PILGRIMS IN THE DESERT
The Early History of the East Mojave Desert and the Baker California Area
You might recognize some of the men on the cover. On the left is Father Francisco Garces, the first European to travel Westward from the Colorado River through the Mojave in 1776. Third from left is Jedediah Smith who also crossed the Mojave traveling from the Colorado River in 1826 and again in August of 1827. Second from left is John C. Fremont who led several expeditions into what would later become the Western United States. His first trip into the Mojave Desert was in the Spring of 1844, led by none other than Kit Carson, shown second from right. On the far right is Wyatt Earp. The date of his first trip through the Mojave as a child is a little bit fuzzy, however, it is well established that he lived out his last years working mining claims near Vidal on the Eastern edge of the Mojave Desert.
These men were but a few of the early Pilgrims in the Desert. There were many more such as Antonio Armijo who established the route for what is now known as The Old Spanish Trail; Chief Tecopa the namesake of Tecopa, California; Lt. Robert Williamson, who was the first to document that the Mojave River simply ended in the desert near what is now Baker, and did not flow into the Colorado River as was thought at the time; Aaron Lane, the first permanent settler in the High Desert, and many others. Here you can read, often in their own words, of their hardships and struggles to survive the harsh climate and the inherent dangers ever present at that time.
On these pages you will also read about those who followed them into the desert to establish trails, then roads, mining claims, railroads, cattle ranches, settlements, towns and graveyards. Many of their marks on the desert are stark remains, but others have slowly disappeared back into the desert.
If you want to see any of the places discussed in the book, even the most remote, or any other place in the vast East Mojave, appendix A in the back of the book is a tutorial which will teach you how to place your own feet precisely there.
On the pages of Pilgrims in the Desert you will find nearly two hundred historic and contemporary photographs documenting those early activities in the desert. You will learn the origins of the little crossroads town of Baker, California including photographs of some of the first structures and interviews with some of the people who inhabited those structures. Pilgrims in the Desert will take you through about two hundred years of the history of the East Mojave Desert and Baker, California including an interview with the man responsible for the modern day, "Worlds Tallest Thermometer".
When your copy of Pilgrims In The Desert arrives, you will be holding Two Hundred Years of History in your hands. I think you'll like it.
On these pages you will also read about those who followed them into the desert to establish trails, then roads, mining claims, railroads, cattle ranches, settlements, towns and graveyards. Many of their marks on the desert are stark remains, but others have slowly disappeared back into the desert.
If you want to see any of the places discussed in the book, even the most remote, or any other place in the vast East Mojave, appendix A in the back of the book is a tutorial which will teach you how to place your own feet precisely there.
On the pages of Pilgrims in the Desert you will find nearly two hundred historic and contemporary photographs documenting those early activities in the desert. You will learn the origins of the little crossroads town of Baker, California including photographs of some of the first structures and interviews with some of the people who inhabited those structures. Pilgrims in the Desert will take you through about two hundred years of the history of the East Mojave Desert and Baker, California including an interview with the man responsible for the modern day, "Worlds Tallest Thermometer".
When your copy of Pilgrims In The Desert arrives, you will be holding Two Hundred Years of History in your hands. I think you'll like it.
