The beauty of the Mojave Desert.

Old Woman Mountains

Late afternoon view of the Old Woman Mountains seen from near the railroad crossing at Cadiz.

Desert tortoise in Ward Valley near the Turtle Mountains.

Greater Roadrunner

Rattlesnake, Carbonate Gulch, Old Woman Mountains

Tarantula in Ward Valley

Horned toad on a rhyolite boulder near Ash Hill.

Sunset scene with dark clouds and rays of sunlight shining through, silhouetted mountains in the distance.

Sunset from a remote campsite in Ward Valley.

Some animals I have been fortunate enough to have seen while traveling in the Mojave Desert.

A vast desert landscape with rocky terrain, sparse desert vegetation, and mountain ranges in the background under a clear blue sky.

An abandoned wooden house in a desert with mountains in the background under a clear blue sky.

A desert landscape with a large mountain range in the background, sparse vegetation in the foreground, and a clear blue sky.

Overlooking Brown’s wash and an abandoned miner’s cabin from the Black Metal Mine.

An abandoned wooden and metal structure with wheels, partially collapsed in a desert landscape with rocky hills and sparse vegetation under a clear blue sky.

A straight set of railroad tracks extending into the distance in a desert landscape with sparse shrubbery, mountains in the background, and a partially cloudy sky.

Empty straight road stretching into distant mountains under a partly cloudy sky.

A long, cracked asphalt road with a Route 66 shield painted on it, stretching into the desert landscape with mountains in the distance and sparse desert vegetation on either side.

Historic Route 66

Desert landscape with a straight highway, Route 66 shield painted on the road, utility poles, sparse vegetation, and distant mountains.

Approaching Essex from the east.

Route 66 shield painted on the highway at Bagdad, approaching from the east.

National Old Trails Road approaching Amboy from the east, 1925.

Roadside facilities at Bagdad - Cafe, service station, garage, and motel. None of these buildings remain today.

Mrs. J.A. McNeil and Mrs. J. Haynes with a young puppy on the front porch of their home in Bagdad, 1903.

Locomotive passing through Bagdad.

One of five former cabins in Old Danby that was occupied in the early 1900s by Ben Benjamin. This cabin finally succumbed to the elements and collapsed during a windstorm in 2011.

Loading chute at the Black Metal Mine in the Old Woman Mountains in 2006. Unfortunately, all this has been dismantled and removed.

Bonanza Spring in the Clipper Mountains.

Former railroad depot in Cadiz, California. No trace of the building remains today.

Abandoned mining equipent in the Old Woman Mountains.

Former Santa Fe railroad depot in Old Danby.

Desert engineering. Paul Limon's hot water heater.

Foulenfont family in Amboy c. 1944.

Johnny Neilson, Justice of the Peace, at his 8' x 10' mobile courthouse in Danby.

Early image of National Old Trails Road (Route 66) approaching Bagdad from the west.

James McNeil family, Derby, Kansas 1896. Seven boys and seven girls. The family later moved to Ludlow where all the boys worked for the Santa Fe railroad.

Mule team wagon that was formerly used to haul borax from mines in Death Valley. This photo was taken in Ludlow, California.

Main street, Ludlow, California c. 1929. The Oasis Hotel building was originally brought from Goldfield, Nevada on a train.

Abandoned mining chute in the Old Woman Mountains.

Roy's Cafe in Amboy, California. A prominent Route 66 landmark that is still in business.

Miner's cabin on Danby Dry Lake built in the late 1800s with walls made entirely of blocks of rock salt.

Abandoned miner's cabin in the Old Woman Mountains made of railroad ties. This cabin still has glass in the windows, but is slowly weathering away.

Murphy's original store in Ludlow, California. The woman standing in front in a white dress is Venus McNeil with her son Jackson in the stroller.

route 66 essex california

route 66 essex california