When we visited the Yucca Valley just a week ago, Paulette noticed a few shops that she thought she might like to check out sometime. So, with no other great plans for Friday, we drove up into the mountains for another visit. I remembered our last trip well as there was snow everywhere and the temperature dropped to 34F.
| Pioneer Town on Jan. 22 | Pioneer Town on Jan. 29 |
 |  |
It was a lot better yesterday, but still pretty cool at 50F. It seemed twice as cold as that as we’re now used to temperatures in the 70’s and 80’s in the Palm Springs area. When we got to Yucca Valley, after a 30 minute drive up the 29 Palms Hwy, I dropped Paulette off in the main shopping area and I headed up to Pioneer Town with my faithful companions Molly and Rylie.
The “Jack Cass Saloon” is right at one end of Main St.
All signs of the snow that had blanketed Pioneer Town just last Friday, Jan. 22nd, were gone. It wasn’t green though, the whole landscape there was basically sand and mud colored with bare trees and the odd Joshua Tree and cactus. It had a rather desolate feel about it. That desolate feeling was confirmed when we parked and walked into the main street of Pioneer Town – it appeared to be a “ghost town” as nobody was there.
Thought I’d try a little Picasa editing to give a few pics a “Sepia” tone
I gathered from looking at the signs in some of the stores and shops that Pioneer Town is pretty much a summer tourist attraction. I saw a few ice cream shop signs and ads for the main street gunfight but nothing else other than a few stray dogs. I did manage to find a pamphlet outlining the history of Pioneer Town and how it came to be, and that was kind of interesting.
This is the main part of town – the bank, livery and jail
Pioneer Town was built in 1946 as a movie set for western movies. It was designed to provide a place for the actors to live, and at the same time to have their homes used as part of the movie set.
Every old western town needs a good bathhouse!
A number of Westerns and early television shows were filmed in Pioneer Town, including The Cisco Kid and Edgar Buchanan's Judge Roy Bean. Roy Rogers, Dick Curtis, and Russell Hayden were among the original developers and investors, and Gene Autry frequently taped his show at the six-lane Pioneer Bowl bowling alley.
Looks like Pioneer Town needs a little road work before summer!
Main St. also seemed to be suffering the effects of the latest rain storm that swept through the area last week. There is now a ravine about 8” deep and 6 ft. wide running the whole length of the town – it must have been a raging river during the height of the rainstorms.
I think I must have seen this jail on a few old Cisco Kid TV shows!
I walked up and down Main St. in Pioneer Town and thought it looked pretty authentic. The buildings all had that old, ramshackle look and feel about them and the steps, where there were any, were just crooked enough to look like they’d been there for over a 100 years.
I bought these perfect beef tenderloin steaks at Costco
By the time we got back to Yucca Valley, Paulette was finished shopping, so we just drove back to our RV Park and spent the rest of the afternoon there. I barbequed a couple of beef tenderloin steaks last night while Paulette made a salad and 2 baked potatoes. It was a great dinner and a perfect end to a very nice week.
Have a great Saturday, and thanks again for visiting!
0 comments:
Post a Comment