We left Las Vegas at sunrise because we anticipated at 530 mile trip to Lodi, near Sacramento. We did stop twice for fuel (really didn’t need to but wanted to avoid the higher California fuel taxes) and made a couple of side trips. We left the interstate and went through “downtown” Yermo, a small town near Mule Canyon, a place where we spent Easter vacations while growing up. This is the road up to the canyon. While we used to pull a trailer up into the canyon, now the road is rocky and rutted and suitable for 4-wheel drives. We decided NOT to take the motor home up into the canyon but view it from afar . . . you can see the tailings from the silver mines in the distance.
The wind was blowing hard while we stopped (see the sand blowing across the road). The area is still beautiful but has been obviously damaged/changed by four-wheel drives, dirt bikes and ATVs. It never pays to go back to look at what used to be.
The ghost town of Calico is about a mile up the paved road. It was original and untouched when we literally played in the ruins and mines fifty years ago but now is owned and operated by county or state government. Some of the original buildings have been moved to Knott’s Berry Farm. We saw several of the original mine shafts fenced and covered with large warning signs in two languages. We didn’t seem to need all that years ago. . .
We did go by the National Chavez Center, but being unsure of the road conditions, decided to not stop. It is located at the UFW National Headquarters campus in Keene, CA.
We were directed by our Garmin to take Highway 99 to Lodi, but in my great wisdom, decided to go further west and take Interstate 5. In retrospect, that may have been a bad decision. I-5 was a state of the art interstate years ago but is now a pothole ridden nightmare, almost as rough as some of the weather savaged Alaskan roads. We did pass a lot of water protest signage along the freeway, all the way to Tracy. As we got further north we began to see the abandoned orchards and rows and rows of trees laying on their sides and being ground up. This was once prime growing areas for almonds, pecans and walnuts, but there is an ongoing water dispute preventing the farmers from using water that was originally dedicated to them. Lot of politics . . .
We arrived in Lodi under heavy rain and 60 mph winds and late at night. There is scattered flooding all over Northern California and it has continued to rain for several days. We are running a 10 mile trail race in Folsom Saturday so we expect that to be very muddy.
Our plans are to depart Monday morning early, head over Donner Summit (I-80) then turn south to Carson City and Tonopah (weather permitting).
Travelling with the Schinglers 
When I visited my girlfriend in Tehachapi when Barbara had her knee done, we were driving all over the desert and visiting old ghost towns I mentioned Calico because I remember going there. Janet said I would be disappointed and just keep the memory of it.
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