2020: A Year in Review, Pt. 2

Be careful about what you wish for…it just might happen. I was talking about country music with my friend Jansen one day and brought up Patsy Cline, who he had very little knowledge of. Not surprisingly, the song “Walking After Midnight” was discussed, and I said it would be fun to do a country-themed shoot…after midnight. A few nights later, he called and asked if I wanted to make that happen, and the next thing I knew, we were shooting the photo above. I love stuff like that, especially when it’s impromptu.

Even though I’ve been back in San Diego for over twenty years now, there are still places I had yet to explore, like the Quince Street wooden trestle bridge (built in 1905) and nearby hiking trails. 2020 is when it finally happened! Such a cool location!

A trip back to Palm Springs meant I got to stay at one of my favorite places again, The Movie Colony Hotel:

I had a photo shoot in Las Vegas; because I was not crazy about flying, I decided to drive it for the first time and finally see Calico Ghost Town along the way. DEFINITELY worth it!

While in Vegas, I made it back out to Red Rock Canyon:

Vegas itself kinda sucked; even RuPaul’s Werk Room was closed…due to COVID, of course. That became the catch phrase of the year. Anything that no longer worked like it should...just add “due to COVID” afterwards.

On the way back, I stopped at the Barstow Train Station, which was once a Fred Harvey Restaurant back in the day. I had to get a selfie in front of one of the vintage Santa Fe cars; if only it had said “Atchison and Topeka,” too!

What’s the best part of traveling? Coming home to Willis!

Another San Diego first was getting out to see the Desert View Tower and its incredible “collection” of rock paintings:

My workout group rented an Airbnb in Catalina; we made friends as soon as we got off the ferry as we sipped a few beverages by the water.

Don’t be shocked, but I managed to shoot a few photos while there. It was nice to return to the Island after my first trip sixteen years ago.

In December, I finally made it back to the Chateau Marmont after having been away for over a year.

Willis was glad to be back, too.

I was especially pleased to get back into painting again, and very grateful for the commission which provided that opportunity to be creative.

Last one for this post shows Willis sporting his Christmas bowtie (thanks Melissa, aka “The Colonel”).

I can’t really complain too much about 2020. It was actually nice not to be on a plane as much as I typically am; it forced me to stay home and get some work done around the house. I also was blessed to be able to spend more time with Willis, which always brings me joy. It doesn’t look like things will be changing any time soon,  so I’ll just continue to make the best of what life has given me, which has been pretty good so far.

See more Daveland photos at my main website.

Welcome to Calico: The Finale!

I pretty much covered the entire area of Calico Ghost Town on my recent trip, but there are still a number of things that I’d love to explore deeper when/if I return. Thanks to the pandemic, many of the attractions were closed, so I had to be satisfied with a peak at the exterior. Here are the things I’d love to take a closer look at: The mine itself:



DEFINITELY take a ride on the Calico & Odessa Railroad:







The Bottle House:





The Restaurant (it had me at “Fried Chicken”):



Lane House and Museum:



The Saloon (this was shot through the door):



Any other suggestions from those more experienced Calico visitors? See more Calico Ghost Town photos at my main website.

Welcome to Calico: The Mystery Shack

One of my friends had told me that I really needed to experience the Mystery Shack at Calico. When I was walking down the Main Street, the girl working at this “attraction” who sold me my entrance ticket said, “This must be your first time to Calico.” With wonderment I asked how she knew. “Because you’re stopping to take photos of everything!” Drats...blew my cover as a first timer. In the waiting area, there are a number of these little visual puzzles. So much fun!



I had a private tour, as Calico was truly a Ghost Town on the day I visited. She was super nice and did an excellent job with the information and the puns.



I was able to see the pool table with balls that roll up:


The broom that (seemingly) defies gravity!



Thanks to the mysteries of COVID, I was not allowed to experience the chair that is almost impossible to get up from.



The floating disconnected spigot that still has water flowing from it!



Later in my visit, I took a snap of the Mystery Shack from above in an attempt to capture all of its ramshackle goodness:



Up until about 2000, Knott’s Berry Farm had a similar attraction called The Haunted Shack. It is still missed today by guests who were once able to walk through its doorways.

See more Calico Ghost Town photos at my main website.

Welcome to Calico: The School House

Welcome to the Calico Ghost Town School House! A selfie was in order for my first visit here. It appears that the School House I saw is a replica of the original that stood on this location. It looks appropriately weathered.

Stepping back in time, here are two vintage views; the first shot shows how it looked back in March 1965:



…and February 1971. Not really all that different!



A different paint scheme; maybe they chose haint blue for the trim to keep the alleged hauntings down at the schoolhouse!




From the other side, I was able to capture the “Calico” emblazoned along the mountain. I wonder how often that needs to be refreshed?



When you get to the door, you are warned about the uneven ground conditions and are also rewarded by a vintage shot of the original schoolhouse:





Even though it was closed during my visit, that didn’t prevent me from getting an interior view through the dusty window:



Nothing vintage about the chalkboard!



See more Calico Ghost Town photos at my main website.

Welcome to Calico, Pt. 1

I’ve already taken you to the cemetery; now it’s time to visit the Ghost Town itself. I arrived shortly after it had opened that morning and the parking lot was practically empty. Even Ghost Towns are subject to the ramifications of COVID.

On the plus side, fewer people meant better photos for me. The big negative was that the place literally was like a ghost town, with many of the shops/restaurants closed during the week. Still, I was glad to finally make it here and see what it was all about.

If you don’t know the history behind it, here’s the down and dirty: Calico is an old West mining town dating back to 1881 that produced over $20 million in silver ore until 1896, when silver began to lose its value. Walter Knott (of Knott’s Berry Farm fame) purchased the abandoned town in 1951 and restored all but five original buildings to look as they did in the 1880's. Calico received State Historical Landmark 782 and in 2005 was proclaimed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to be California's Silver Rush Ghost Town.

Many of the buildings were instantly recognizable to me, as it appeared that they hadn’t changed much from the vintage images I had collected over the years.

The town was festively decorated for Halloween, with plenty of elements from “The Nightmare Before Christmas.”

More to come, as right now I want to enjoy my day off. Happy Veterans Day! Many thanks to those who served this country over the years to protect our freedoms. Let’s hope we can continue to enjoy them.

See more Calico Ghost Town photos at my main website.