Strange things in the desert

[Mojave]

Sitting around the dinner table this evening, I was reminded of several stories I brought home to my wife over the years that I had completely forgotten.
Once in around '90 or '91 there was a lot of rumors going around the small town I lived in, Ridgecrest, about satanic worhsipers and rituals and crap going on out in the desert. I didn't pay much attention to it. At the time I was working from noon 'till 9 pm on the base. I went for mountain bike rides in the mornings. I usually avoided trails and went cross country. The street I lived on ended at the edge of town and it was easy to just head out into the hills. It is all public land. I was on my way back home when I came across a spot next to a small wash that looked like there had been a party or something. There were lots of tire tracks and foot prints and the remains of a large fire. As I got up to the spot of the fire I stopped to look. What had been burned was a large pile of snakes and two skulls that looked like goats. It was still warm. This was only a couple miles from my house in full view of the town and in the middle of the week. Pretty creepy.

[Mojave]

Here's another.
In the mid-90s once I was 4-wheeling up in the southern Panamint mountains in a place called Goler Canyon which was only about 30-35 miles from home. It was a pretty tough drive and I finally got out and decided to go on foot. I came through a narrow canyon and found a large impressive house exactly where you wouldn't expect to find one. It had a nice wood deck porch around the front. There was a small fence with a locked gate. There were stone steps leading up to the porch. The front door was open and not a soul in sight. I hopped the gate and was walking up the steps when I saw there were pictures on the wall and a vase of flowers on a table just inside. I decided the place wasn't abandoned so I decided to leave. Just as I turned, a couple, probably around 50 years old, came out the door. They weren't real confrontational but a little skiddish. I complemented them on the house and talked for a few minutes. They said they liked to keep to themselves and politely asked me to leave and not come back, which I did. While I was walking back to my truck I passed a truck coming up to the house. A few days later I told the story to my boss. He asked me if the truck was a bright red SUV. I said yes, a Nissan Pathfinder I think. He said yeah, that's the old Barker place. They've been around for years and it was wise to avoid the place. He said "that Manson crowd doesn't like strangers."
On an archaeological note, the place has been in the news quite a bit. Forensic scientists have been digging the place up. Here's a Foxnews article:
FOXNews.com - On Manson's Trail, Forensic Testing Suggests Possible New Grave Sites - Local News | News Articles | National News | US News

[Mojave]

I've got lots of other stories, mostly of finding military stuff. Since I hate posting without pictures, and most of my pictures are old 35 mm film, it'll have to wait until I get a chance to dig them out and scan them. I'm going to be out of town all week after tomorrow. I'll bookmark this thread and come back to it when can. I have a pic of my dog sitting on a 5000 lb WWII "Bat-bomb" and a sidewinder missile stuck in the ground. It is buried except for the last foot and a half or so.

[Shannon Graham]

All great stories and an interesting parachute find.

In the hill country of Texas, about 17 miles west of Kerrville, I was hiking through some really thick cedar in the middle of nowhere it seemed. I came upon a small white parachute that had been deployed and functioned properly. At the end of the parachut was a small metal box containing some electronic gadetry and directions where to mail it if found....it was a weather balloon. Not sure how long it had been there...

Anxiously awaiting more desert stories,
Shannon

[Mojave]

Cool Shannon. I'm surprised there was info on where to send it. Did you send it? I've found probably 20 of those over the years but not with parachutes, they were from weather balloons. Many military bases with aviation activity in years past would send up tethered balloons with the "gadgetry" for weather readings every day. They frequently broke loose and flew who the heck knows where. We have better technology these days so the balloon thing is a thing of the past.

[Big Ed]

Man, these stories are classic! We'll have to publish an "Arrowheadology's Creepiest Stories" compilation at Halloween!

Keep them coming! Here's a link to one of my favorites...

Encounter at Iron Bridge!

[arrow719]

Here's one I won't soon forget. Three years ago my family and a friends family met in Northern Nevada to do some camping and digging at the opal mines. After we had our fill of opals we decided to go exploring the desert. My family staying at the campsite so I rode with my friends family. We found some hot springs on the topo we wanted to check out. They were in the middle of a valley not too far off the highway. As we got close we saw there was three or four small private airplanes right where we wanted to go. This was odd because there was no airport, they must of landed on the dirt road. We went to another spring a mile or so away. We hiked around for awhile then decided to go to a different valley. We took a different dirt road on the way out which took us real close to where the airplanes were. As we got closer it looked like they were just chilling out having a good time. But when we got real close we saw two girls waving at us and they were butt nekkid and so was everyone else! I had to do a double take because I didn't believe what I was seeing at first. We all looked at each other and said did you see what I think I just saw? We were laughing over that for awhile. You just don't see flying nudist colonies in the middle of the desert everyday!

[Mojave]

Originally Posted by arrow719

You just don't see flying nudist colonies in the middle of the desert everyday!

Speak for yourself. I do all the time,...then I open my eyes.

[silverback]

You didn't take the nose cone back home with you?
Next time grab the cone for me & we'll figure out how to get it here.
Thanks!

[Mojave]

It is a few miles from the nearest 4x4 trail. It is several feet long and at least a hundred pounds. If you want to look for it I'll gladly give you the coordinates. I doubt I'll ever be back in that area again though.