I awoke this morning in beautiful Borrego Springs 
to my normal routine of walking the boys, having breakfast, and preparing for the days videoing and site-seeing. First I consult my notebook to see which cities and sites are on the agenda for the day. Then I consult Ormsby via his book, The Butterfield Overland Mail Route.
Notebook, check. Ormsby...uh oh...I couldn't find Ormsby! I searched in all the usual spots but with only 24 feet of space there aren't that many spots to look in. No luck. Ormsby was nowhere to be found.
So, I thought back to the last time I had seen the book, Box Canyon. While filming at Box Canyon I laid the book on top of the site marker. Oh, man! Without Ormsby I had no guide. I wouldn't know what had happened on that first historic journey.
I had to make a decision, continue without him or go back. No brainer. I had to go back and retrieve Ormsby.
I feared that I wouldn't find the book because the wind had been blowing so hard the past 24 hours. I just knew the book had blown off the marker, and I would have to search the vast canyon.
The trip back to Box Canyon took nearly an hour. As I hiked to the marker, I strained my eyes in anticipation of seeing the book atop the marker undisturbed. It wasn't there.
But, as I approached the marker I discovered to my joy and amazement that the book was indeed there — it had been placed sacrificially below the marker. Not only that, but some kind soul (Ormsby's perhaps) had placed stones on top of it to keep it from blowing away!
Ormsby, I think, must be watching over my journey.
Since I was already there, I decided to re-shoot some of the Box Canyon video (hence the "costume" change you may notice during the Box Canyon footage). Then it was off to the Oak Grove Station in route to Los Angeles.
Oak Grove, located between Borrego Springs and Temecula , is an interesting site. The name, as Ormsby states, comes from the large oaks surrounding the area. One oak just in front of the building must be over 200 years old based on its size. How amazing to think that this oak may have been there providing shade for Ormsby as it is to me today, 150 years later?
The building itself is a wood structure — the first one not made of adobe I've seen since I left Arkansas. And it is the only station still standing on the entire route. As I peered through the windows, it occurred to me that it must have been used as a museum of sorts at some point. The rooms were decorated and staged with furniture from the period, and in one of the rooms were these strange looking mannequins dressed in period attire.
After a quick exploration of the old station, I was off to Los Angeles for an overnight stay at Juan's house. Juan, you may remember, is the curator of the Wells Fargo History Museum there and my partner on this leg of the journey. As L.A. is his home, he was particularly glad to arrive and looking forward to a night in his own bed.
I still had 4 days to go before I was able to sleep in my own bed again. But, at least I had my old friend Ormsby with me again.
The Mail and the book are safe and sound and just four days from San Francisco!
November 24, 2008 11:11 AM | Reply
Love this one with the old stagecoach tracks still visible in the hard packed dirt! That is really amazing. It is great to know that there are still places where big developments haven't taken over the land.
December 4, 2008 9:29 AM | Reply
I can feel the panic from not having the book. Great blog. What day of the trip is this?
December 4, 2008 2:03 PM | Reply
Thanks for the comments! Yes Carlos it is amazing to still be able to see the tracks in the dirt from the stage. You can almost hear the clanging and banging as the stage made it's way down the tracks. Meg74 I can tell you I WAS panicked when I awoke and discovered Ormsby was missing. Luckily someone came along and put those rocks on it. Otherwise I think the strong winds would have blown it down the canyon. This was Oct. 7th I believe Day 21. Stay tuned more to come!!
May 13, 2009 2:41 PM | Reply
This was great...makes me want to make the ormsby trip.