The Mystery Of Cady Canyon

[teotwaki]

Dave Barton not only created a great mapset for exploring the Mojave Road (http://www.davebarton.com/mojave), he also found something really odd in one satellite image.

It is hidden away in a remote canyon near Cady Mountain. Lots of speculation as to the purpose of the location has ensued so I wrote to Dave and asked him if anyone had solved the mystery.
Turns out no one had so I decided to perform some research, review Dave's mapset and put together a day trip to the area.

http://suntothenorth.blogspot.com/2017/05/the-mystery-of-cady-canyon.html

I contacted some friends and soon we had a small group ready to head out on May 20th. Leaving Orange County at 6 AM we briefly stopped for gas outside of Barstow and were soon at Afton Canyon, ready to begin our adventure!

Right off the bat we had a quick Mojave River car wash before going further into the canyon

 

[teotwaki]

http://suntothenorth.blogspot.com/2017/05/the-mystery-of-cady-canyon.html

Soon we were enjoying the scenery that makes some call this area the "Grand Canyon" of the Mojave

Hidden away in those eroded canyon walls are some great slot canyons

Right after that we took the de rigueur Union Pacific Railroad bridge photo :elkgrin:

 

[teotwaki]

http://suntothenorth.blogspot.com/2017/05/the-mystery-of-cady-canyon.html


Soon we were back on the hunt for the Mystery Site, traversing faint jeep trails across the alluvial fans and narrow canyons

I kept imagining we'd run into these crazy folks in the ever narrower canyon...... :Wow1:

After a lot of careful driving up a fast vanishing trail we found this!

 

[teotwaki]

http://suntothenorth.blogspot.com/2017/05/the-mystery-of-cady-canyon.html

A 1950's fallout shelter?

A refueling station for secret government flying machines?

Collecting quarks, meteorites and cosmic rays?

 

[teotwaki]

http://suntothenorth.blogspot.com/2017/05/the-mystery-of-cady-canyon.html

All kidding aside, my research had painted a picture of a group of very dedicated volunteers who build and maintain a series of rainwater collection systems to provide water for bighorn sheep and other wildlife. The group is known as the Society For The Preservation Of Bighorn Sheep. These water storage systems are know as "guzzlers" and are strategically located along the desert migration route of the bighorn sheep.

This trip gave me a chance to explore an often overlooked corner of the Mojave, discover a group of wildlife enthusiasts and finally get a chance to see the Mysterious Mojave Megaphone.

Some think it is some sort of homage to the old Tidewater & Tonapah Railroad whose abandoned rail bed runs nearby. I propose it was created by an artistic Army prankster at Fort Irwin who employed a helicopter to lift the 10 foot long and very heavy steel sculpture up into place. Makes as much sense as all of the other goofy theories! The galvanized pipe and rebar used for mounting date this item as being constructed no earlier than the 1950's.

 

[Cummins_expo]

You should of let the tin foil fly before you gave away the answer Great report

 

[teotwaki]

You should of let the tin foil fly before you gave away the answer Great report

THANKS! Dave Barton already posted my email to him at his site so the tinfoil cow has escaped the conspiracy barn. :sombrero:

 

[McBride]

Sounds like a nice adventure. Out here in NM we call that a "trick tank". They work well.

 

[jd2365]

Tom Mahood, the guy who found the Death Valley German Tourist, found one of the Big Horn Sheep guzzlers in Joshua Tree.

http://www.otherhand.org/home-page/...-best-guzzler-ever-joshua-tree-national-park/

 

[teotwaki]

Sounds like a nice adventure. Out here in NM we call that a "trick tank". They work well.

Interesting terminology and rain collector designs!

Found these mentions: http://thenewmexicosportsman.com/

NECF-2015-401 La Jara Trick Tanks for Elk, Ph. 2 and 3 Install two (2) 2500 gallon galvanized inverted umbrella trick and 2.5 acre enclosure. NEPA is Cleared

NEK-2015-001 K-66 Trick Tank for Deer Install 600 gallon fiberglass storage tank, float box, drinker, catchment roof, and 1/2 acre fenced exclosure. Kiowa already has the storage tank, float box, and drinker. HSP would provide funds for fencing and catchment roof materials.

__________________________________________________________

These are Russian trick tanks :elkgrin:

 

[teotwaki]

Tom Mahood, the guy who found the Death Valley German Tourist, found one of the Big Horn Sheep guzzlers in Joshua Tree.

http://www.otherhand.org/home-page/...-best-guzzler-ever-joshua-tree-national-park/

Tom is a sort of genius masquerading as an adventurer. He is often motivated by odd but intense mental challenges. Two examples of his inner genius escaping his control:

http://www.otherhand.org/home-page/...in-physics-at-cal-state-university-fullerton/
http://www.otherhand.org/home-page/physics/ligo-days-dry-****ty-nights/

I have had the pleasure of being included in a few of his adventures which are not listed on Bluefire but were great fun.

 

[haven]

Got a "404 - page not found" error on that second link. Interesting stories!

 

[teotwaki]

Got a "404 - page not found" error on that second link. Interesting stories!

Start on this page for the stories related to his pursuit of physics http://www.otherhand.org/home-page/physics/

 

[goin camping]

I apologize if this is a thread jack but...

While not a member of the Sheep Society, I have volunteered over the years to maintain some of their guzzlers. What a blast it has been. My name is on a list the Rangers carry. So when they stop me out in the "No vehicle" zone. I give them my name and away I go to the guzzler.

The work and record keeping is easy on a broken up guy like me. And it is so nice to go to the middle of nowhere. Do the guzzler and then camp.

Must tell you that the Sheep guys know the Mojave better than anyone I have ever met and they give great directions to cool places and sights. Trust me, you want to camp with these guys out there. You will hear fantastic stories, hilarious stories and just over all have a great time. Guzzler projects are the best time.

Consider volunteering, you will have a blast.

 

[teotwaki]

Goin Camping!

Thank you so much for the fantastic background information! You are definitely not hijacking. I've had my share of jealous shut-ins trying to derail threads
and they only get pleasure out of tearing things down.

Cady Canyon was a really interesting mystery for quite a long time and you have added some more depth and color to the real story.
I hope that you can also share some pictures here in this thread. I'd love to see them!