Hi Folks -

Funny you should mention Jawbone Canyon. I was just up there and in Red Rock Canyon doing some wildlife photo shooting. I was basically convinced that there was almost nothing worh spending too much time on until I ran into Paul D. Condon. Suddenly the whole area came to life and was extremely interesting.

Paul now runs the little visitor center at the entrance to Jawbone. (Jawbone, by the way, is along the 14 Freeway, off the bend from Mojave and about 30 miles north thereof.) Paul is very amicable and enjoys talking about the region. He is also knowledgeable about areas of interest which are not published.

You can contact Paul at 760 374-2242 or at retiredplanner@hotmail.com.

This guy knows EVERYTHING about that whole region; he is very versed on the history. He lives in Atolia (??) three miles south of Randberg, which was (or is) one of the largest tungsten mining operations in the country. (They also mine silver.)

I bought a map at the visitor center that was an excellent purchase for $2. It outlines all of the back roads and points of interest which are not apparent to the eye.

I went from Jawbone to Randsberg (near Johannesburg) to find an incredible little town. These people had old dilapidated Model "T" Fords sitting in their front yard. The General Store has been in continuous operation for 105 years.

Back in the late 1800s, the gold discovery gave rise to the town and now it's a "living ghost town." If you plan the trip right, you can see Red Rock Canyon and Randsberg in the same day, with enough time to make it to the Santa Clarita Valley to bunk down. (Red Rock Canyon has a pretty nice visitor center. Randsberg has a cool mining museum, but the curator was rude.)

I took about five rolls of film that day and I'll post some of the shots when I get them back.

Also, the book "Exploring the Ghost Town Desert," which can be purchased at the visitor center for about $15 is a good buy. It's very local in nature and is a great guide for the interested.

Feel free to contact me for any additional information. adz@socal.rr.com

Tony