Barstow Area Attractions
Calico Ghost Town
If you want to go exploring and understand what really took place in the town of Calico
during its heyday, all you need to do is visit. Saturday in old Calico bustled with
miners, shop keepers, dance hall girls and gunslingers. Silver was king here in 1881,
keeping the tiny old west town alive until its price fell from $1.31 to .63 cents and
ounce. In 1896 the colorful boomtown went bust.
Today, Calico, a San Bernardino County Regional Park, is alive and well. Located near
Barstow, the fully restored 60 acre townsite rests on a narrow ridge - its colorful past
etched in the weathered porches lining Ghost Town Main Street. You can learn of the town's
history aboard a narrow gauge railroad as it transports you through silver workings to the
north. Watch closely for small cave-like openings in the mountain faces. These are front
doors of the miners' homes.
General merchandise of all types lines the walls of the town's 23 shops. Within
townsite limits you can also find an 1880's sweet shop, operating saloon, full service
restaurant, playhouse, leather goods store and cemetery. Another Calico attraction is the
trip down into an actual mine. You can walk through man-made shafts where the air is thin,
ceilings are low and evidence of labor-intensive rock chipping is everywhere.
Calico became a California historic monument in 1973 during its Spring Festival which
is held on Mother's Day weekend each year. Because of its historic and scenic recreation
of the old west, Calico's streets have hosted television and movie film crews from around
the world.
The ghost town often celebrates its early boomtown years, and you may frequently find
yourself enjoying a hearty stew cookoff, the national gunfight stunt championships, and
old time bluegrass hootenanny or southwestern art festival. If you like to camp, the
narrow canyons below town offer full hookups and an off highway vehicle camping area with
restrooms and showers available. Each Saturday night during the spring, summer, and fall,
Sheriff "Lonesome George" can be found telling tales around the camp fire.
Calico is open daily all year long except Christmas day. Townsite hours are 7 a.m. to
dusk. Shops, playhouse and railroad are open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The campground is open 24
hours. A per person entrance fee is charged. A brochure, town map and special events
schedule can be obtained by calling Calico toll free at 1-800-TO CALIC. (I hate those
telephone numbers - here it is decoded - 1-800-862-2542. Inserted by Webmaster Bill).
Mojave River Valley Museum is dedicated to preservation and interpretation of the
heritage of the past and present for the people of the Mojave River Valley. To this end,
the museum collects and displays artifacts and information dealing with the prehistory and
history of the area from early man, pathfinders and pioneers through the accomplishments
of space exploration.
Archeological collections span some 50,000 years of man's occupation in the area.
Actual artifacts from the famous Calico Early Man Site are on display along with a variety
of material from many Paleo-Indian, Archaic and recent sites found throughout the desert.
The museum displays gemstones and minerals for the geologist and rock hound. These
present just a portion of the variety of mineral wealth which has been found and is still
being mined in the Mojave Desert.
In addition to static displays, the museum sponsors trips to areas of local interest.
Knowledgeable people are invited to share their research on these trips. The association
is actively engaged in historical research and operates a small bookstore at the museum
offering publications concerning the natural and cultural history of the Mojave Desert.
Route 66
In 1926 several numbered highways were approved in Washington, D.C. and Route 66 was
one of the highways. Not until 1937 did the entire length become paved, but by that time
it was the popular East to West route. From Chicago, Illinois to Santa Monica, California
the highway stretched over 2,400 miles, traveled through eight states, and hundreds of
cities and towns. About 82% of the original road remains today, surviving the construction
of interstates and freeways that cut new straight paths in portions of Route 66.
Fame really rose for the highway in 1939 when John Steinbeck wrote the novel "The
Grapes of Wrath" and Hollywood produced a movie based on that book. The Highway was
built into each and every city and town, it was convenience, it was progress, after all
until that time that road had been dirt with gravel topping. Today in and around larger
cities, there are places where the grand old road has disappeared or been covered over by
newer roadways, but in the outskirts and in the country, it's there! Miles and miles have
different street and highway names now, but the road is still Route 66.
Americans want their "Main Street of America" back, and as the movement of
"Historical" basis is taking place in state capitols, the movement is
progressing in Washington D.C. also. Today thousands of "Historical 66" signs
are already installed over many miles of the highway, marking the route.
Seeing the west in America as it was, takes some time, it takes fortitude, it takes a
trip on Route 66. Like the song says, "It stretches from Chicago to L.A. with stops
in St. Louis, Joplin, Missouri, Oklahoma City, Gallup, New Mexico, Flagstaff, Arizona,
can't forget Winona, Kingman, Barstow, and San Bernardino, get your "Kicks on Route
66."
California Desert Information Center
This visitor-oriented facility, managed by the Bureau of Land Management is open on a
year-round basis (9 a.m. to 5 p.m.) and is staffed by local people and BLM personnel who
can assist you in selecting a place to eat, lodging for the night, or a place to tie down
the RV for a few days. They can also help you in your exploration of the wonders of the
California Desert Conservation Area, guide you to other sites and activities of intriguing
interest, from off-road races to the quiet solitude of a remote canyon. The center houses
numerous desert exhibits, displays on the High Desert's natural history, environment and
ecology, and offers guide books, maps and brochures to help answer any questions you may
have.
Afton Canyon
Afton Canyon is located 35 miles east of the California Desert Information Center.
The Mojave River rises in the San Bernardino Mountains near lake Arrowhead, flowing
north through Victorville and Barstow, where it turns northeastward and eventually
disappears in the Devil's Playground near Soda Dry Lake.
Over the millennia it has followed this path, and has slowly carved away the
multi-colored rock layers in the gorge at Afton, where the water flows on the surface most
of the year, attracting wildlife and birds.
Situated in the canyon is a BLM campground with 22 camping sites.
Rainbow Basin/Owl Canyon
Formed between 10 and 30 million years ago on lake beds now vanished, Rainbow Basin
contains the fossilized remains of many insects and animals.
Many outstanding fossils have been found in the area, including fossilized insects said
to be among the best preserved specimens anywhere.
Animals of the larger Miocene mammal group - camel, elephant, horse-like creatures, a
huge "dog-bear" and other now-forgotten species - roamed this land, and
excellent specimens of the remains of these inhabitants of long ago also have been found.
Fossils are protected by law and should not be collected.
Erosion of the richly colored sedimentary layers by wind and water over the years has
literally turned the basin into a rainbow of scenic beauty.
In recognition of the unique nature of Rainbow Basin, it has been designated as a
National Natural Landmark, and fossil collecting is prohibited. The four-mile Rainbow
Basin Loop Road is narrow and impassable for vehicles larger than small campers.
Owl Canyon Campground, located about one mile east of Rainbow Basin, consists of 31
sites with picnic tables; parking for cars, campers or trailers; grills for cooking; five
vault toilets; and a supply of drinking water.
Rock Hounding
Because of the sparse vegetation and varied geological history of the Mojave Desert,
Barstow is the center of rock hound activity in the United States. Gem minerals and rocks
such as agate, jaspar, marble, onyx and small amounts of petrified wood are readily found
throughout the desert.
Mojave Road Historical Trail
Camp Cady is located on the old wagon road through the Mojave Desert. It was
established by Major James Carlton, who set up a string of camps and fortified points in
the 1860s along both the Salt Lake Trail and the Old Government Road.
The string of little forts across the desert gave a feeling of security to travelers,
and Camp Cady was capable of accommodating a large company with animals and wagons.
In 1868, however, the Bradshaw Road was broken out across the Chuckwalla Desert to the
Colorado River at Bradshaw's Ferry, north of Blythe, opening a quicker and easier route to
La Paz. This resulted in garrisons being withdrawn from the Mojave Desert route. In 1871
the deserted buildings were sold, and the remaining soldiers and caretaker departed.
The 1938 flood wiped out the adobe ruins at Camp Cady, but parts of log barracks and a
store remain, and a crumbling stone wall marks the hospital site.
Camp Cady is at the Mojave River bottom, where today's Cady Ranch has numerous lakes
and Artesian wells. The site is just a few miles downstream from Daggett.
Early Man Site
The Calico Early Man Site is one of the most important archaeological sites in North
America.
Located 15 miles north of Barstow, six miles east of Calico Ghost Town, and known as
"The Calico Dig," this complex is one of the truly unique research and
recreation facilities to be found anywhere. It consists of two master pits, where most of
the findings have been made, one training trench and four test pits.
Initially developed by the National Geographic Society and the San Bernardino County
Museum, the discoveries have pushed man's existence on this continent back at least 50,000
years, and it is yet unknown what further intrigues lie within the area.
Managed cooperatively by the Bureau of Land Management and the Friends of Calico, Inc.,
the Early Man Site is open for public tours Wednesday through Sunday year-round.
East Mojave National Scenic Area
Twisted Joshua trees towering over shrub-carpeted land, rock spires tapering skyward,
soft-sculptured sand dunes, and flat- topped mesas all brought special attention to
California's East Mojave Desert. However it was the cowboys' and prospectors' windmills
and mineshafts, combined with the region's natural "gemstones" that inspired the
creation of the East Mojave National Scenic Area.
Concern for the protection of the East Mojave's famed natural treasures, as well as
preservation of traditional uses such as mining and livestock grazing, stimulated the U.S.
Department of the Interior in 1980 to designate 1.4 million acres of public land as the
nation's first national scenic area. As a national scenic area, the Bureau of Land
Management (BLM) manages the region to ensure the continuation of traditional uses which
give the area its character, while retaining its natural scenic qualities.
The East Mojave National Scenic Area is easily accessible from either Interstate 15,
which edges most of its northern boundary, or Interstate 40, which traces its southern
boundary. Many travelers may hesitate to leave the relative security of the interstate
highways, but the region is crossed by a variety of paved or well-maintained gravel roads.
For the venturesome a variety of more primitive routes provide access to many of the
area's remote corners, in a land that combines spectacular natural landscape, unique
history, and valuable resources.
