Rocky of Ballarat CA

Rock Novak is everything to the ghost town of Ballarat

ROCK Novak is everything to his town.

The caretaker, the judge, the mayor and the sheriff, he is the single resident of Ballarat — a ‘ghost town’ in California’s Death Valley.

Founded in 1897, in its heyday — 1897 to 1905 — Ballarat had nearly 500 residents, and was home to a Wells Fargo Station, post office, school, jail, hotels and several bars.

Read the entire story HERE

THE MAYOR OF BALLARAT from Mickey Todiwala on Vimeo.

The Blog visited Rock and Ballerat on our 2015 tour.  Emmett Harder treated us to a ride up Goler Wash to Barker Ranch and was the best tour guide ever.  Post HERE

Deb, Emmett, Matt, Patty, George, Stoner, St. Circumstance with Rocky behind him and Jon Aes-Nihil

Thanks Amanda (reader in Australia) for the tip!

Ballarat BEL Be-In, Easter Sunday '71

From the Nevada State Journal, April 8 1971:  "the gathering was called for by participants in the Laguna Beach Christmastime Happening as a religious experience. They denied later reports that the gathering would be a rock festival saying no live music was planned for the Easter sunrise observation."

*Special thanks to Michael Channels for permission to use the image at left.

Here are two more from the same event that DebS recently found in the LA Freep. One has a map showing festival attendees how to arrive at Ballarat from Laguna Beach:

"According to Superintendent Murphy of Death Valley National Monument, no arrangements have been made with his department for the festival...As we see it, this festival has all the makings of a very bad trip."


Promoters jumped on board and rumors floated that bands like Jethro Tull would be in attendance. BEL member Dion Wright who painted the Taxonomic Mandala made the following statement: "An Easter gathering will take place in Ballarat California, an eighty acre privately owned ghost town...(that) has been offered free of charge. We have represented to (Inyo County) a pilgrimage...including the placing of a Book of Life in the Panamint Valley." 

  Book of Life, not Book of Death (as in Leary's and the Manson's manifestos). Patty has heard the Goler Wash referred to as the "Holy Goler" and has always wondered why: perhaps this is part of the answer. Interesting, no?

Tex's Power Wagon

We received this email from a friend of the blog.  I really hope I matched up the pictures correctly with the text.

"The Power wagon behind Barkers can be seen in Inside the Manson Gang (when clem is walking around) in the state it is in now; taken apart and buried. I don't think it was in working order when the Family was there- I don't think.



Here is the pic of the Tex power wagon, in 1970-71.



So, I found out that the Power wagon in Ballarat is NOT the one Tex fled in, it was the OTHER Power wagon. The one Tex fled in was in Ballarat with the other, but then traded to Leon Griffin who was the caretaker of the Briggs Mining camp.

He later disassembled the Power wagon and died.

Griggs, you will see a power wagon behind him... rusty.



The Briggs camp is still here. I am visiting soon to see if there is a trash heap of cars ala
Barker Ranch.

 Some photos of the Briggs camp with some power wagons and Leon's home.



From Wild Bill Gossett: My original source of information was not the ex-mayor of Ballarat for those of you who may have thought so. It was somebody whom I truly thought had the facts. Tonight I sat with the person that I should have interviewed in the first place. For over an hour he talked while the tape recorder rolled. There definitely was a Tex Watson power wagon. The person I talked to tonight helped remove it from the very spot where Tex left it after he ran out of gas. Tex Watson then walked to the Ballarat Road on the lake bed and was picked up by an old miner named John Paulson who gave him a ride to down by the turn-off to Hinkley, CA. From there Watson made his way back to Texas.

Anyway, his power wagon is not the one that is in Ballarat now. The Watson power wagon was used at Ballarat for several years and then traded off to Leon Griffin, caretaker at Briggs' Redlands Camp. Unfortunately, Leon had big dreams of converting this truck to a different cab, etc. and he took it all apart. Not long after he took it apart he got sick and died. We still have the mystery of where the truck at Ballarat came from but we know where it DIDN'T come from and I'm going to try and find out. I have a picture of Tex Watson's power wagon taken about 2 years after he abandoned it. You will clearly see that it is not the same truck.



The rusty one with the man at the door looks like it used to be tan-yellow, like the Tex one. Must be before it was disassembled.

The ones in the Briggs photo may not be the same one, but I think the one where the guy is standing in the door is. You can see it used to be tan.

This may not answer a lot, but I think this may be the elusive second power wagon. "



 

Funny Shit From The Tour

Buster having his way with Apollo

 

Sign in the Ballarat Store men's room 

Sign in ladies room at the restaurant in Panamint Springs

 

Sign-in book in the bunk house at Barker's

 

Message on wall in the bunk house at Barker's

Eviliz Tour 2012 - Day 3

DAY 3

TRONA

First stop on the way to Ballarat was the former home of TJ Walleman in Trona.

(photo taken at Marc's request. lol.)

BALLARAT

Next stop, Ballarat.

This is the Ballarat General Store

This is Rocky the caretaker and Grump

We gave Liz some private time with Bobby's Power Wagon

Patty, Matt & Liz in front of the Power Wagon

Close by is a cemetery for old miners.

Seen here is Seldom Seen Slim.

Shortly after after our arrival we were met by Sgt. Paul Dostie

Sgt. Dostie and Buster

At the Ballarat cemetery Sgt Dostie demonstrated for us how Buster finds graves. 

Buster chose the two spots that had the highest composition of "Volatile Organic Compounds" (VOC's) which are produced by human bone decomposition. 

ON TO GOLER WASH

The mouth of Goler Wash

The only really difficult spot to pass is a spot called "the waterfall". It was mostly dry on this morning but it's no easy task to get even a four wheel drive over it. We had three!

We helped get some dune buggies over the waterfall by moving around some rocks, etc. They then in turn helped us get the first of our three vehicles across. Funny story: Later on in the day these folks in the buggies arrived at Barker's and listened to the stories with great interest. Long story made short, we have some enthusiastic new readers!

The Newman Cabin. Located about half way up Goler. 

It was frequently used by the Family.

BARKER RANCH

A few shots of our inspection of the main house:

THE SUSPECTED GRAVE SITES

Sgt Dostie, Buster and others have identified five possible VOC "alert sites" around Barker Ranch. They are referred to as: Buster 1, Buster 3, Buster 4 and Ness 1.

Four of them are believed to be grave sites, the other (Buster 2) is believed to be a "scent pool" since it is located just downhill from Buster 3.

Sgt Dostie with Mr. Patty at VOC site "Buster 1"

Sgt Dostie with Mr. Patty at VOC site "Buster 3"

Sgt Dostie with Mr. Patty at VOC site "Ness 1"

Sgt Dostie explains VOC site "Buster 4". It is located close to the front porch of the ranch. This one is particularly strong. It is speculated that it contains two young men killed with swords by two male family members. This may be why Robert Hendrickson said he could smell death while at the front door!

A bit of explanation is in order. Excavations on Barker's Ranch have come up "empty" by the authorities. The problem is this:

Desert flash floods are caused by rainfall having nowhere to go after being deposited. Most people think of the desert as being sandy and very absorbent; which it largely is. However, when water is deposited in desert elevation, it wants to take the path of least resistance to a low point and often that path is not soil percolation. The surface water accumulates in low volume streams that act as tributaries to larger creeks which act as tributaries to washes which funnel all of the water. This water evacuates from the higher elevation at a great volume and velocity and picks up sand, rocks, boulders, vehicles, houses, busses, helter skelter trucks, trees, brush, old wash deposits in its path; as much as the water volume can sustain. This water is ejected out of the wash and the deposits fall out of the water as the water velocity slows; depositing the heavier objects, first. Washes can be large enough to build homes in or small enough to walk across in a few footsteps. As the water continues its journey, the deposits left behind create alluvial fans. These fans shift and move with each incident of water evacuation and the subsequent debris left behind.

The point is, that the 3- 3 1/2 feet that was excavated only reached down to where the topsoil was in 1969! Charlie learned early on in prison that cops will only dig 6 feet. He has admitted in recorded telephone conversations that the Family buried these people at least 8 feet to avoid detection by police digs. With the alluvial deposits described above, law enforcement would have needed to dig 11 feet to find these remains. They stopped at less than 4 feet!

The "Helter Skelter Truck" located in a gully behind Barker Ranch.

It is also a Dodge Power Wagon.

The group with the Helter Skelter Truck

Curiously, somebody moved the Helter Skelter Truck. It used to be in a mostly buried state here, where you see the tire.  Someone (fairly recently) dragged it down to where you see it farther down the hill.

MYERS RANCH

Myers ranch is is nicely maintained. The pool looks usable and irrigation hoses feed young trees and shrubs around the house that will eventually become great shade.

The main house

The Myers Ranch pool

The Myers Ranch pool and a side building