For Immediate Release: Sept. 1, 2004 CA-N-04-96
Contact: Jeff Fontana (530) 257-5381

HISTORY OF THE DESERT COMES TO LIFE IN GUIDED FOUR WHEEL DRIVE TOUR

The colorful history of Northeastern California's high desert comes to life Saturday, Sept. 18, in a free, guided four-wheel-drive tour into the rugged region east of Susanville.

Lassen County Historian Tim Purdy and Bureau of Land Management Archaeologist Don Manuel will lead the day-long outing to sites ranging from a failed 1800s irrigation dam to archaeological sites containing evidence of the first human occupation of the region.

The tour will depart at 8 a.m. from the BLM Eagle Lake Field Office, 2950 Riverside Dr., Susanville, and should return at about 4:30 p.m. Participants must provide their own transportation in a four wheel drive pickup truck or SUV, and bring lunch and beverages. Reservations are not required.

Stops are planned for Amedee, once the site of a hot springs resort and hotel, and at Skedaddle Dam, where remnants of an 1890s dam show how early settlers tried mightily to irrigate the arid landscape. The caravan will continue over the Skedaddle Mountains with stops at Mud Flat and Smoke Creek and their stories of early settlement and military activities. Along the edge of the vast Smoke Creek Desert tour participants will learn how Dryden and Whit-Hu caves have yielded secrets about how early people survived in a climate that was much different from today's. On the return to Susanville, the tour swings through Flanigan, the remains of a railroad town that once flourished along the Southern Pacific rail line connecting Northeastern California with the Southern Pacific's main cross-continental railroad.

Tour organizers recommend that participants bring sunscreen, hats and plenty of water. Binoculars and cameras are helpful.

Because of the long hours, hot weather and rough roads, organizers said the trip may not suitable for very young children.

For more information, contact the BLM Eagle Lake Field Office, (530) 257-0456.

-BLM-

Eagle Lake Field Office 2950 Riverside Drive Susanville, CA 96130