Seven Magic Mountains, Las Vegas

A virtual rock landscape of colors

My wonderful wife, Laureen, and I were visiting Las Vegas, when a guest at the Venetian asked me if we had stopped along Interstate 15 to check out the Seven Magic Mountains.

“They are a work of art,” the man dressed in puffy sleeves and tights told me. “We stop there every time we come to Las Vegas.”

Magic mushrooms I remembered. A great time to sit back and contemplate the events of the world while studying one’s navel. But magic mountains?

“Dude,” a long haired-hippie-dude may have said. “These shrooms are like opening up the universe to me, dude.”

If I had been there, I may have replied, “Dude, you look like a walrus but with a tighter mustache.”

Of course, the above is just for giggles. I have never delved into the world of drugs. Though there was a time when possibly I ingested something innocently and two days later round up at Machu Picchu in Peru, where a Shaman had tattooed a map of the lost Incan treasure on my hairy back. 

“It’s a map,” I confessed to Laureen.

“They are freckles,” she stated with a roll of the eyes that could be felt in Cuzco,

Sure, then why did I keep getting emails from the History Channel from lost treasure hunters?

So, on the way out of Sin City, we decided to pull off of Interstate 15 and investigate all the hubbub of these Seven Magic Mountains.

“Should have stopped by a CBD store for this experience,” I said to Laureen.

“Put the car in park.”

The free parking lot was full. I had to wait until a family decided they had had enough of the Seven Magic Mushrooms - oops, the Seven Magic Mountains -- before a spot was available,

The father looked at his wife, who was jockeying the horde of kids into the minivan, “I swear I saw Captain Kirk standing by one of the tall rock sculptures. He spoke to me.”

With the last child seatbelt fastened, the wife calmly took the vehicle's keys and instructed her husband there would be no intergalactic travel that day.

Running parallel with Interstate 15, approximately a dozen miles south of Las Vegas,this is a sight to behold. Huge multi-colored boulders stacked on top of each other towering over the flat desert landscape. 

It's not just the juxtaposition of these structures that makes a traveler ponder how this could be created but the gorgeously vivid colors painted on each boulder is an artistic palette.

There were so many folks wandering around the boulder works of art that I lost count.

There were Hindus, Taosists, Shintos, Christians, Islamists, and those with tin foil wrapped around their craniums.

Yes, being a travel writer I asked each person where they were from. I suddenly stopped when a man stated that he had just been released from San Quentin.

“The teardrop tats beneath my eyes,” he said, “Nothing to concern yourself with”

It was a place for all, and all were welcomed,

The creator of this field of creativity was a Swiss artist by the name of Ugo Rondinone. His dream was to explore, ‘a creative expression of human presence in the desert. Seven Magic Mountains punctuates the Mojave with a poetic burst of form and color.’

In the middle of nowhere, Ugo decided to stack boulders, some over 30 feet tall, to allow travelers enroute along Interstate 15 to share in his vision in the Nevada desert.

It should be noted that the work was funded and sponsored by the Nevada Museum of Art, along with other non-profit groups who were very excited to be part of the largest land based art installation in the United States in the last 40 years. 

I really had no idea what a land based art installation was until I asked Mr. Google. But, it is really a cool thing to experience up close and personal.

The process was not easy when the art project began in December of 2015. Huge boulders were brought to the location and then were carefully cut into smaller boulders to Rondinone’s exact specifications.

Once the large boulders were cut into the correct size according to the artist, holes were then cut through to allow each boulder to sit atop another by the use of metal rods and bolts to ensure they would not topple over on visitors.

Nothing worse than having a 40,000 pound neon pink boulder falling on a guy taking a selfie at the bottom of a column of boulders,

“Well, that little incident won’t be staying in Vegas,” a tourist may note after watching a six foot male squashed into the desert floor. 

The project took an entire army of engineers, metal workers, boulder cutters, crane operators and other construction experts to complete Rondinone’s dream.

The motto of how it was all put together was simple - ‘One boulder at a time.’ And with 33 boulders, one weighing nearly 56,000 pounds, that was a lot of combined effort and talent.

What stands out, besides the feeling a person may be looking at a modern day StoneHenge painted in various colors of day-glo paint, is the precarious-appearing boulders stacked on top of each other. They seem to be defying gravity for the onlooker.

Being situated near Jean Dry Lake, within the Ivanpah Valley, winds howl through the flatness of the desert like folks running through the front doors of Walmart on a Black Friday sale.

“Watch out Ethel,” a husband may say to his wife. “The winds are blowing nigh-on three hundred miles per hour. And don’t forget that they have big screens for a buck today.”

The amount of engineering genius it took to ensure those boulders don’t fall over in the extreme desert conditions is amazing. 

A true balancing act

With the backdrop of the Sheep Mountains, the Seven Magic Mountains is the perfect opportunity for both amateur and professional photographers to get out and about for that perfect frame.

Per the Seven Magic Mountains website, ‘the installation creates a dialogue between the natural and the artificial, the rural and the urban. The natural form of the rocks contrasts with their artificial paint, symbolizing the intersection of human culture with the natural world,’

That was cranium deep.

When asked, Rondinone stated, “I just had some time on my hands and a bunch of boulders in the front yard, and I thought - why not?”

Actually, he did not say that.

Situated on Bureau of Land Management land, the artist was allowed just two years to display the brightly painted seven stacked columns of boulder,s but after it was completed in 2016, the response was so positive that the BLM allowed another couple of years to pass, Now, after having nearly 1,000 visitors per day touring the land based art installation, that has been extended through 2027.

As Laureen and I wandered around the luminescent boulder creations, we suspected this timeline may be extended as well. It is free to park, free to enter, and free to experience the wonders of the desert suddenly alive with tall beautifully sculptured pieces of art.

John R Beyer, loving the shades of colors

I took a photo of Laureen near a vivid purple boulder. Laureen took a photo of me standing by a bright blue boulder. Laureen was asked to take photos from strangers as they posed with their families in front of various colored boulders.

Laureen Beyer, holding up a stack of brightly painted rocks

I offered, but with a smile the strangers declined and handed their phones and cameras to Laureen. I wasn’t upset by the slight, since I did not want to take their dumb photos in the first place.

With the hundreds of people walking about the exhibit, it was refreshing to see all the smiles, the wonder in voices, and the joy people felt by just being in the center of this magical art destination.

As I mentioned, every color, every nationality, every creed was on display with the folks visiting and enjoying one man’s vision to bring us all together at the Seven Magic Mountains.

Lots of visitors each and every day

We talked to each other, pointed this and that out to each other, and smiled goodbye when we left. It was an enriching experience and one that should perhaps be duplicated worldwide.

That would be nice.

For more information:  https://sevenmagicmountains.com

John can be contacted at beyersbyways@gmail.com

Cantil - still thriving

 Back in February, I wrote a piece concerning a little town that no longer exists.

The name of this place was Saltdale. This town once existed in the Mojave Desert, on the edges of the now dry Koehn Lake. It was one of those stories that made me ponder as I walked across the mucky semi-wet salt beds checking out this abandoned house and that sinking structure in the salt.

Often I travel with my beautiful wife, Laureen, or perhaps with my buddy Paul, on these adventures. But many times I travel alone, this was one of those times.

As I stood alone, looking out across the vast stretches of land that lay before me, I could almost hear machinery running, vehicles driving here and there, people talking, and children playing. 

It was surreal. 

Recently, I received an email from a wonderful young lady by the name of Becky Gallen who had read the piece and enjoyed it.

That piqued my interest right away – she liked my story. A writer’s dream – someone who enjoyed what I wrote. 

Turns out that another small town, that still has a few residents, is just six miles to the west of the Saltdale I wrote about. It was once a thriving town of families, businesses, and the like – by the name of Cantil.

Cantil is an unincorporated community located in Kern County in the Fremont Valley.

Becky informed me that her 95-year-old mother still lived in Cantil – in the house that she and her husband, Bill, shared.

Like many small towns located across the vast Mojave Desert, there doesn’t appear to be much to see. But when a person looks closer, there is.

What I learned after briefly communicating with Becky reinforced what I had assumed about these small towns: some gone with the wind and some barely hanging on, were once vibrant communities with fascinating citizens.

Becky had shown my article about Saltdale to her mother. Becky’s mother told her that more than once over the years someone would drive out into the wet and mucky surface on Koehn Lake and get their vehicles stuck, hopelessly stuck.

Koehn Lake

I knew the feeling, since I had nearly lost a boot in the muck on my visit, and I don’t quite weigh as much as a pick-up truck – thank you Nutri-System.

The two communities of Saltdale and Cantil were linked with all the salt production occurring in and near Koehn Lake.

Of course, when the mining panned out so did Saltdale. Cantil is still viable, though not as thriving as it had once been.

Cantil was founded as a railroad station for the Nevada and California Railroad Company back in either 1908 or 1909. More tracks were needed from Owens Lake to Mojave to deliver minerals and other goods being mined or produced in the Owens Valley for consumers to the ever-growing town of Los Angeles.

Since it was the custom for railroads to follow the alphabet when naming stations, it was the letter C’s turn.

“Let’s call it Cansas,” one railroader suggested.

“No,” replied another worker. “How about Cornswabble?”

The lead railroader shook his head. “We’ll call it Cantil. After all the red cliffs we see in the nearby mountains which remind me of the time I spent in Spain.”

“Show off,” a railroad hobo stated from beneath a cattle car.

So, Cantil was off and running.

When I visited Saltdale, I was moved to write about it - nothing there but a large dry lake with lots of muck to sink into among the dilapidated buildings and other structures.

At first, I thought there wasn’t a story to be written, but I was wrong. People survived, thrived, and enjoyed living here. 

As they did in the neighboring town of Cantil.

In fact, Cantil and many other small communities played a major role in providing water and other goods for travelers across the Mojave Desert.

In a government publication, Routes To Desert Watering Places In The Mohave Desert Region, California, dated 1921, there is a section which show the importance of such a guide would be for those adventurers.

‘Four Roads come in on right (southeast) from Cantil (1.5 miles) and on left (northwest) from Redrock Canyon. Just beyond, cross old railroad grade. 26.9 Koehn and Cane Spring. Water at ranch house.’

When a place can supply water to a thirsty person, it is on the map!

Most of the towns I visit in the hinterlands are ghost towns. Of course, I have never actually seen any ghosts in these towns - a strange sensation or a sound I can’t quite recognize, but no white sheets floating effortlessly through the air giving me the heebie-jeebies.

Per Merriam-Webster, a ghost town was once a flourishing town wholly or nearly deserted usually as a result of the exhaustion of some natural resource.

In the cases of both Saltdale and Cantil, that would be mainly the production of salt. It ran out and so did most of the town life.

Turns out, the small burg of Cantil had a lot of life at one time.

Becky shared a book her mother published in 2021, ‘From Sunrise to Sunset,’ about her life while living in Cantil.

Cantil never grew into a hustling-bustling cosmopolitan city. No, it was a small place but with the other small communities nearby like Saltdale, Mojave, and Randsburg, it was a busy place.

Neighbors would come from all over for holidays, special events, and other festivities and fill the town with laughter and joy.

I liked that. I liked the fact that I was actually able to touch the soul of those folks who had lived in such places. Sometimes traveling as I do in remote areas, I do not get to see what came before, and am stuck looking across at what is no longer.

When I drove through Cantil, I saw houses half-buried in sand, abandoned and left to the brutality of time.

These homes were once part of Rancho Seco, but locals knew the place as Jack Rabbit Acres. It had been a large ranch with employees living in apartments not far from the homes I had seen sinking into the sand. 

The ranch was eventually abandoned and some sheep herders brought in their flocks who ate away the grass to the level of the ground. Combine that with the harsh winds, the topsoil soon was gone, leaving just a sandy floor.

Not far away is Red Rock School. It sits behind a chain link fence nowadays. Desks and chairs sitting out in the yard. No classes, no students, no teachers, and no tardy bells.

The school was built in 1918, expanded in 1937 and again in 1965, for the growing number of students coming in from the nearby communities.

The school closed its doors in 2008. There are continuing discussions with the school board about its ultimate future.

Walking through a couple of streets, I noticed houses with people in the yards taking care of this or that.

I did not bother them. I was a stranger, and they were doing what they were doing. It did not seem appropriate at the time.

I was simply wandering and wondering what life had been like when this town was booming.

It is not like the town is completely unknown though. The 1932 film starring Boris Karloff, The Mummy, was filmed in Cantil as were dozens of other films shot in Red Rock Canyon a short distance to the northwest. 

In October of 2014, the Virgin Galactic Spaceship Two, VSS Enterprise crashed in the Mojave Desert not far away, sadly killing one of the pilots.

The automotive company, Honda has a proving center not far away where all the brand-new cars that the organization wants to market go through all sorts of tests. Sort of like studying for the SAT but with more horsepower.

Honda proving center

It is a very hush-hush place and the security is extremely tight while the auto manufacturer does what they do with the prototypes.

Years ago, I tried to sneak a peek into what was going on there and since the fences were tall, I took a hot air balloon intending to fly silently above the proving grounds. Unbeknownst to me, the first thing a ballooner needs to check is the wind direction before leaving the ground.

Laureen had to pick me up in Seattle. 

So, my venture through Cantil was not what I thought, but I knew a story was there that needed to be written.

A story of family, friends, community and all the rest that makes a place worth living. Sure, there may not be much now, but it was surely a place to behold at one time.

Memories should be enjoyed, and not forgotten.

Perhaps driving through such places like Cantil would instill a stronger sense of community in all of us.

Might not be a bad idea.

Summer is Coming

The days are getting longer and the weather is warming toward that coming summer right around the corner. Soon it will be time for jumping into the water to cool off and have some fun.

Laureen practicing for summer fun on John's jet ski - what? She has her own!

In the Southwest, where John and Laureen reside, one of wettest and coolest places to spend time away from their primary residence is the Colorado River.

The Colorado River - Laughlin on the left and Bullhead City on the right

The location of miles and miles of beaches, romantic coves, startling natural beauty, and the sort of outdoor activity which makes one forget that they had just put in 40 hours at the office the previous week.

"Hey, get a cove."

The majestic 1,450 mile long Colorado River winds its way from the central Rocky Mountains southward all the way to the Gulf of California between the states of Sonora and Baja California in Mexico.

The Colorado River meeting the Gulf of California 

Over 40 million people depend on this clear liquid elixir to sustain their life: be that for drinking, washing, traveling, agriculture, power, or simply playing.

At J and L, we truly enjoy the aspect of playing on the Colorado River and the man-made reservoirs created from the ever flowing waters.

One such reservoir, located in the Black Canyon area between Nevada and Arizona is Lake Mead, created by the building of the Hoover Dam. Originally known as Boulder Dam, the name was changed by the U.S. Congress in 1947 to honor President Herbert Hoover. This dam is approximately 37 miles southeast from Las Vegas, making it an easy day's venture for some water festivities.

Hoover Dam holds back the waters of the Colorado River creating the largest reservoir in the United States. This body of water is named for the commissioner of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, Elwood Mead. Mead ran the department during the time the dam was under construction from 1931 until 1935. Construction at the time was a thing to marvel at as the dam is completely made of concrete, making it one of the largest projects of its time.

A massive undertaking for the 1930's - shoot, at any time for that matter

The finished project - gorgeous and patriotic

The man behind the mission - Dr. Elwood Mead

Lake Mead is 112 miles long and covers more than 247 square miles of surface area. That is one big lake and just south of the dam are the cities of Bullhead City, Arizona and Laughlin, Nevada. Both are magnets for visitors in their own unique ways.

Lake Mead as seen from space - good size patch of water

Each year, Bullhead City has tens of thousands of people coming to play on the waters of the Colorado River and Lake Mead. Locals and visitors alike enjoy boats, jet skis, rafts, or simply lounging in the coolness of the waters while soaking up sunshine.

That's a lot of floaters - uh, people floating on the river near Laughlin

Laughlin is a gambling mecca for those willing to take risks off the water for possible dreams of untold fortunes. For those not wishing to part with money on the draw of the cards can attend the many concert venues around the city, eat at the many restaurants, lay by resort pools, or simply stroll the river walk in front of the many hotels and casinos along the river bank.

Laughlin river walk heading south

Now, a down side with the progress of storing water and creating hydro-electric power by building Hoover Dam was the tragedy of losing some small towns along the shoreline. Communities like St. Thomas, Callville, and Rioville eventually slipped beneath the rising waters of Lake Mead forever.
Well, not forever, because every once in a while during drought years, boaters can actually see the remains of the towns just below the surface of the waters. Eerily spooky but COOL in a sick sort of way.

Speaking of ‘spooky’ – there’s also a Boeing B-29 Superfortress which crashed in the lake in 1948 during a test of a prototype missile guidance system known as the “suntracker” and sank to the bottom. And that bottom could be a long way down beneath the surface since Lake Mead goes from sandal depth to over 500 feet deep.

Actual photo of cockpit from the B-29 on bottom of Lake Mead

That is some serious depth for a reservoir in the middle of the Mohave Desert.

Being water lovers, John and Laureen enjoy both the Colorado River and Lake Mead but generally spend more time at the lake during the ‘boating’ season. With over 759 miles of shoreline, countless coves to explore, islands to picnic on, and the vast variety of both animal life and plant life the lake holds anything an adventurer could want.

Coves to explore by watercraft or beach and do it by foot

Cactus growing out of a rock - life will find a way

Being honest to goodness Jimmy Buffet fans – both Laureen and John enjoyed his single Somethin’‘Bout a Boat from the 2013 album, Songs From St. Somewhere.

Somethin' 'bout a boat
Sittin' on the sea
Out there in the wind
Floatin' on the free
Take you 'round the world

Of course, there should be a sequel, if that’s possible with music, maybe something like Somethin’‘Bout the Water.

Without water, a boat would simply be a large coaster in which to place drinks on in the sand.

Somethin' Bout the Water - any water would help these boats

Most of the time while staying in Bullhead City, Laureen and John use jet skis. Easy to transport and quick on the water.

A little donut action is always fun on the water

A wave of  'yeah, that was fun!'

Laureen revving up to speed for the boating season on her own jet ski

Our good friend, Kaye Randall, refers to jet skis and ‘motorcycles for the water.’ We can’t disagree with her since once the throttle is squeezed and the hull levels, there is no better feeling as the freedom one gets from skipping across the surface of the waves.

Kaye's first time on a jet ski - like a natural

Kaye coming in for a landing

It doesn’t matter if it’s ocean, sea, lake, or river – as long as there is water to dance across who could have a bad time? But a word of caution, never take the waters for granted.

Well, perhaps these boaters did have a bad time, but it is rare

For further information:

Jimmy Buffet - 'Somethin''Bout a Boat' - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9g8LiL0ubo
Lake Mead - https://www.nps.gov/lake/planyourvisit/index.htm
Bullhead City - https://www.bullheadcity.com/
Laughlin - https://www.visitlaughlin.com/