Two years ago today: Ghost town!

Two years today we went to Calico Ghost Town bear Barstow, Calif.!

I remember that at the time you were really into cowboys and the Old West. So going to the Old West mining town turned tourist attraction only made sense!

We went on a small train ride, toured a mine shaft, panned for gold, and looked in various shops for cool cowboy stuff. We also enjoyed an ice cream cone!

Here's a whole bunch of pictures from our adventure!

Hiking Rainbow Basin in 2009

Four years ago today we hiked through Rainbow National Natural Landmark near Barstow, Calif.

I remember the trip being a long drive for you - we probably spent an hour and 15 minutes in the Jeep before arriving. But arrive we did - and what an impressive site!

Wind and rain over a virtually plant-less terrain carved Rainbow Basin's mudstone and other sediment layers into a variety of odd and fantastic shapes. It's a little known national park unit.

I also remember that you brought your little yellow sand shovels along. Perhaps because I had brought a geological hammer, you felt like you should have some tools as well!

Here are a collection of pictures from our adventure!

Touring a small aerospace museum

Examining an early protoype for a rocket.

Two years ago today we toured the Colonel Vernon P. Saxon Jr. Aerospace Museum in Boron, Calif. We were on our way to the Calico Ghost Town outside of Barstow and stopped for a little car break.

The museum was named for a local Air Force guy who worked on a lot of intersteing experimental projects at Edwards Air Force Base, which Boron is on the north side of. One of the projects was the same kind of aircraft that Steve Austin would later be shown flying (and crashing) in the opening sequence of "The Six Million Dollar Man" television show.

You had quite the imagination and wanted to play with all of the exhibits, pretending we were in the Air Force or on rocketships and that our stuff was broken and needed to be fixed or we'd crash!

Here's a whole bunch of pictures from our adventure!

Our first visit to Calico Ghost Town

Four years ago today we went to Calico Ghost Town near Bastow, Calif., for the very first time! It's an Old West town that used to actually exist near a silver mine!

We went on a train ride near the mines. Afterward, we went into the mines themselves!

Then we went shopping at the various stores. You also got to pan for gold! You got about a thimble-full.

Following our visit, we went shopping at the outlet stores in Barstow. I remember buying you whole bunch of new summer clothes!

Here's a whole bunch of pictures from our adventure!

Recall visiting Calico Ghost Town?

A year ago today we visited Calico Ghost Town near Barstow, Calif. You really were into the Old West the winter of 2011-12, and with us living near so many great cowboy sites, I took you to a few of the better ones. The ghost town definitely was among your favorites.

During the visit, we took a train ride around the mining area and then went down into an actual mine. Later, we stopped for some root beer, enjoying it at an old style saloon. You also panned for gold, as we went through all of the various shops and attractions there.

At the end of the trip, we stopped for ice cream. If I recall correctly, we also got you a package of toy cowboys and Indians, which were sort of like toy Army men.

Here's a whole bunch of pictures from our fun day!