More El Paso Mountains beauty!

Hello, my readers!  I hope that you are all having a fantastic Christmas/New Years season.  My posts will be infrequent until January 6, 2014, as I am spending time with friends and family.  I also hope to get out on the trail very shortly.

Here is another stunning scene that I captured during one of my trips to the El Paso Mountains.

The Coso Mountains can be seen in the background.  Photograph by Scott Schwartz.

Note to my readers:  I would be glad to publish guest posts and photographs.  You won't get paid, but you'll have your work seen by whoever views this post.

Here are my conditions and guidelines:

1.  I reserve the right to edit submissions as I see fit, with no prior notice or explanation.

2.  Submitting material to me does not guarantee that it will be published.  Publishing or not publishing material is my decision alone, and I may explain my decision not to publish a particular submission, if time permits, and/or if I choose to do so.

3.  Any material that I consider to be offensive will not be published.

4.  Please make sure that you use proper grammar, spelling, and punctuation.  No text-message abbreviations, or jargon (such as "u" instead of "you", etc.).

5.  I will only consider publication of material that is related to California's Mojave Desert, and the exploration thereof.  Please note, that I encourage the responsible use of four-wheel drive vehicles to that end, and I welcome articles about such use.  If you want to mention off-road driving techniques, that is fine.  But this is not the forum for articles about rebuilding and customizing vehicles.

Send your submissions to sandnsky8@gmail.com

Happy New Year!

Off-road sights in the El Paso Mountains...

The beauty of four-wheel drive.  A four -wheel-drive vehicle can take you to places that are inaccessible to the drivers of pavement-bound vehicles.  This photograph captures the beauty of my beloved El Paso Mountains.  Photograph by Scott Schwartz.

Merry Christmas to all!

Mysteries in the El Paso Mountains...

Unidentified settlement in the El Paso Mountains.  Who lives here?

The sandy area to the left of the camp appears to be an old airstrip.  I've driven my Jeep across it, and the cleared area appears to be oriented like a runway.  I also found the remains of an old windsock.  Many years ago, an old prospector told me that Chuck Yeager used to land on this strip, when he was stationed at Edwards Air Force Base.  According to lore, as told to me my the old gentleman, Yeager would land here in order to go hunting in the area.

Photograph by Scott Schwartz.

Mojave Desert- near Five Fingers.

What has become of me?  Photograph by Scott Schwartz.

Randsburg, CA...

Possibly brought in just to add "atmosphere" for the tourists, this old car sits in front of a building in Randsburg, CA.  The town of Randsburg started out as "Rand Camp" during the late 1800's.  See one of my much earlier posts.  Photograph by Scott Schwartz.

Randsburg ghost town...

Faded sun dial.  Randsburg, CA.  Photograph by Scott Schwartz.

Off-road travel in a B-29 Superfortress...

Photograph by Scott Schwartz.

Rolling through the El Paso Mountains...

                       El Paso Mountains, Mojave Desert, California.  Photograph by Scott Schwartz.

El Paso Mountains, unidentified mining camp....

Getting lost in the vastness of the El Paso Mountain Range, is an old mining camp that I've passed many times during my trips through the area.  Photograph by Scott Schwartz.

Freeman's Stage Station/Robber's Roost, revisited.

 After his stage station was robbed by Tiburcio Vasquez and his gang, Freeman Raymond found the remains of a campsite near the rock formation shown in the distance.  Vasquez' gang is thought to have observed Freeman's station from there, while planning the robbery.  Hence, the site is known as "Robber's Roost."  The author's Jeep Cherokee is parked in the foreground.  Photograph by Scott Schwartz.

This rusting pipe, which brought water to the station from the spring at Coyote Holes, is all that remains of Freeman's Station today.  Photograph by Scott Schwartz.

Red Rock Canyon..

Here's a photograph that I took during one of my many outings to California's Red Rock Canyon State Park.

Photograph by Scott Schwartz.  Camera: Nikon D-70.

Drone in the Desert...

By

Scott Schwartz

After using my Parrot AR "Quadricopter" drone on my last two desert trips, it has dawned on me that this little craft is not much more than a flying camera.  

As an experienced radio-controlled model airplane and "full-scale" airplane pilot (Private, Single-Engine Land, 780 hours total time), I will tell you that the Quadricopter does not fly like an airplane at all.. More helicopter than airplane, the little drone will hover, land and take-off vertically, and move from side-to side.  It will climb to a maximum altitude of about 150 feet, which is high enough for me.  

As I type this, I realize that there isn't much point in going on, until I have some more footage and photographs, so I will put this story on the back burner until after my next desert trip.

Lady and the Drone..

Folks, I'm sorry if the link doesn't work.  I'm still learning how to upload footage. 

More on Monday.

Lady and the Drone...

https://www.dropbox.com/s/lllbpjh0cxejzmv/lady%20and%20the%20drone.

Lady and the Drone...

I couldn't find Kramer Arch, but  I still had some fun filming my wife, with my Parrot Drone.  Click on the link below.

See you all next week.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2cY-Jm0lGRM&feature=youtube_gdata_player

In Search of Kramer Arch....I failed again...

....to find Kramer Arch, during my little expedition over Thanksgiving weekend.

I exited the 15 Freeway at Calico Road, and then turned right on to Mule Canyon Rd.  I followed my map and I used the Back-Country Navigation application on my telephone, both of which indicated that I was right near the arch.  But, alas, it was nowhere to be found.

There were a lot of people on the trail that day, and I asked several of them where Kramer Arch was.  No one knew.

So, I found a relatively scenic spot, and I brought out my Parrot AR drone.  I'm still getting the hang of shooting aerial footage with this little aircraft.  But, more about that later.

My wife accompanied me on this trip.  Guys, if you want your women to enjoy exploring the desert with you, you have to make the trip as pleasant as possible-especially if the Mojave Desert is not one her favorite places.

First, keep a cooler with snacks and drinks within easy reach of the person riding in the passenger seat.  I learned this the hard way, when my wife saw that I'd put my drone (in its box) directly behind us.  She was incredulous, to say the least.

In the second place, you should take all of the safety precautions that I have outlined in previous posts.

Try to warn her when things are about to get bumpy.  And, of course, do not deliberately try to scare her.  It's much more "manly" to show that you are in control of your vehicle, and that you are skilled at negotiating rough trails with aplomb.  I suspect that many men try to show off to their wives or girlfriends and only succeed in terrifying them.

Coming:  the drone.

New posts coming...

Sorry folks; the day got away from me today, I'll have more posts tomorrow.  

-Scott

In Search of Kramer's Arch...Part II. Coming soon.

Echoes of the Vanished: Freeman's Stage Station.

By

Scott Schwartz

Outlaw Tiburcio Vasquez and his gang rode into Freeman's Station at 11 AM on February 25, 1874, with pistols blazing.  Literally.  Firing into the buildings as they thundered into the compound, Vasquez and his men grabbed anyone they could and relieved him or her of any valuables.  In order to show that they meant business, the gang shot one man in the leg, because he refused to follow the gang's orders.  

A few hours later, a stage coach pulled in.  Its passengers were robbed by Vasquez and his men, as well.  A freight wagon that came in that day was also robbed.  

The Vasquez gang finally left after night fall- with six horses that belonged to Freeman!

Freeman checked out some large rock formations the next day.  There, he found some empty cans and evidence that someone had camped there recently.  He deduced that Vasquez and his men had camped here while planning the robbery of Freeman's stage station.  After this, the rock formations-which are only a couple of miles from Rte. 14-became known as "Robber's Roost".

Tiburcio Vasquez.
Vasquez was caught on May 14, 1874, and he was executed (by hanging)on March 19, 1875.

The author's Jeep, with "Robber's Roost" in the distance.  Photo by Scott Schwartz.

The rugged area that is known as "Robber's Roost".  Photo by Scott Schwartz.

Freeman's wife died in 1884.  Freeman stayed on at the station, and a post office was built at the site in 1889.  Freeman was installed as the postmaster, a position he held until he died in 1909.  

During World War I, a fire destroyed Freeman's house, along with the stage station.  Today, the only things remaining are the rusty pipe (see previous post) that carried water from the spring at Coyote Holes, and the indentation in the ground that has been referred to as a "root cellar".  Only ghosts live here, now.