We returned and continued past the famous Edwards AFB. There was
indeed nothing but desert and access to a few military bases.
Fifty-five kilometres further was Mojave, a sad-looking town, where
equally sad-looking people wandered the streets talking to
themselves. Mojave was a typical crossroads town and home to a few
motels, liquor stores, and little else. In keeping with the mood of the
place, it had a substantial aeroplane graveyard on the outskirts of
town.
Mojave – Bakersfield - 93km
The road took us a couple of thousand feet up through the Tehachapi
Mountains, passing hundreds of wind turbines. The small town of
Tehachapi came as a pleasant surprise. Tehachapi was a historical
village (established in 1860) and the oldest settlement in the
Tehachapi Valley. The Apple Shed & Fudge Factory impressed with its
fudge, which I thought was the best in the world, or maybe our sugar
levels were low, as I scoffed quite a few.
The hills around Tehachapi are home to California’s largest wind
resource areas, hence all the turbines. Fuelled by the fudge, we flew
down the pass, past the famous Tehachapi Railway Loop. I learned
that the Loop was an engineering feat in its time and was built by the
Southern Pacific Railroad in 1874. The first train to use it arrived in
Los Angeles in 1876. Our path passed over itself along the Loop,
gaining a mere 23-metre elevation as the track climbed at a steady
2% grade. It’s said a train more than 1,200 metres long can pass
over itself in the Loop.