1992 DESERT EXCURSION

Vern, Buzzie and Rodney display excitement as they prepare for another long day on the trail. 

This trip we just wandered around on many of the various trails some that are still in existence and others that the National Park Service believe should not be part of the "New" East Mojave Desert experience.  Had a great outing but the most significant part of the trip had nothing to do with our vehicles and the various routes.  On Saturday night the "Old" store in Goff was having a dance and we were invited that afternoon.  The Goff Store has always had a on sale liquor license for beer and a small counter and some tables within the store where customers could sip a few cold ones.  At that time it was the only place to sit down and have a beer and also the only place to obtain gasoline.

 After a short water rubdown and dinner around the camp fire about ten of us crowded into Rodney's vehicle and off to the dance we went.  The party began about eight in the evening and to this day I don't know what time it ended.  They had taken all of the grocery shelves and pushed them next to the walls, brought in more tables and chairs and left an area in front of the counter and by the old pot belly stove for dancing.  In the North end of the building adjacent to the kitchen an area was left for the band.  The band was a group of locals from Essex with a fiddle, guitar, drums and a soloist if I remember correctly--they were not that good but they were live music in the middle of nowhere.

There was a good size crowd there when we arrived which continued to grow until there must have been in excess of sixty.  I have not seen this many individuals in one place as long as I have gone to the East Mojave.  As I noted I have no idea when we left but the music was still bouncing off of the wall.  Since it was Rodney's vehicle he was the designated driver which in the end turned out to be a major mistake.  First he had never been to the East Mojave before and had no idea how to return to camp.  Everyone else in the vehicle was in no condition to assist him with directions so Rodney wandered around on back desert roads in the dark having no idea where he was.  He had observed a dead rabbit in the road at one point and when he passed it the third time his mind had determined he was completely lost.  I remember waking up crunched between the third seat and the tailgate of his vehicle with the sun flowing light onto the Eastern horizon.  With the assistance of all the passengers as they awoke we finally arrived back in camp and as you would know, it was time for breakfast.  A hardy breakfast drove us into a land of dreams that lasted the majority of the day.

We found out later the Los Angeles area was engulfed in riots that very evening so it was sure nice to enjoy an night where sanity still prevailed even if in a diluted form.        

Photographs