Over the weekend, I went on my first camping trip with the anthropology club that I'm in on campus. We had originally planned to set off on Friday morning around 5:00am and set up camp at Red Rock Canyon State Park for the first night and at Fossil Falls the following. No one turned up that morning so we set off Saturday morning and set off to straight to Fossil Falls. Fossil Falls is a campsite with fossilized volcanic rock. The volcano is focal point to the camping grounds, however, it is no long active. There were various hiking trails, but we didn't have the chance to go on them. 
The spot where we chose to set up camp. 
The outhouse where we did our business. 
The volcano at Fossil Falls. 
The landscape around the campsite with some volcanic rock. Our next order of business was Randsberg; a ghost town which used to be a mining town back in the 1800's. Jeff Rigby, our professor was going to meet us there with his son Chase, and his girlfriend Andrea (I think that's what her name was). He suggested that we check out the ghost town and just hang around for a bit while we wait for him. http://www.ghosttowns.com/states/ca/randsburg.html 
The group posing in front of a facade of a town in the ghost town. 
A coffin that we came across behind the facade. 
The mines. We were warned not to go in them due to the possibility of it caving in. 
A friendly dog on the outside of a antique shop. 
This was an interesting find. The sign above the windshield says "Magic Bus." It appears to be an old RV or Bus with Volkswagen van on top of it. You see it? 
After Professor Rigby had arrived, we immediately set off to the next destination, Burro Schmidt's Tunnel. We took a dirt road that was about 8 miles and it was pretty tough with a front-wheel drive car. Believe it or not, 8 miles took about an hour. Talk about Captain Slow's rally. The story behind this is that a man named William Henry Schmidt aka Burro Schmidt dug a half a mile tunnel in the mountain and took him 38 years. No one knows exactly why, but it's assumed that he was in the search for gold. His cabin was close by and still intact. We had the chance to go in. Later years, a elderly lady lived by his cabin. Professor Rigby said he once talked to her and that she eventually went mental. Here's a link if you want more info on this. http://www.burroschmidttunnel.org/index.html 
Exterior shots of Burro Schmidt's cabin. 
The inside of the out house. The lady did put up some weird images on the wall. 
Some shots of the interior. 
A plaque right outside of the tunnel.  
The interior of the tunnel. I took several pictures inside, but it all pretty much looks the same for half a mile. 
This was the view once we got to the other end. The group headed back to Fossil Falls whilst Professor Rigby, Chase and Andrea got a hotel in Ridgecrest. Bastards. I did bring along my tent, however, I just decided to sleep in the car. It was way too cold. The next morning we set off to Ridgecrest to meet Professor Rigby and our guides to the petroglyphs at China Lake. We had to pass through a military base to get to the petroglyphs so we had to be searched and checked. It was quite a drive through some bends and turns and eventually a dirt road. All together it felt like about 30-40 miles into the base. I had taken several photos but it turns out my memory stick began to malfunction. One of the guides was kind enough to lend me his memory stick so I can retake the photos on the way back. But I'm sure I'm missing a few photos of some rock art from the first time around. 
There were a few rocks that have been vandalized. 
This is the most famous panel from this place. It is said to be 4 shaman's in a trance. 
Animals were commonly depicted in the rock art. 
These animals were common at this site. In some cases you can these animals depicted with arrows in them. Professor Rigby explained that it was perhaps "hunting magic." 
We pretty much set off for our agonizing drive back to Los Angeles after this. I almost fell asleep several times. However, the anthropology club is taking a trip to San Diego this weekend to see the zoo and the the Museum of Man. Unfortunately, I won't be joining them. :( 
Falling asleep by Red Rock Canyon. | 
