We spent the last two nights at the KOA in Yermo, Ca which is by one of the exits on I-15.
The Barstow KOA has a shuttle (mini-van) for their guests and we made arrangements with them to shuttle us to the Calico Ghost Town.
We left at 8am before the temperatures peaked out at the expected 106 today.
What we didn't know was that the buildings in Calico didn't open until 9am. So our first impression when we got there is....... "This place is still a ghost town!".
We didn't see anyone except maybe 3 people serving out their time doing community service (picking up litter).
We walked around looking at all the old buildings and replicas of others. There were only four of the original bldgs. left.
Calico was developed in 1881 during the largest silver strike in California. Located at the side of towering King Mountain, the town was named for the variety of colors in the mountain that were "as purty as a gal's calico skirt." Calico boomed during 1881-1896; but the end came to the silver rush in 1896 and by 1904 Calico had become a ghost town.
Today the historic silver mining town lives on as one of the few original Old West mining camps. One-third of Calico's original structures still stand; the remaining buildings have been carefully reconstructed to capture the Old West spirit.
Enjoy the pictures and comments below..................
What the ............? Sharon standing by a wagon with a tree growing through it. That wagon had to have been there for many years. None of the trees were much bigger than this one.
Post Office located inside the General Store. Yep! Not much bigger than the old stove in front of it!
Park Headquarters. This is one of the original buildings. The park ranger said originally it was a "House of ill-repute".
Here's a chuck wagon complete with cupboard on the back. Note the cooking equipment set up by the fire pit which was carried in the big wooden box.
Thankfully, camping is a lot easier today with gas grills, microwave ovens, and motor homes!
We finished our tour of Calico by having lunch at their restaurant and touring the saddle & leather shop.
We left the KOA at 1230 with plans to visit the Sequoia National Park.
Surprise! We drove to within 15 miles of the NP on CA198 just to find out the MH was too big to drive the roads in the park from this particular entrance.
We found a Corp of Engineers campground nearby and spent the night. Tomorrow we will try a different route further north.
View of the lake from our campsite at the COE campground.
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