 😀 😁 😀 😆
I’m surprised squatters don’t live in places like this ...
Its too hot there, without water will probably die in a few days; then whatever natural food is out there (rabbits, lizards and snakes), the buzzards and coyotes will beat you to it first; no real services for human habitation. So take supplies, if you decide to visit.
J Crane don’t worry I’m not gonna come there and hijack your home , I can tell you live there because you got all the information on how to live there … how long you’ve been squatting there ?
What fun, great stop and if this is an indication of things to come on your summer 2019 trip, I'm in!!! Thanks for a lesson in our local Mojave desert history!
The solar farm probably tapped into the power lines that went into the mining town.
One of the biggest problems with alternative energy is getting the power into the grid.
Many places have plenty of sun or wind, but lack the power lines going to those areas.
No, those solar panels were put up after Eagle Mt closed in 1988. It’s part of the Green Earth plan in California. Every year 50,000 birds are fried when they fly over the mirrors and the towers.
@@brucewrght2164 I believe the solar farm in Nevada near Tonopah that used mirrors shut down. Birds may be one reason, but I think the finances were a mess as well.
@@brucewrght2164 just read that in socal, its 3600 in a 4 year period, not great, but your rightwing BS got caught again, plus, you gonna eat those birds ????
@@psbrad64 Bleeding Dems and Enviro-wacko's, have killed many promising endeavors, because a fly, gnat or rat species would be harmed in some way. But heck, seems like torching birds alive, is now ok.
@@HammerHed13 Better than burning coal, and smoking US, yes SMH....... and to be clear we should all be getting power from geo thermal, but your big money buddies on wall street don't make enough off it... still SMH
Awesome Russ. Thanks for the ride! J
This is just awesome
That Solar farm was HUGE ! The Mojave Desert, to me, is beautiful. I wondet what it cost to buy that town? Just dreaming Russ. Lol.
Thank you. Great Drone footage. See you next time. Stay safe out there.
thank you
Yep, Eagle mountain. sad...
Wow somebody should at least reopen that cafe. With all those trucks taking their break there, there has to be at least some demand for an old school dinner. But I guess if it's not on Route 66, nobody cares about it anymore. LOL
I agree, I would love to see an elderly couple run the cafe's, and call it Mom and Pop's place or Papa and Grandma's, now, that would be a family diner, and very cute!!
My dad work at the mine from 74 -82.we lived in the town.we also lived at desert center for awhile.
All of those solar panels have to be replaced 20 to 30 years from new. Imagine the 'carbon footprint' those panels produce to manufacture.
A few natural gas generators would probably be much cheaper and cleaner to run in the same time period and they would run 24/7.
ALL power should be geo thermal no reason for anything else
Bareness no I don't think so. Everything out there wants to bite, sting & eat you. I have family in Anthem, AZ; Bullhead City, AZ Nope when fiance died on the river out of Cat Tail Cove, that was it for me. Drove through flash floods, was young and never checked the weather, glad young people have their phones so they can check conditions before going someplace where you don't live. Especially during Climate change. The renewing of the face of the earth. This is fun RVer. Thank you for your drone it was fun. Jeanie
Enjoyed that Russ, 👊😎...
I was just here about a month ago.. The school is open. And people do live there.
I did notice a couple green lawns at the old mine ghost town.
I think i like it very much .I'll be there some day and I guess God will give me that abandoned town .because God used me to be as light at the end of the tunnel during the pandemic of covid 19.Thank so much for your Video❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
An episode of Air wolf was filmed there in the 80s
Please share the Love of the Son of God, He spoke Truth Forever. Please write His Words in your Heart, and share them. Please Forgive, and Pray for everyone... Immanuel, God with us...
I worked at the Mine and Lake Tamarisk for General Telephone back in the Heyday and there was even a Bowling alley! The tailings you saw were nothing....over that hill is a HOLE the size of the Grand Canyon!
Mornin' Russ. How ya doin'? Are we there yet? Was that a snowplough at 4:30? The mine tailings look so unnatural in the landscape. I think the mining companies should return the land to it's original state once they're done ravaging the planet. (I'm standing on my soapbox). The desert looks amazing. Hot, dry and inhospitable. Stay safe and keep up the good work. 😎
Wow. Always saw Tamarisk from I-10, just a little patch of land off to the north. Now I know. Thanks for sharing.
Love seeing the desert. I think tho that it's the Sonora, not the Mojave?
...Ever wonder who cleans those solar panels so they stay efficient as possible ? ....Probably a job with a pension 'cause by the time you did the last one you'd be ready to retire,...haha......(Good thing there's no seagulls around,eh)
The solar farm was something to see. WOW. It's too bad that they just walked away from that mine and just left it for somebody else to fix. Corporate greed at it worst. Shame on them. Happy trails.
Spent 3 years down there building the solar plant . Lake tamarisk wasn’t too bad back then . Coyote village rv park was a trip . Stayed there for about 2 years .
I went to eagle mountain school first and second grade and lived in in one of the houses. Many of the house were already dilapidated in 1986. My mom was a prison guard and dad worked for kaiser.
Hey Russ, if this is a preview of what's to come: Great Job!
Was sorry to see the Quartzsite shows end. So glad that the adventure continues. You’re a great tour guide, you even make the desolate desert look interesting.
I agree with you Bob, Russ could even make a paper bag sound exciting and interesting!!!
Amen, I like to check out places but not in person in the desert. Nope not me, been there done that. I need seasonal weather.
Not for sale...but rent for movies and tv shows....like walking dead have been shot there
driven by this so many time in my 50 years and never knew that town was ever there. great video and editing. I'm curious how much energy that solar farm produces?
Classic American voice age eh haha just love it, r U sure U don't work for TV ?
I've driven through Desert Center many times connecting between I10 and I40 going up through Vidal Junction. If you are coming across on I40, it is the best way yo get down to the Coachella valley area. A very desolate stretch of highway for sure, but also some neat things to see there.
Bring your drone back to lake Tamarisk. We need a drone video of all the Solar fields to fight the government to stop it.
I believe Kaiser has a huge industrial mine in Jamaica as well. Maybe in my next life I'll be a man of great means instead of a bum jazz musician.
Man you you do my old heart good, just to see what you are doing makes me want to gas up my RV and head back down there. Sadly I still have things to settle with my sister and brother-in-laws estate, as well as selling my mom's house here in SD before I can get back on the road.
Great start to the '19 tour! Nice to get off the freeway and see the sites. Reminds me of the Dixie Hwy. snowbirds drove to Florida before the freeways. It was such a good way to travel - a lot like Route 66 with little motels, cabins, and cafes. You knew you were in FL when the roadside orange juice stands started popping up!
Holy solar panels Batman. I got a charge out of this video. Keep the videos coming Russ. Cheers!!!
Looks like Afghanistan
Good place for homeless newson should buy it
That solar farm was impressive.
I'm afraid needle ca.will become a ghost town too.we live very close to needle.we are in az side.all the grocery store there were closed.but there are some motel along the freeway
Same as Blythe, I hate to say it
Nice video Russ 😊
We (Mohave High School Football) played Eagle Mountain (there) in 1975. A lot of players got ejected for spearing.
me and my dad used to stop at desert center every year on our way to black meadow landing on the river. we would eat at that cafe last time we ate there was the last time haleys comet came by earth. thats a bummer desert center hasnt survived i always loved the food at the cafe. thanks for posting though brought back some great memories
Check out Desert Shores on the Salton Sea. There's a closed bar/store there that I used to go to when I lived in San Diego area. It was a true dive bar but fun to go to for playing pool and just getting away from the city for the weekend. Nice video!
Nice video Russ, Working for the phone company I used to go out there quite a bit. The Telco office is across the street from the fire department there at Tamerisk Lake CC. For California's sake, I hope you are heading to Sacramento to help Gavin Newsom pack his bags.
Love the Arizona/Cali/Nevada desert.....any of you been to Amboy, near Twentynine Palms?
I think there were maybe three buildings and a diner when I stopped there in the late 80’s. I drive to the Palm Spring’s area about every two years. Love these old roads, signs, cafes, diners, hotels, ghost towns, Route 66. Wile E. Coyote and the Roadrunner territory. Great drone footage.
The motel and gas station were supposedly being remodled like 10 yrs ago. Haven't been out there for years. Did climb the Amboy volcano.
I love california
Boy, you are an unicorn.
Well done Sir. I could live at this place Lake Tamarisk (close as possible to the water), that I never knew existed, and must be incredibly reasonable (cheap) just have to drive to Blythe for food and Gas. And have some good a/c for the summer months, with that Solar farm close bye, Electricity must be reasonable as well, over 350 days of sunshine every year.
Buckle up, we're on our way! Nice video. 😊 Is sad to think about the ghost towns. Now that's solar, lol. Wow. You would definitely not want to be one with health issues living out in the Oasis, long way to the dr. Looking forward to the next leg of the trip. TY. 😊👍
Did you miss the General Patton tank museum?
Do you see this place coming back to life in the future?
Great video thanks for sharing, subscribed.
You should check out California City if you like being in the desert. A lot of interesting stuff to talk about there too.
Your drone makes a huge difference. So glad you fly it. Thanks for another great vid!
Road trip is "ON'. Thanks for taking us along Russ. Safe Travels.
Cool old towns... Really big solar farm.... Thanks Russ
Looks like a good place for resettlement. "Water 💧 Farms" would be a good project to do here because of the good roads and hiways to and fro everything else. When water and solar electricity is available, a good egg 🥚 laying and moringa tree farming system may be a lucrative business to do there... I'm excited to see this place....makes me dream of business ideas that may work for me 👍.
There’s no water there to make a fantasy “water farm.” (Whatever that is?). The very minuscule amount of water at Lake Tamarisk is so small, that they can’t even keep their own grass green, as evidenced by the video.
It is baking summer hot there from mid April to mid October.
Hey hey my friend, how are you doing today?? Thanks for the ride along into California! What a shame that Desert Center couldn't make a go of it and turned into a ghost town all except for the Post Office. I wonder who's paying the taxes on all of that empty vacated land?? Too bad about that school and all of those homes too!!! The baseball diamond looked like it's in good condition and the flood lights looked fairly new!! I sincerely agree with you Russ, it is sad to see an area go into great despair where there were once families and kids thriving and then nothing and nobody!! Such a sad thing to see!!! Well my friend, take care and we'll talk soon!!!! Didi from Des Moines Washington 😊
Interesting wow thanks 🙏🇨🇦🇨🇦🛠🛠
The old man that built Desert Center didn't drink alcohol so you could never buy a beer there
Nice adventure through the desert! A lot now is coming to the desert communities.
Wikipedia says Ragsdale (Desert Center) put a swimming pool in for hot travelers right beside his cafe...I’m wondering if that fenced in area with the wagon wheel used to be the pool...when you look at it from above it’s a rectangle...
You're the Best Russ !
What model drone are you using?
Mavic pro 2
Always wondered what Lake Tamarisk looked like, I knew it was abandoned-thanks for the view. We take that road to Parker. They advertise everywhere to buy land and put solar fields on it. Hot, Hot, Hot!
Oasis was cool, buuuuuut, why?!?!?!? !!!
Water. The reason the surrounding area is not populated is there is none, (water).
Where does that water come from ? I don't see a river !
You sound so much like the actor, Bruce Dern!
Wow this trip with you will be a blast.! ! ! Whoa, that solar area is unbelievable...Holy Moly.
I'm sure someone thought of this but if we let the homeless go to a ghost town and help them make it livable why don't politicians do something.
So glad to see the desert on TV. Too hot for me but I love to see the trees and nature.
Creepy large absorbing dark surface!Anyone an idea how much heat this huge solar farm transfers to sourounding air in comparison to previous dessert? I guess an airplain flying over it will get quite some punch from convecting hot air? Could this add up over centuries to globe warming as an artificial heat source like other low efficiency power plants (nuclear, coal)?
Hey Russ, alot of history at Eagle Mt.
So I know you didn’t mentioned it however, they built that massive Sub-station there across the 10 Fwy for all of those massive Solar farms. I drive by there a lot and I must say thank you for this video, this was great.
Eagle Mt. was my home from 1978 to 1983 - I went to High School there. Thanks for the video. Even though it is in such bad condition now, there was a time when all the yards had grass, there was a thriving community, and even now, we tend to be a tight-knit group.
Eagle mountain must've be an amazing place to grow up, not knowing that the mine had an expiration date, then suddenly your packing your bags...Reminds me of the feelings i get from the little town i grew up in and all the amazing memories, but sadly to say its not the same place it was in the 80s, even though it still is a functioning town...
Hi. I grad from Calipat HS in 74,…..so could have crossed paths on the baseball, basketball,or football fields. I remember playing basketball in your guys cafeteria.
@@behmconWhen I lived there in 86 most of the houses were falling apart only a few were maintained for prison workers and Keiser employees.
I lived there around that time were you living there when somebody broke a pipe at the mine and we had to be evacuated from there and you could hear what sounded like water rushing out of the pipe but it wasn’t water rushing I was told it was fuel and that’s why we were evacuated. I lived across from the high school and I would coast down the road into the parking lot on my skateboard and the big kids would tell me that I was supposed to stand up but I was just learning and I couldn’t get balanced so I would sit on it and coast down into the parking lot
I lived there around that time were you living there when somebody broke a pipe at the mine and we had to be evacuated from there and you could hear what sounded like water rushing out of the pipe but it wasn’t water rushing I was told it was fuel and that’s why we were evacuated. I lived across from the high school and I would coast down the road into the parking lot on my skateboard and the big kids would tell me that I was supposed to stand up but I was just learning and I couldn’t get balanced so I would sit on it and coast down into the parking lot
We used to shop in Blythe
Town was sold for 22 or 28 million dollars
You do kind of remind me of Paul Harvey from decades ago on radio, remember him? You're interesting in describing these areas.
Howdy Russ. I see you are on the road again. It is fun following you on my iPhone as I watch your video on my iPad.
Is that Eagle Mountain area completely vacant or do people still live there?
they are rebuilding that whole area now
Nice!!
Iv never really traveled before.. Im 27 from Boston and would love to see some of this and just see different parts of us.. That is soo different than here lol like another world
get your azz in gear and do it...
Great video! I lived in Eagle Mountain and Lake Tamarisk from December 1964 to June 1969.
What type of Drone and Video equipment are you using?
Very interesting town. Safe travels.
Government waste: Ghost town post office. 🤪
The postal office prevented the country from splitting not a waste when you want to keep the country together
you do realize that a post office is used by more than the people within a few blocks right ?????
You're in Commiefornia. You have my sympathy.
Yep, land of the dumbest voters, but most awesome landscapes.
And right away, a ghost town. Awesome! Thanks.
Good place to put the homeless
Overland West.