Mohave County miner and our mineral wealth., 1922-07-07
By Ralph Haney Examiner Good Roads Tourist

any more excited to get under way than were we on the night before our three months good roads tour was to start. There was very little sleep that night and no alarm clock needed to awaken us at a. m., June 12.
 The quickest route to pick up the National Old Trails Highway carried us over the Valley boulevard to San -Bernardino and through the Cajon Pass. The 90 miles of paved road from Los Angeles to the top of Cajon was not gladly left as we knew that it would be one of the most thought of laps when later on we pounded on s4other roads.
 Initiation to dirt roads came quick ly over the few miles from Cajon to Hesperia. Heavy trucking had cut deep into the road, filling ruts with dust and making heavy going. And it was not pleasant to turn out into sand for these same trucks They were hauling gravel for the new road to Victorville.
 Good Time to BarstOw
 The road from Victorville is much improved and after leaving the cement plant on the outskirts of Victorville, a rolling hill country with good sur- faced road made possible fairly fast running time to Barstow, Al miles.
 At Barstow the first experience in excessive cost of oil was encountered. It was found that a quart was neces- sary and that a common brand of Western oil would do, Los Angeles staple at 20 cents a quart. But at this railroad town the price was 35 acents.
 Between Daggett and Newberry Park the first rocky roads were found and with them the grief of dragging our water bag alongside until two nice water holes and no water greeted us when We stopped for a drink. A spring at Newberry Park supplied the drink and we sewed up the holes.
 Having been over the road two years before, we knew that poor con ,ditions could be- expected between Ludlow and Amboy, but we did not expect the type of road that forcibly struck us before we reached Ludlow. There has been very little work done in that particular stretch, and that work poorly advised. The old oil at tempt at paving added to the general poor conditions.
 That Maddening Wind
 Ludlow, with 195 miles covered for the first day, was the camping place reached. A really creditable attempt at the construction of a camping grounds has been made within the last two years. But man does not con trol the wind and it blew sand into our frying pan with maddening ac- scuracy.
 That much dreaded tough road from Ludlow failed us miserably. The stretch was crooked and hilly but with good surface and afforded di- version in the thrill of it's roller coas- Ner contour. The long stretch of oiled road from Amboy up the Canyon to .Danby has miraculously held up un- der the travel of years and made pleasant going. Danby to Goffs was found to be in fair shape, as was the road past Kleinfelter and into Need- les.
 No Chance to Boast
 From Needles to the Colorado River at Topock we found three men at work on maintenance duty. They were filling in chuck holes in that queer stretch aptly called the Mystic Maze. Perhaps it is not harsh judg- ment to surmise that three men are all that have worked Southern Cali fornia's one outlet to the east. From Cajon to Topock is no road to boast about.
 Topock has two native points of in terest. One, the heat and the other the wonderful steel span across the Colorado River, joining California and Arizona.
 The Oatman road held out to us iuOIc dlluIe tiletH tlit Out Uy IHc way of Yucca. Memories of a past camp there and the interest of the gold mines decided for us. From Topock to Oatman We learned what enter prise, common sense and vision into the future can do for road building. There has been wonderful road build- ing done in Arizona and our surprise over such improvements was to mount each mile we made entirely across the State. Out of the twenty-eight miles from Topock to Oatman there is only a stretch of four miles unfinished. That piece is bad, but the new road is joy.
 Accurate Information
 Sincere courtesy was extended to us in Oatman by J. E. Shank, build ''er of roads, and Robert S. Doman, the most accurately informed man of the town.
 We made our first inquiries of a man whom every one spoke of as just Lou. This man has a sign on his