Things To Do
The Mojave Desert offers as many things to do
as vast as the desert itself. The climate is perfect for a variety
of outdoor activities with abundant sunshine most days of the year.
With few people around it often times feels like you have the entire
desert to yourself.
The desert is alive with military activity. Fort
Irwin is 20 miles northwest and can't be seen yet the sounds of
practice bombing can be heard at the ranch during daylight hours.
Fighter jets have been seen practicing dog fighting weaving through
the nearby mountains. It looks like a scene out of Top Gun.
Other military aircraft have crossed near the
ranch no more than 50 feet off the ground. The grandest military
display at the ranch is watching a fast moving contrail high in
the sky and hearing the sound of a sonic boom as it slows!
The desert can also be one of the quietest
places on earth. You are not aware of it until you hear the sound
of a bird chirping as it approaches and you cannot see it. Then,
as it flies by at 200 feet above the ground, you hear the sound
of the air moving through its flapping wings.
[TOP]
For those who like the thrill of bush flying,
adjacent to Bacon Strip Ranch is a dry lake bed that serves as a
landing area.
It is possible to land on the lake bed
and taxi to a tie-down area within the boundaries of Bacon Strip
Ranch. More...
[TOP]
Start the morning brewing a fresh pot of Starbucks
coffee over an open fire. Nothing beats the smell and taste of percolated
coffee except maybe the sound of bacon sizzling next to it with
its smell engulfing the campsite.
Plan a day in the desert or plan nothing at all.
There are no obligations out here. Time is judged from the position
of the sun and not the hands on a clock. There are no schedules
to meet or checkrides to pass. The desert will be the same tomorrow
if you did not do what you wanted to do today.
The ranch is your home base. Explore the surrounding
area but rest assured that you have a place to come back to with
the comforts of home. A place to relax.
At night, start another fire and cook dinner.
Grill steaks and heat a pot of beans. Or, if you dare, put a jack
rabbit that you caught earlier in the day on the rotisserie. Finish
the night with a lively crackling fire. Roast marshmallows or smoke
a nice cigar.
Look to the sky and see a million stars. See
the glow of the Las Vegas lights to the east and Los Angeles to
the west. See shooting stars dance between the flashing strobe lights
of airliners. Fall asleep to the sounds of coyotes.
[TOP]
The shooting range at the ranch is a great place
to put your California legal firearms to practice.
There is plenty of open space to practice shooting
skills without the worry of hitting something precious. Even high
powered rifles are dwarfed in the backstop of the desert terrain.
There are short range targets for handguns and
long range targets set up at 500, 1000, and 1500 feet. Set up for
skeet shooting.
Use of the shooting range is by permission
only.
[TOP]
If paintball is your sport the desert background
offers a perfect setting for a mock Desert Storm paintball battlefield.
Play one on one or in a large group.
If you have never played paintball before it
is a good way to learn real "boots on the ground" battlefield
tactics. Learn offense, defense, and survival without having to
go to a crowded course in the city.
Use of the paintball field is by permission only.
[TOP]
Bring your Humvee, quad, or combination
of both and explore areas that regular cars could never get to.
Explore areas where few wheels have ever been.
[TOP]
Bacon Strip Ranch is a great place to fly your
airplane into and ride your offroad vehicle around. It is also a
stones throw from the 1.6 million acre Mojave National Preserve
and the Kelso Dunes Wilderness Area where you can get away from
those things and enjoy this land in an area where you can only hike
into.
The Mojave Desert is free from the hustle and
bustle of the cities and the Wilderness Areas take it a step further
where not even bicycles are allowed. This really is no mans land.
More on Mojave National Preserve...
[TOP]
The Tonopah & Tidewater Railroad used to
run less than a mile from the ranch and parts of the grade are still
visible from areas of the property. The history of the T&T is
as rich and intriguing as anything else in California's history.
Started in 1907, "Borax" Smith used
the line to haul his "20 mule team" borax from Goldfield,
Nevada to Ludlow, California where it joined the Santa Fe Line to
Los Angeles.
The service eventually included a first class
passenger coach to haul well to do Angelino's across the desert
pulled by a steam engine. The train would pass the ranch site in
the early hours of the morning.
The T&T prospered until the late 1930's and
ceased all operations in 1940. In 1942 the War Department removed
the rails and spikes to support the war effort. Some of the scrap
iron from the T&T is part of warships that are still afloat
today.
The T&T grade is occasionally visited by
railroad historians and there isn't much left of the line except
for weathered railroad ties and various scrap iron pieces. It is
a rare and exciting experience to come across a track spike especially
one in good condition. You are lucky when you find one.
[TOP]
One of the "Seven Wonders of the Mojave
Desert." Nobody knows how this eight foot long metal tube in
the Mesquite Hills got there or why.
It's just about a mile from the ranch and little bit of a hike up the mountain
it rests on. The view from the steep rocky perch it sits on is
outstanding. You really
get a feel for what a feat it was to put it there and the longer
you study its structure the more you ask yourself how and why.
Sit and enjoy it for a while before the hike
back down.
Visit our
Off-Road Photos page for more photos of the Megaphone.
[TOP]
The Mojave River runs mostly underneath the desert
and surfaces in just a few places creating an authentic oasis supporting
a variety of plant and animal life. One of these oases is Afton
Canyon 10 miles west of the ranch.
Afton Canyon is one of the few places in the
desert to view Bighorn Sheep as they roam the diverse landscape
of hills, canyons, and washes.
Photographic opportunities abound with the multicolored
rock walls and changing light conditions. You can legally hunt dove,
chukar, and quail in season.
Click here for an
article and photos on a recent trip taken to Afton Canyon.
[TOP]
19 miles to the south of the ranch is the town
of Ludlow. There is not much to the town today but it is rich with
history with its association with the former Tonopah and Tidewater
Railroad and historic Route 66.
For a true taste of the historic Route 66 stop
in at the Ludlow Cafe. It's a step back into Americana. You feel
like you are on a Hollywood set but these people aren't actors trying
to bring in tourists. They are really like this.
At the cafe you feel like you're in Mayberry
and Aunt Bea is going to come out of the kitchen with a fresh apple
pie in her hands. The atmosphere is just like that from the faded
fake wood counters to the white ceramic coffee mugs.
The food at the Ludlow Cafe is out of this world
served by the nicest people in California.
[TOP]
|
