Calico rocks

ZZYZX, CALIFORNIA–The day started very cold with a stiff, persistent wind and low dark clouds moving quickly across the mountain north of Soda Lake. We are comfortable in our rooms and the dining hall, but tend to notice the cold in the shower building which is, shall we say, a tad breezy. Fortunately our first stop would be mostly in buildings and underground mines.

Calico is a reconstructed mining town east of Barstow.  It was founded in March 1881 and was soon the richest silver mining district in California. It began to decline with silver prices in 1907 and dwindled to a few shacks until Walter Knott renovated the buildings in 1951 and turned the site into a tourist attraction. Now it is a county park with numerous private businesses operated inside. We visited it today to see the old silver mines and mining techniques and to look at the mineralized Pickhandle and Barstow Formations which host the ores.

Calico Ghost Town from the scenic viewpoint to the north.

Megan Innis showing us excellent desiccation cracks (from drying mud) preserved in the Barstow Formation (Middle to Late Miocene) at Calico.

Rob Lydell, Adam Samale, Rob McConnell and Andrew Retzler relaxing outside a Calico business. Andrew is drinking, of course, a sarsaparilla.