The Mojave Phone Booth
I spent some time this past weekend at the Mojave National Preserve and greatly enjoyed the vasts amount of open desert (pictures forthcoming). The trip made me recall an Internet phenomenon that took place six or so years ago: the Mojave phone booth site.
The site started when the creator found out about a pay phone that was situated tens of miles down an isolated dirt road in the middle of the Mojave desert. He became so excited about the strangeness of it that he went through a series of adventures to find and use the phone booth, all while documenting his journey on the website. For some reason, the booth captured the interest of the Internet-at-large and suddenly people were frequently calling the booth and making trips into the wilderness to find it.
The National Park Service eventually tired of all the publicity and, citing the negative effect of all the attention on the wilderness, had the booth removed. The booth is still gone, and nothing remains to mark its place, but a film inspired by the booth is coming out later this year.
I had always thought the booth was on some major road in the preserve, but after my trip (and as you can see in the image above), I realized it was actually down an unmarked dirt road that goes right into desert nothingness near the 30 or so volcanic cinder cones in the park (those are the spots in the picture). The yellow road to the east of the booth is a small paved road that heads into the heart of the park, so there really is no practical reason to drive down the over ten miles down the road (4x4 suggested) that led to the booth, unless you were one of the private miners, or just exploring.
Note: the image above is an area 60 miles or so southwest of Las Vegas. I-15 is the major highway between Vegas and Los Angeles.
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*sigh*
"a film inspired by the booth."
*sigh*
"aawww... there were gonna show some close-ups of the rod."
In Rod we trust
the booth web site (which i found when you linked to the 100 greatest internet moments a long while back) is really interesting, though. i pined to go there and was annoyed that i couldn't - my old map of the area still has "phone booth" printed on it, in that wonderful incongruous way.
Which did you like better: Mojave or Death Valley?
and what about the celebration at kelso? what was that like?
Mojave or Death Valley? I can't really answer that question -- they're both huge parks and I only saw a minor percentage of both. Death Valley probably has more to interest a typical tourist, but since it's a National Park, you're much more limited as to what you can do there: e.g., Mojave has quite a few roadside campsites that are secluded and aren't overused; Death Valley has (crowded) established campsites -- seclusion requires backcountry camping (and permits). I might pick Mojave because it's less popular than Death Valley, but since it's a preserve you also have to deal with hunters and such.
As for the celebration of the opening of the newly renovated visitor center at Kelso Depot, we got there when they were packing up the tables and tents, but we saw lots of Park Rangers and other supporters. So: not much to say about that. Was the center completed when you were there, jon?
In any case, I'm glad the party was happening, because we got there 5 minutes after closing time, but they were still there to help us find a secluded campsite.
Well, I doubt the meth labs are in the actual preserve.
And yes, yellowstone is more protected than theodore roosevelt -- there are for more day-use areas, places where camping isn't allowed, and a more rigorous backcountry permit system. The same goes for Death Valley vs Mojave, although things may be different in the more obscure corners (4x4 accessible), especially near the hot springs in the western valley (an old hippie commune that had to scale down after the area was adopted into the park).
yes, the center was completed. however, marco, i take issue with you're notion that "Death Valley probably has more to interest a typical tourist, but since it’s a National Park, you’re much more limited as to what you can do there" This causal relationship is invalid. There is a single distinction between national parks and national preserves, and that is the ability to hunt in the latter (and i'm guessing you didn't have all the different types of hunting in mind when you thought of the "much more limitation"). If death valley is more touristy/protected, well, yellowstone is more touristy/protected than theodore roosevelt.
A friend of a friend who lives in 29 palms mentioned that mojave has a large number of meth labs, and you should thus be careful driving on the roads at night. again, not sure of the validity of causality there...
well, i suppose they're in the private residences inside the preserve, but i don't think NPS makes a lesotho-like distinction...those people live in a preserve.
my whole point was the designation isn't responsible for the character of the territory.
is ths hippie commune you refer to zzyzx or is there something else out there?
how do you know that? there's plenty of mojave outside of the preserve.
and while there are private residences in the preserve, i imagine they were grandfathered in -- doesn't seem like the makings of a meth lab. plus, rangers would probably be aware if meth smells were present within the preserve.
the hippie commune was in death valley, not the mojave. it's in a out of the way place called saline valley. the hot springs are still there, and there are still nudist and such gatherings there, but the park limits one's stay to 30 days.
From what I know and the articles I have read, most of these meth labs are in national forests-- areas patroled far less on average than most national parks. The key for meth makers is
to have cover from view of planes and helicopters-- which usually means trees--- a desert does not seem likely to provide too much cover. I have heard that RVs can also be used as meth labs, and it would seem possible that people making meths in RVS might choose to use Mojave's back roads as a place to do it...
although staying in one place for too long would probably
attract attention.
Thanks, Slater. RV labs gives a lot more credence to jon's claim.
take in mind i don't have much credence to begin with - i mentioned driving through the mojave to this guy at a party and the guy - who had just gotten back from iraq, so it's not like he spends all that much time in 29 palms - said "i would be careful driving there at night. lots of tweakers."
Sounds like the sort of person who would warn you of going to see a movie in downtown Hartford.
Not that he's wrong -- I did a brief Google search and found several references to meth labs found in various places in the Mojave (but no mention of the preserve). But the chances of having any sort of dangerous encounter with someone involved is probably incredibly small.
I doubt a combat-veteran Marine is afraid of downtown Hartford.
all from the NPS official site at http://www.nps.gov/moja/adminhist/adhi7.htm :
"Abandoned sites in rural areas with little supervision but easy access to urban markets pose ideal conditions for methamphetamine manufacturers. Mojave's abandoned mine sites contain buildings and debris, which help meth manufacturers hide evidence of their activities...Even more problematic than the use of abandoned mine sites by drug producers is the potential for mobile meth labs in the Preserve. In April 2001, an NPS ranger contacted a confidential informant who had observed on several occasions a suspected mobile methamphetamine lab, contained in an old Ryder truck."
p.s. marco, your googling skills need work. :)
Lorelei, I doubt you have ever been to downtown Hartford. Let me just tell you, it's scary. Filled with non-whites. Filled I say!
Yes, unlike lily-white LA. :} I may have a chance to experience the urban wilds of Hartford in June.
I like how Jon and crazymonk are squabbling over how to hide meth labs on parkland. Less talk, more rockMojave pics, gentlemen.
there's no way we're going to hartford. that place is scary!
see, the difference is nobody told us to "stay away from east LA" when we were young, so our prejudices are aimed differently. But both my father and a friend (Mike Kayser, in case anybody cares) have been mugged in downtown hartford, so there's precedent!