Blast to the Past..Part 3..Mojave or Bust !!

Escape to Mojave

Something happened on one of our visits to Efrain's house in Mojave that would change our lives for good !! During the work week i was very busy and focused on my responsibilities at the restaurant ..but when mid week approached ..I started anticipating our next visit to the High Desert ..by this time my wife and i were for the most part convinced that moving our family out of the big city was the best thing we could do for our children. So we set our minds on making the move a reality ! But there was only one problem ! My wife and I decided early on that we would concentrate on.. and dedicate our energies to providing for our children's physical , emotional, and spiritual needs. That meant living a simple life and living within our means and not overly complicating our lives by focusing on two careers ..so i would be the main bread winner and she would focus all her attention on making a home for our family ..( this may sound a little old fashion ..but believe me ..it work's !!...but it must be a team effort )..Now the problem was ..we had nowhere to live ..where would we stay ? ..what about finding a job in a small town ? Where will our children attend school ? We had made it known to our family ( I have my mother three sisters and one brother..my wife has her mother and three sisters which  live in El Salvador and she has two younger brothers that live in Oregon ) that our intentions were to move our family out of  Los Angeles and to the High Desert !!..."So what kind of work will you do there in the desert ?.... kill rattlesnakes" ?... "What will your kids do for fun ?...chase lizards "? ...What will you guys do when you get bored ? ...listen to coyotes sing ? These were some of the silly questions we had to deal with !! not to mention the comments like ..."Ok we"ll give you six months and you"ll be back !"..When your wife realizes that there are no malls or big shopping centers nearby ..watch !..you"ll come crawling back quick "! "Your kids will resent you for taking them away from their school and friends and further away from Disneyland "! ...Well we didn't let those kinds of comments change our plans or discourage us...we were determined to provide a better environment for our children. Well we continued to hope that somehow we would find a place to settle.

Well by this time... you might be asking ...what exactly happened that changed our lives for good ?..It was in the early part of 1988 on one of our weekend get aways to my brother's house... Efrain knew that we were excited about our plans to move to Mojave; thats why in every visit  the subject always came up..but this time it was different !! While we were in Los Angeles during the work week..my brother in his daily conversations with friends and neighbors had heard that the old Kenny Langston's place was for sale ! Wow ! finally a ray of hope !! My brother and his wife Irma and their two kids ..Efrain Jr. and Jared.. lived on five acres located about eight miles northwest of the small town of Mojave.. I really loved  the location of his house with it's spectacular panoramic view of the Antelope Valley and surrounding areas.. 

Wow! what a view ! I could never get enough.. The breathtaking vistas were possible due to the fact the he was  right on the slope of the most eastern part of the Sierra Nevada mountain range at an altitude of about 3,500 feet ..over looking the town of  Mojave and beyond ! Well ..just due south of his place..down the hill aways ..was old Kenny Langston's place..located in a little settlement five miles due north west of Mojave called Cache Creek..Cache Creek is a dry wash which carries flash floods from Tehachapi, California,  into the Mojave desert during infrequent rains. This settlement is known for it's simple rock houses that were built many years ago..some of which were built by Homer Hanson  the founder of this settlement back in the early fifties  ..most are occupied but a few remain half built. The main road that runs the length of the community is named Rock House Road.  

Well as you can imagine we were very anxious to see Kenny Langston's place..So we made plans that very same day to pay Mr Langston a visit. As we drove up and entered his drive way..a shirtless muscular looking man with black thick rimmed eye glasses ..suddenly appeared from behind a large desert bambo bush.. He was an old rugged man..tall and slender.. with skin that resembled well worn leather..the features on his wrinkly face looked like they had been carved by the fierce winds that barrel down the Tehachapi Pass.  He lived on a two and a half acre parcel in an old dilapidated run down 21 foot travel trailer (this thing had seen it's day's ! ) Well we introduced ourselves ..and told him that we had heard that his parcel was for sale .."yup it is" he said in a very low tone almost like if he was whispering.. and then without prompting ..he began to explain how his mother who lived in a trailer park in the city of  Bakersfield ..about 40 miles west of here ..had taken ill and was in need of constant medical attention..In my mind it was kind of hard to believe that his mother was still alive ..this old man had to be at least 80 years old !

He was living on a small pension that he received after retiring from Portland Cement ..( one of the largest employers in the Mojave area )  As he continued to lament his condition...(after a while i stopped listening to him ..but still pretending to be engaged in this one way conversation ! ) my attention was now focused on what was around me ..They say that one man's junk is another man's treasure !!  Well ..you had to really use some logic to convince me that there was any treasure here .JUNK ! everywhere !! ( hum i mean ... treasure !) Have you ever seen a house from a distance ?...and every  thing looks normal ,nothing out of the ordinary..until you get closer !! then it becomes obvious...the house is falling apart and it stinks ! Mr Langston pointed to his trailer where he lived and invited us in to get out of the blazing sun..well i could never have prepared my self for what i was about to see !!!

Stay tuned for the rest of the story !!