The Wheels on the Bus go round and round, round and round, round and round. : Yermo, California & surrounding areas

This is a great little route that meanders through Odessa Canyon and ascends into the Calico Mountains.

We decided this one was a no go!

Tin Can Alley

Calico Mountains

So named because of their colorful bands in varying shades of reds, turquoises, and steel.

Watch your step

Yermo, California

Its name is derived from one of the Spanish words for "wilderness".

Ice Cream Sundae Water Tank

The 65-foot-high cylindrical water storage tank tower is disguised as a ice cream sundae, garnished with sprinkles, a cherry, and two straws.

In 2017 a group of friends, including Weiming Chen, a Chinese-born dissident and sculptor, bought 36 acres of desert next to the I-15 freeway. Christened Liberty Sculpture Park, its purpose was to champion the human desire for freedom and condemn the oppression of Chinese communism. Artwork chosen for the park would be visible every day to thousands of passing motorists on the interstate. All artists were invited to contribute, but for now only Chen's work is standing in the desert.

In early 2019 Chen unveiled "the world's largest monument to the 1989 Tiananmen Massacre." It's the number 6 and the number 4. The massacre, Chen explained, took place on 6/4/1989. The numbers are 6.4 meters tall, and the sculpture is 6,400 miles from the massacre site in Tiananmen Square.

His first sculpture, Chief Crazy Horse," marks the 140th anniversary of Crazy Horse's death in 1877.

Unveiled in 2018, a 16-foot-tall likeness of Chinese activist Li Wangyang. He was imprisoned for 21 years following the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, released, then found hanging in his hospital room. Suicide? Murder? Chen's sculpture, with chains dangling from its arms, suggests the latter.

"Tank Man,"

A life-size version of the famous photograph of an unidentified man, holding a briefcase, defiantly standing in front of a column of Tiananmen Square tanks.

Doing a scenic drive to Lucerne Valley today

Checking out Cougar Buttes for future camping and Jeeping

Drove into Johnson Valley to see how Hammertown was coming along.

King of the Hammers comes to Johnson Valley, California, every year and draws thousands of off-road fans into the desert for a weeklong frenzy of off-road race that combines desert racing and rock crawling.

Johnson Valley, which turns into what the spectators call Hammertown.

The start of Hammertown. This is still 2 weeks before the Big event. Unless you like big crowds, lots of noise and DUST this is not a place to be the 1st week in February.

This is what Hammertown will look like soon.

Ft. Irwin is located in the center of the middle of nowhere. It's not at the end of the world, but you can see it from there. Seriously, Ft. Irwin is located well off the beaten path, but that is by design. Among other things the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines send their troops to Ft. Irwin to train for war.

Many years ago one of the squadrons visiting Ft. Irwin climbed to the top of the rockpile and painted their company colors on one of the rocks. As time went on other squads painted their colors on the rockpile. Over the years the troops have begun transporting these monster rocks to the spot themselves.