Desert Steve Early Life and Ventures into the Desert Desert Steve, whose real name was Stephen Ragsdale, emerged in the historical narrative of California during the early 20th century. The intricacies of his life weave a narrative that unveils an individual’s persistent adaptation to the harsh, yet mystifying allure of the desert frontier. His tale commences with his venture into
Unearth the enduring saga of Desert Center, California: a tale of pioneering spirit, golden prospects, and a community thriving amidst the Sonoran Desert.
The Redman-Hirahara House in the Pajaro Valley, south of Watsonville, California was constructed in 1897. The house is located on a 1.8-acre parcel of land. The Queen Anne Victorian style home was designed by architect William Weeks for beet farmer James Redman. Weeks was a well-known architect, known for designing the Casino Arcade at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, among
Before the use of radar in war, soldiers and other military personnel made use of binoculars and compasses from posts built along the coast. They would relay coordinates to other posts, and this information would be triangulated to determine their exact locations. If you find yourself traveling Highway 1 through California, you may come across a stretch of road where
The ghost town of Eagle Mountain, California has sat vacant for decades, crumbling away in the heat of the California desert. The town sits about twelve miles north of Desert Center at the base of the Eagle Mountain iron mine, which was once California’s largest iron mine. Over the years, this once lively town in Riverside County saw numerous uses,
About 75 miles northeast of Los Angeles sits the abandoned George Air Force Base, just outside of Victorville, California. This was once a very active town of military families, but it has since been abandoned and left to crumble in the desert heat. Despite its current state, George Air Force Base played an important role in US history and had
The Salton Sea – truly one of my favorite, and one of the most interesting places I’ve ever visited.
Bombay Beach is surely one of the most interesting towns I have ever visited. The town is situated on the Salton Sea, 4 miles west-southwest of Frink in Southern California’s Sonoran Desert. The entire area is full of oddly calming post-apocalyptic views and various interesting projects left behind by artists, utilizing vacant spaces for creation in numerous expressive ways.
Between the early 1970s and mid-1980s, business was booming for Lake Dolores as visitors flocked from all over to enjoy a vacation in the desert. The park offered numerous rides and attractions, including eight identical 150-foot sixty-degree-angle steel waterslides. To descend the slide, riders rode on small plastic “floaties” which skimmed 40 to 50 yards across the lagoon when they hit the water at the slide’s end.