Desert Dog Blog

New video – Lost in the Golden Valley

Click here:  Lost in the Golden Valley

The Golden Valley lies between two mountain ranges. Stretching across the north and northwest is the Lava Mountains, and to the southeast, the Almond Mountains close off the valley. The valley is literally surrounded by mountains and is probably one of the most secluded areas in the Mojave. While we were Google Earthing the area, we were only able to find one little road entering the valley. But, could we find it when we were actually there?

What’s interesting about the Golden Valley is that it’s relatively untouched, there’s awesome potential to find wildlife and archaeological artifacts. If this visit proves fruitful, we will come out again later in the year. Very little is written about the Golden Valley, everywhere we looked on the internet (flashes of websites), even Wikipedia, bestowed the same description. But one of the things the Golden Valley Wilderness is best known for its wildflower display. It’s June now, so we’re at the tail end of it, but as you can see, there are still flowers around.

But the road started getting a little too rough for our Toyota Highlander, and we decided to explore the areas around Red Mountain, in an area still considered to be a part of the Golden Valley Wilderness. In particular, we were going to Joe’s old stomping grounds, when he and his friends knew a local legend who lived around here. They called him Virgil Ramey. The ‘Steam Man.’

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Remember Desert Magazine?

The 1937 edition of The Desert Magazine

Remember the old Desert magazine?  It’s publication ran from 1937 all the way to 1985, when its management decided to close up shop.

The original Desert Magazine was published from 1937 to 1985 by a man named Randall Henderson.  In 1958 he passed the torch, and other editors kept the magazine afloat until 1985.  Since then, efforts have been made to resurrect Desert magazine in print and as an online magazine.  The latest, and most promising, effort is www.dezertmagazine.com.

This online magazine is founded by John Grassom.  Grassom said Dezert Magazine is “a quarterly online publication dedicated to all things southwest. This includes archeology, anthropology, history, 4×4ing, travel, wildlife, botany, rock hounding and treasure hunting.”

Grassom added, “We are simply moving forward with the same commitment and passion as the first.”

The first Desert Magazine focused on archaeology, wildlife, human interest stories, history, geology, and anything desert-related.  And that’s what Dezert Magazine is going to be about.

Grassom invited the Desert Dogs to participate in providing content to their magazine, with the first issue coming up on October 1. We hope that this will be the beginning of a long and enduring friendship.

I’ll finish with this last bit, written by Mr. Henderson himself, in the very first edition of Desert Magazine, waaaaay back in 1937.  He wrote that there’s the desert that poets and authors dredge up – a purely imagined world, and then there’s the real desert. 

“The other Desert—the real Desert-—is not for the eyes of the superficial observer, or the fearful soul or the cynic. It is a land, the character of which is hidden except to those who come with friendliness and understanding. To these the Desert offers rare gifts: health-giving sunshine—a sky that is studded with diamonds—a breeze that bears no poison—a landscape of pastel colors such as no artist can duplicate—thorn-covered plants which during countless ages have clung tenaciously to life through heat and drought and wind and the depredations of thirsty animals, and yet each season send forth blossoms of exquisite coloring as a symbol of courage that has triumphed over terrifying obstacles. To those who come to the Desert with friendliness, it gives friendship; to those who come with courage, it gives new strength of character. Those seeking relaxation find release from the world of man-made troubles. For those seeking beauty, the Desert offers nature’s rarest artistry. This is the Desert that men and women learn to love.”

Let the new Dezert Magazine forge its own trail, but we let it also keep alive the tradition of giving the desert its due respect and homage.

Massive vandalism at Inscription Canyon

Above: Petroglyphs at Inscription Canyon.  Desert Dog Joe Perry took a trip to Inscription Canyon last weekend, and found massive vandalism – the barrier to the canyon was taken down and petroglyph panels taken out.

Dear desertphiles and archaeology lovers,

There’s a growing problem in the desert.  It involves the vandalism of rock art, some of which are many thousands of years old.

Most recently, in Inscription Canyon someone has knocked down the barrier to the canyon, drove into the canyon with offroad vehicles, and removed entire panels of rock art.

Desert Dog Joe Perry is the one who spotted this last weekend (the weekend of March 20th).  Joe also said, “I ran across a motorcyclist who saw two trucks about 2 weeks ago with people actually carrying large rocks, (panels?) and loading them into trucks.   The motorcyclist got a partial description, but said they were armed so he just split the scene.”

The motorcyclist said that approximately 2 weeks earlier he saw 2 trucks, one a later model RAM and the other an older model Ford. There was maybe one or two middle to late age Caucasians, several young men, and a few younger women.  They were observed carrying large rocks (panels?) out of the canyon and loading them into their trucks. In addition, they were seen shooting into the canyon.   It’s possible they were local tweekers, but selling this kind of stuff would be difficult, except for the black market.  However, they might have thought these would be a nice decoration for their homes.  Either way, this sort of vandalism carries severe penalties.  A first-time conviction of archaeological site vandalism carries a fine of up to $20,000 or two years in jail.  Any other convictions entail a $100,000 fine or five years imprisonment.

Those of us who care ought to hook up with the BLM archaeologist for the area we visit the most.  In the case of the Barstow area where Inscription Canyon is, the archaeologist is Jim Shearer.  Ask the archaeologist if you can be a site steward for a particular area of the desert that you enjoy.  You can reach archaeologists for your area by calling the BLM at  (202) 452-5125.

We can also get involved with the California Archaeological Site Steward Program (CASSP).

You know me.  I like to keep it reasonable.  But when it comes to the vandalism of ancient treasures, I really think we should be more vigilant.

And of course, if anyone knows about the perpetrators of this crime, let us know or better yet call the Barstow Police Department at (760) 255-5111.

- Andrew Perry