Barker Ranch

I spent yesterday up at Barker Ranch in the very southwest of Death Valley. Barker Ranch is where old Charles Manson and his "family" hid out and were eventually found. It is pretty damn remote in that you have to drive forever to get there. However, due to the sheer mass of humanity in southern California, there were still plenty of people around. We shared our visit with some ATV riders who went inside the cabin to smoke some pot in homage to Mr. Manson. The first photo is of a side building ("the guest house") and the view down Goler Wash (I suppose the family used to sit up here to see if anybody was coming), the second photo is of the main cabin itself.

The remainder of the pictures are not of Barker Ranch but of other interesting finds up Goler Wash. It is normally a pretty tough 4x4 road from what I understand, but it has recently been graded. So we had an easy time. The water was running up the wash, though, and I bet by this summer it will be a pretty tough go again. Anyhow, plenty of mines, abandoned cabins, and assorted debris.

I managed to make an adventure out of the day by insisting on taking a detour to the north border of the east section of China Lake Naval Air Weapons Station. The map insisted there was a road, but it was just a river bed that got worse and worse. Then it started to get dark. Then one of my passengers threw up (the second time that day). Gave up and turned around just shy of the border. Just as well -- I didn't really need to be the accidental target of a sidewinder missile after all.

Earlier in the day, I stopped by a local brewery and picked up a case of my current favorite beer and a case of another selection for the spring.