Next stop was Balarat. This is crazy Charlie Manson's Power Wagon. His desert hideaway is just east of here in Goler Wash: Fuel was becoming an issue, so we headed back north. We bumped into these guys along the road; Life is tough out there. This terrazzo is the "soil" in that area; The last stop for the day was the town of "Skidoo" as in the early 20th century saying, "23 Skidoo" meaning "leave", or "get out of here". That was supposed to be the town's name, but the post office balked at the number in the name of the town, so the 23 was dropped. With the exception of broken glass and a few chunks of metal there is no sign that any town ever existed here. This was Main Street at one time: Tomorrow, day two; The Butte Valley...
I was at the CM Goler wash hangout when there were still food stuffs in the cupboards. It was really cool. I heard awhile back that the place was burned down. Great pictures makes me think about going back. If I was only 500 miles away it would be more likely that it would happen.
Rough out there for sure ... Those donkeys might just be your ticket home some day I just saw a charlie interview and he says he wants out now ... Not on parole, just let go ...
