SPRING 2000
MOJAVE ROAD MVRC The Mt Vaca Radio Club annual desert trip was again held on and near the historic Mojave Road, April 5-9, 2000.
LAKE McCLURE SRH
Unofficial highlights on the Sam's Radio Hams trip to Lake McClure, April 11-13, 2000.

MOJAVE ROAD

1920 Dodge in camp Summary: This is about the annual Mt. Vaca Radio Club Spring desert caravan and camping trip, which was from Sacramento to the Mojave Desert, on Wednesday, April 5 through Sunday, April 9. We took three day trips made up from the new October 1999 Edition of the "Mojave Road Guide" by Dennis G. Casebier. Our base camp was at Goffs, California, a few miles off of the Mojave Road, west of Needles. (Photo: Restored 1920 Dodge driving through camp.) - Les, W6TEE

Participants: The number of MVRC members able to go dropped some this year, but was brought back up by the interest of some ham friends and their guests from nearby areas.

Vern and Trish were also on the MVRC 1998 Death Valley trip. They lived here in Sacramento where I first knew them, until 1965, and were active here in the RAMS mobile club. I've known Frank and Jan for a couple of years because of my Worldradio HF Mobile column, Quartzsite, and the Sam's Radio Hams, in which they are quite active.

Joshua Tree Goffs: I have no idea when and how the others arrived at our camp at Goffs because Ed, Sunny, and I were LATE, LATE, LATE. Ed had a problem with the Cherokee with a part that the shop broke and couldn't replace until our departure morning. As a result we didn't clear Sacramento until 11 AM. Instead of lunch in Bakersfield, we stopped in Stockton. A token observance of the California trailer speed limit, a leisurely dinner in Mojave, and a gas and grocery stop in Barstow, all added to our lateness.

Jim had called Ed on the cell phone when we were in Bakersfield to tell us that they were staying an extra day in Las Vegas. When we stopped in Mojave, I phoned Jo Ann Casebier at Goffs to warn our group how late we were, and not to expect Jim and Marsha. I told her that I would be talking to our friends on the air when we got closer. She said that someone had raised "a big antenna" back there. I correctly took that to be Frank and his marine antenna that he raises on his motorhome when parked. So at 7:45 PM, as we passed Boron, I heard Frank on 3918.5 kHz. calling me. We exchanged more information, including that he would leave 2 meters on (we used 147.555 MHz FM simplex) so that we would wake him up when we got close. After our stop in Barstow, we continued on. Frank broke in on 2 meters when we were 30 miles or more out on I-40. It was around 11 PM when we finally rolled in with no one up but Frank.

Mojave Road Mojave Road: The next morning, we drove to the Colorado River to pick up the start of the Mojave Road. But first, we crossed into Arizona on the new bridge just south of the Mojave Road for gas, Safeway, and Burger King (restrooms). When we reassembled, we were only two people short. Jim and Marsha were still in Las Vegas.

By the time we crossed U.S. 95, Vern had decided that his bug wasn't running all that well at the slow pace that the trail demanded. Vern and Trish, accompanied by Jim Walker, headed back to camp. The rest stopped for lunch in a small wash. We headed on to Ft Piute, which was actually just an outpost at a watering point. Jim and Marsha came into 2 meter range about that time, going south on U.S. 95 from Las Vegas, headed for Goffs.

Frank, W6GZI We spent a little time at Ft Piute, then located the petroglyphs on a road out. We also stopped to view Piute Canyon on the other side of the hill from Ft Piute. By the time we got to Lanfair Road, we decided that it was late enough that we should turn south to Goffs and get ready for dinner. Jim and Marsha had their trailer set up. The restored 1920 Dodge was running around the grounds and several got a ride in it (see first photo). Jim Walker had prepared a delicious stew which saved some of us from dirtying our stoves. (Photo: Frank videotaping, as usual.)

Cactus Flowers Mojave Road - Day 2: We retraced our route back to where the Mojave Road crosses Lanfair Road and picked up where we left off. Vern and Trish, with Don and Kitty, stayed in camp. Jim Walker had to return to Lake Havasu, as planned. But Jim and Marsha did add to our group. Ed, Sunny and I had been car pooling in their vehicle the previous day. So this time, we took my Blazer, allowing us to check in to the Sam's Radio Hams morning 40 meter Frick & Frack net. Jan rode with us while this net was on because she had some business to conduct on the air concerning a future activity.

We stopped at Rock Spring, Bert Smith's rock cabin, and Government Holes, site of one of the last classical gunfights of the old West in 1925. We then enjoyed our lunch at the west end of Cedar Canyon.

The Mailbox  Group at Mailbox
Photos: The Mailbox, where everyone logs in on the Mojave Road. Right photo by Jim, WB6ZII: L-R Ed KE6AFB, Sunny KE6AFA, Les W6TEE, Frank W6GZI, Jan KD6HYE, Robert KE6NIJ, Marsha KD6TTS

Lava Tube After lunch, we traveled on to Marl Springs. This section, between Kelso-Cima Road and Kelbaker Road, was new to Frank and Jan, who had traveled other parts of the trail in November. The book has a warning not to travel this stretch with a single vehicle. After Marl Springs, we arrived at the Mojave Road Mailbox (above). We decided on a short side trip to a lava tube to wind up the day, rather than continue on the Mojave Road itself. After a short search, we located the lava tube, which we explored. (Photo: Frank, Jan, and others down in the lava tube.)

We started back for camp by heading south on Kelbaker Road. We took a short stop at the Kelso Union Pacific Depot, for those that hadn't seen it. We noted the Kelso sand dunes as we passed them. I described the Vulcan Mine, which was used to produce iron ore during WW-II, when we passed the turnoff. We talked about coming back to see the mine the next day.

After we returned to the camp, we found that a tour of the Goffs Schoolhouse had been arranged for us, which we all enjoyed.

Day Three: The next morning we decided to explore other interesting spots close to Goffs since we had all been to Afton Canyon on the Mojave Road within the last year. Jim and Marsha left to explore the Arizona side of the Colorado River from Lake Havasu to Frank & Ed Mining Bullhead City. Robert hitched up his trailer and headed for home in Joshua Tree. Vern, Trish, Don, and Kitty went home to Lake Havasu that day. Ed and Sunny, Frank and Jan, and I headed north toward Kokoweef.

Our first stop was Caruthers Canyon, a spot NW of the Lanfair Valley, and north of the Mojave Road, where there are some nice prepared campsites in a cool wooded environment. There are also some old mines further up the canyon, but we didn't have time to more than sample the canyon this time. We continued north and got on I-15 at the Nipton Road, then exited at Mountain Pass, and turned south. We stopped for lunch at an overlook that we knew from Segment 2 of the now defunct East Mojave Heritage Trail, where the Ivanpah Valley stetched out far below. After lunch, we drove through the Kokoweef mining camp, where weekend miners are searching for the river of gold underground. We stopped across the valley where fossilized dinosaur footprints had been found. Those footprints had been covered over to protect them, but we did find small animal tracks preserved in large rocks there. We stopped at a nearby mine that Frank recalled (see photo above).

Riley's Cabin  Jan Frank Sunny Ed
Photos: L - Frank videotaping Riley's cabin. R - Jan, Frank, Sunny, and Ed.

Our last stop was at Riley's Camp, a mining camp that reverted to the government when the owner passed away. This had been another favorite spot on the East Mojave Heritage Trail. Directions may now be found in Vol. II of Bill Mann's Guide to 50 Interesting and Mysterious sites in the Mojave. We drove back to camp via Cima and Cedar Canyon.

The next morning was our final going home time. I checked my PocketMail one last time at the Goffs store payphone. Ed and Sunny headed home to Roseville, while Jim and Marsha drove to Santa Barbara to meet their son. Frank, Jan, and I caravaned toward Bakersfield to head north for another campout, but that is the next story.

MVRC Mojave Desert Trips Other MVRC Desert Trips
2000Spring Mojave Road 1998Spring Death Valley
1999Spring Mojave Desert 1997Spring Lone Pine
1995Spring Ariz Mohave Road 1996Spring Anza Borrego
1994FallEMHT Segment 1    
1994SpringEMHT Segment 2*    
1993SpringMojave Road    
1992SpringEMHT Segment 4    
1991SpringEMHT Segment 1    
1990SpringEMHT Segment 3    
1989SpringEMHT Segment 2 1984SpringSaline Valley
1987SpringMojave Road 1983SpringDeath Valley
* = Twice EMHT = East Mojave Heritage Trail (no longer open)

LAKE McCLURE

Lake McClure Camp
Caravaning: Starting out from Goffs on Sunday, April 9, Frank, Jan, and I switched our simplex frequency to 147.51 MHz to hear others on the road that would be headed to Lake McClure. We caught up to Ed and Sunny at the Boron Roadside Rest where we had lunch. That afternoon, we were about to stop for gas in Bakersfield, when Frank contacted Guy, K6VXR. We wound up camping in Guy's driveway in South Bakersfield, where he has 6 acres. Frank spent the afternoon and evening paying our rent by helping Guy with his motorhome's mobile antenna and pactor e-mail hardware.

W6TEE Camp The next day we continued to Lake McClure, with Guy following a day behind. As we neared Merced, I contacted Grady, K6IXA, an old friend, who put his remote base on 147.51 so we could monitor and contact more distant participants. Bob, W6JTZ, and Janet, WB6BHO, caught up with us at Raley's grocery parking lot in Merced, where we had lunch. From there, it was just a short drive to Lake McClure, where Bobby, WB6BRU, directed us to our pleasant and shaded campsites.

Houseboat The Sam's Radio Hams, a Southern California chapter of the Good Sam RV Owners Club, holds such campouts monthly, but this is about as far north as they go. A ham license, an RV, and Good Sam membership are required for membership. The campout had 35 people in 21 rigs, and included the monthly meeting, VE tests, a tri-tip barbeque, some scenic drives, and a cruise and lunch on the lake on a houseboat (see photo).

WB6BRU A nearby store and payphone made checking my PocketMail easy. But e-mail wasn't any good for finding out if Bill, N6MSI, was coming up to visit following the boat ride. He did show up right on time, but had been off e-mail due to loaning his PC to his daughter! Bill has a 30' 5th-wheel trailer and I thought he would enjoy seeing this group. But, what he saw was mostly motorhomes! Some trailers had left already. Bill left to spend the night with his folks in Sonora. The next morning was going home time, and Bill and I had an extended conversation on the MVRC 440 repeater on our respective routes home.

I want to thank Bobby WB6BRU, Maxine KA6CYN, and Don AA7LF for hosting an excellent campout. (Photo: Bobby, WB6BRU, barbequeing on the boat.)

Page and uncredited photos by Les Cobb, W6TEE. See homepage for e-mail address.
This update: May 5, 2000. First loaded: April 25, 2000.