THE DAILY GRIST…”There’s gold in them thar hills, boys!”-Mark Twain
May has been a busy month at our house. Traveling being at the top of the list. The first part of the month saw the members of Virtual Strangers, for whom I play bass, heading out in our motorhomes to play the Bluegrass in the Spring festival held over Mother’s Day weekend at Calico Ghost Town in Yermo, Ca.
Where’s Yermo, you ask? It is in the middle of the High Desert in So Cal and is about equal distance between Bakersfield, Ontario, and Las Vegas, and about 25 miles from Barstow so it’s not close to any large population at all. In Yermo, there is the Marine Corps Logistics Base, and Peggy Sue’s Diner – a replication of an old fashioned 1950’s diner with all memorabilia from that rock ‘n’ roll era. And the food is really good! It’s a place folks stop for a bite to eat on their way to other places and take in all the Peggy Sue atmosphere such as the vast collection of Hollywood notables signed photos hanging on the walls.
Today, San Bernardino County owns Calico Ghost Town as a county park, and is the sponsor of this annual bluegrass festival. Historically, Calico was a thriving silver mining town back in the day for a short period, but after the silver dried up, folks left the town and it went into disrepair. More currently Calico has been refurbished to reflect this mining town atmosphere from its heyday. In the 1950’s Walter Knott of Knott’s Berry Farm acquired Calico and redesigned the old and fallen structures there to align with the time when the town was booming. So, today Calico has a feel of a functioning mining town from the past with restaurants, a train ride, saloon, cemetery, and history tours and other attractions that make it a fun and educational family venue.
The festival presented dozen or so regional bands over the weekend at the various town locations so strolling visitors could hear them as they visited the town. We played at the Mystery Spot which was a great location with lots of folks coming by. And the band was able to camp at the Calico campgrounds on site. The campground held a great jam Friday night with a variety of pickers and grinners attending. On Saturday night, a special concert happened at the outdoor theater featuring Nu Blu.
The other attraction in the Yermo area are the multitude of off- roading trails there to explore. Two Virtual Stranger band members brought their off road vehicles, so we were able to check out quite a few trails on two different days. The backroads and geology is really something to see. Rock formations, outcropping, vistas, rock tunnels (which we were able to drive through) made for a memorable trip. It gave me a new appreciation for the unique beauty of the desert. If you’re just driving by this area, it’s barren and dry with little greenery. But getting on those backroads expanded my view of the beauty there. I highly recommend anyone that’s able to take the time and try an backroads trip. You will see the mighty forces of mother nature in all her glory!
So with the all our performing, off road adventures, visiting Peggy Sue’s, and seeing so many of our friends, Calico Bluegrass in the Spring festival was a fun and worthwhile trip. Best of luck to the San Bernardino Parks & Recreation for their continued success in bringing bluegrass music to the High Desert of So Cal!
