Category: Barstow

Barstow, California

by msminnie72, posted in Barstow, California

Last we left off, we were in the Inland Empire and now we are moving into the dessert.

We always think that Barstow is just a stopping point along our travels, but not this time. We had sometime to get back home so we took our time to get there. We spent 1 night at KOA Barstow https://koa.com/campgrounds/barstow/.

The typical A frame office that KOA is known for.
On the backside of the office they will fill your tank for you. Can you see the face? I can’t unsee it now.

The sites are nice and big and you don’t have to unhook if you’re only staying for the night.

Don’t let this picture fool you. Many people use this campground as a 1 night stop so I would suggest a reservation.
A nice game room for the kids to play at.
For those hot days in the summer
A nice place for the dogs to dig and play. I appreciated the cover from the sun while Jessie took his time smelling everything.

Surprise!!!

Thank goodness we did have some time because we had a surprise for us when we opened the door. We stopped in Barstow to pick up some snacks to enjoy during the super bowl. We got to the campground about an hour and a half before the super bowl was to start. I opened the door to see food all over the floor, but not just food but spaghetti sauce everywhere! It was on the side of the couch, on the walls and cabinets, and on the steps and door. I wish I had the thought “I should take a picture of this” but I only thought “I need to get this cleaned up before the game starts.” So the next hour and a half was spent scrubbing the Big Cat hoping the sauce wouldn’t stain anything. I finished just in time for the National Anthem.

Superbowl LVIII

We are not die hard football fans but we do enjoy a good game. In my opinion, the game didn’t get good until the 4th quarter and then overtime. The commercials were not all that great either. I always look forward to the Clydesdales , Budweiser and Doritos commercials . But the best one was probably State Farm, https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/Ad-Meter/2024/02/12/arnold-schwarzenegger-danny-devito-state-farm-commercial-ad-meter-winner/72566240007/ What was your favorite?

Calico Ghost Town

If you know me, you know I am all about ghosts but my husband is not. I was so excited to visit something “haunted”. We actually had reservations for 3 nights for a total of $130. This included going into the park as well. If you just want to go to the park it is only $8

So if you want to visit with a group, this lower level is a perfect place to bring your friends. There are restrooms and an amphitheater as well as an RV you can rent called RV Rental Experience. Visit the site at https://parks.sbcounty.gov/park/calico-ghost-town-regional-park/.

Calico was a former silver mining town formed in 1881. Silver was discovered and soon opened Silver King Mine which was the largest silver mine in California in the mid 1880’s. The mine was named after John C. King

What is really cool is that Walter Knott of the Famous Knotts Berry Farm has a connection to this place, His uncle John C. King founded the mine!

The town lasted only a few short years but in its heyday it had approximately 3,500 people and supported 3 hotels, 5 general stores, a weekly newspaper,3 hotels, a school as well as bars, boarding houses and brothels. When the price of Silver went down, the decline of Calico began. By the turn of the century, Calico was only a ghost town.

We walked into town from our campground with Jessie in tow to see the site and get a feel for everything. We took a break at the restaurant for Jessie to get a drink and relax for a few min.

Do you see the Dog Hitch behind Jessie? So cute that they think of our furry friends here.

Speaking of the restaurant, our Valentine dinner came from here. It was nothing fancy but if was fun to eat on the back patio watching the train go by. We had the restaurant to ourselves, the restaurant did close at 5 maybe because it was the off season. The food was good but nothing to write home about. It was a bit pricy, but we were there for the experience.

Not a bad view during dinner!

I did take the train ride for an additional cost of $5. It was a cute little train ride but it is not a make or break experience.

A cart that would take rocks out of the mountain.
A tunnel that we went through.

Shopping in Calico

There are roughly 10 shops to shop in ranging from gemstone, candles, gourmet dog store and a tea/coffee shop.

I did buy specialty coffee for Andrew with 1. Kalua infused and 2.burbon infused coffee. He loved them! I did buy a hat and shirt in the Lanes General Merchant. It was a great deal of buy a shirt and get a free hat. So since I needed to get Andrew a shirt to prove he went to a “ghost town”, I got a hat for me out of the deal.

These were so cool, they were all made out of bullets! Someone is very creative!

These pies were actually candles! They looked so real, it was hard to believe that they were candles. I wonder how wonderful they smell when they are burning?

This is one of four original rammed earth adobe buildings in Calico. The building went under renovations in 1997 after the earthquake.

“There once were a number of miniatures rock cabins in the fenced yard which is why the building is called the dollhouse.” The dollhouse has gone through several tenants and is currently used as a private office.
This is a replica of the original schoolhouse of the 1880’s. It currently is under renovations.

I took a hike up the hill in Calico and had a wonderful view of the town.

At the end of the day, I took a hike up to the cemetery which was closed but was able to get a picture of the still functioning cemetery.

So whether you are passing through Barstow, believe in ghost or not, Calico is a fun afternoon, hiking up the hill and shopping in town. If you like following our adventures, hit the subscribe button to get an email for our latest post. Stay tuned as we spend some time with our kids in Ca.